| Total population |
|---|
| 2,065,000[1] |
| Regions with significant populations |
| • India • Pakistan |
| Languages |
| Religion |
| Related ethnic groups |
|
• Qassab |
The Khatik (Urdu: खटीक, Urdu: کھٹیک) are an ethnic group, found both in Punjab, Pakistan and India. Those in Pakistan are Muslim, while most Indian Khateek are Hindu, barring a small minority in Gujarat and Maharashtra, who are Muslim. They are one of the most widespread communities in South Asia. The Hindu Khatik have scheduled caste status in some states in India, while the Muslim Khatik are campaigning for Scheduled Caste status.[2]
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The Khatik is a Kshatriya, with Rajput ancestry.The Khatik are widely distributed community in North India, and each Khatik group, has its own origin myth. What they have in common is that they were historically tanners and dyers of goat skin or traditionally employed as mutton butchers. According to their traditions, the god Brahma assigned to them a goats skin, the bark of trees and lac- so they could graze cattle, dye skins of goat, and deer; and tan hides with bark and lac.[3] Another tradition, claims that the origin of the word Khatik has been derived from the Hindi word khat, which , means an immediate killing.[4] They relate this to early days when they used to supply mutton to the kings of the Rajasthan. While other sources claim that the word khatik is said to have originated from the Sanskrit word kathika, which means to butcher or hunt. The Khatik of Punjab used salt and juice of the maddar tree (Calotropis procera) to tan and dye goat and sheep skin[5]
The Delhi the Khatik have two subgroups, the Soor Khateek and the Khal Rangay Khateek. Soor Khateek Sonkar have a different tradition as to their origin. According to them, some members of the Khateek community were converted to Islam, during the rule of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. To prevent further conversion, the community decided to raise pigs.The traditional occupation of the Delhi Khateek is the rearing of and butchering of pigs and goats. The Hindu Khatik in Punjab have five gotras (clans), the Mogha, Bairiwal, Aswal, Jatoria, and Kenchi. The Hindu Khatik only avoid one gotra in marriage. The tribe worships Bhairon and Sidh Massani. They also as a clan worship Durga. The Hindu Khatiks were also pork butchers, and are classified as a scheduled caste. They now use the surname Chawdhary.In Uttar Pradesh, they are divided into seven sub-groups, which are the Ayudhiyabasi, Bakar Ka Sao, Baurea, Cgalan Mahrao, Ghor Charoa, Pasi and Sonkar. [6]
In the 17th Century, several Khateek clans in Punjab were converted to Islam. The Muslim Khateeks of Punjab have two clans, the Rajputs and Ghori Pathan. Since the partition of India, the Muslim Khateeks moved to Pakistan have established tanneries, and are now referred to as Shaikhs.
The Khateeks, both Hindu and Muslim were found mainly in Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Patiala districts of Punjab, and Sirsa, Jind and Kurukshetra districts of Haryana. As with other Muslim communities in Punjab, the Muslim Kathik of Punjab left their homeland after the partition of India, except those of Malerkotla State, who remain in India. Other Muslim Khatik communities remain in Gujarat and Maharashtra. Hindu Khateek are also found in the states of Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh.[7]
In India, the Khateek are found in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Bihar. Each of these groups maintains a distinct identity, speaking various dialects of Hindi, Punjabi, Gujarati and Marathi, and having different sub-groups.
In Bihar, the Khatik are mainly involved in selling vegetables, and have never been butchers.they are very inteligent and handsome people. The community speak Bhojpuri and Hindi, and are found mainly in north Bihar. The community uses the surname Prasad. They are either cultivators, growing and selling vegetables, or in urban areas are simply vegetable sellers.[8]
In Uttar Pradesh, the Khatik enjoy scheduled caste status. They speak Bhojpuri, and other dialects of Hindi. The Khatik engage themselves in various economic activities, such as selling vegetables, fruits, flowers, as well as acting as butchers. The Sonkar sub-division are involved in the selling of fruits, flowers and vegetables. With reforms brought about by the abolishment of the zamindari system, many of the Uttar Pradesh (UP) Khatik have become farmers. As their agricultural holdings are extremely small, many are now share croppers. Despite land reforms, the UP Khateek remain are marginalized group.
The Khatik of UP are Hindu, and their traditional deities are Santoshi Mata and Hanuman.[9] While those of Haryana worship regional deities such as Beriwali Devi and Vishnu Devi.[10]
In Delhi, the Khatik have two subgroups, the Soor Khateek and the Khal Rangay Khateek. The Soor Khatik are then further sub-divided into five endogamous groups, the Sonkar, Ayudhiabasi, Hardia, Subaiya and Bempatiya, while the Khal Rengay Khateek have the following sub-groups, the Chauhan, Pahadia, Tanwar, Lodhwal, Badgujar, Nagar,khooni kankasiya, Phaswala and Bhilwara. The Soor Khateek speak Bhojpuri, while the Khal Rangay speak Rajasthani those who came from Rajasthan and according to the District to whom they belong to and Haryanvi. The traditional occupation of the Delhi Soor Khateek is the rearing of and butchering of pigs and goats, Where Khal Rangay Khateek occupation was tanning the sheep/goat skin and selling the hairs of sheep. They have now entered other trades, and many are now run small businesses, mainly dealing with the selling of plastic goods. Like other North India Khateeks, they are Hindus.[11]
In Haryana, the community are also known as Chaudhury, and speak Haryanvi. They enjoy scheduled caste status in the state. The community is split along religious lines, with some members of the community belonging to the Hindu faith, while others being Sikh. However, intermarriage does take place between the Hindu and Sikh Khatiks. They are further divided into eighty four clans, which are exogamous. The main ones being the Asiwal, Bahwal, Bargujar, Tanwal, Chauhan, Aswal, Tisware, Bagli, Khichi, Kataria, Tangsuria, Baswale, Paharia, Malwalia, Meowal, Solanki, Badsiwal, Bamboria and Sankhale. They are strictly an endogamous community, with very few cases of intermarriage with other groups.badgujars are very strong and cleaver in the khateek these are rule over the community especialy Haryana
Their traditional occupation has remained the dyeing of goat and sheep skin. Unlike their kinsmen in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, they have never been pig butchers. Many are now peddlers, selling scrap, household goods and bangles.[12]
The Khatik of Punjab are is still involved with tanning and dyeing of goatskin. According to their traditions, the community immigrated from Uttar Pradesh in the distant past. The Hindu Khatik have scheduled caste status, while Muslim have other backward class status. Both groups of Khatik are strictly endogenous, and do not intermarry. The Muslim Khatik are Sunni Muslim, and the community has been greatly reduced by emigration to Pakistan. They are now found mainly in Malerkotla, where historically the Nawab had set up a traditional caste council headed by a chaudhary. But with reduction in the numbers of the Muslim Khatik, the position of the Chaudhary is no longer influential. Both communities of Khatik speak Punjabi, with many Muslims also speaking Urdu.[13]
The majority of the Hindu Khatik are employed as pig butchers, with a minority who are now petty businessmen. While a majority of Muslim Khatik are involved in the running of tanneries, and a small number have become wealthy, exporting many of the leather products they manufacture.
The Khatik in Rajasthan are concentrated in the districts of Ajmer, Jaipur,chittorgarh Alwar and Udaipur. They claim Rajput ancestry, and the etymology of the word Khateek comes from the Sanskrit khattika, which means butcher. The community speak dialects of Rajasthani, and profess Hinduism. Their regional deities include Hanuman. Like other Khatik communities, the Khatik of Rajasthan have a number of clans. Their main clans are the Bachhra, Pawar, Samariya, Gangwal, Chandel, Baswala, Tanwar, Tepan, Naraniya, Beniwal, Nainiwal, Chandel, Soyal, Rajora, Khinchi, Pahadia, Tomar, Badgujar,Bnundela, Begdi, Chauhan, Sankhla, Khitolia, Pachaury, Pachori, Chetiwal, Butolia, Malavalia, Chhinwal,Nagora, Tusawada, Burasia, chauhan the Rajasthani Khatik were avoided four gotras in marriage. Now-a-days, in view of the present situation, due to the problems occurred for matches of boys and girls for marriages, they avoid only two gotras specifically Mother and Father.
Traditionally the Rajasthani Khatik are a caste of butchers. They also raise cattle and sell in the town markets. In urban Rajasthan, the Khateek run many of the meat shops, and are the main supplier of Jhatka meat, as opposed to the Qassab, who are sellers of halal meat.[14]
The Khatik are found mainly in Eder, Himmatnagar, Khedbrahma, Vijayagar and Bhiloda. They are divided into the Hindu and Muslim sub-groups. The Hindu Khateek do not slaughter animals, which is done by Muslim Khateek, but they simply sell the meat. There are further territorial divisions, the Jaipuria and Bagard Khateek. The community is also split into a number of gotras, the main ones being the Bagod, Demaria, Dindmania, Chauhan, Chaula, Khoiwad, Khinchi, Lindiwal, Chandal, Bagma and Daima. The community is mostly butchers, but a good many of them have now taken up petty trade.[15]
The Muslim Khateek are found mainly in Ahmedabad and Banaskantha districts. Traditionally, the Muslim Khateek are a community of mutton butchers, but many are now employed as daily wage labourers. The community is entirely Sunni Muslim, and have customs similar to other Gujarati Muslim communities.
In Maharashtra, the Khatik are found mainly in Nagpur District. They are said to have immigrated from Madhya Pradesh. According to their traditions, they are a sub-group of the Dhangar community. The majority of the Kathik are Hindu, with a small minority in Pune who are Muslim. They now speak Marathi. The Hindu Kathik have two sub-divisions, the Barade found in Amravati, Yeotmal, Nagpur, Akola and Buldana, whereas the Marathe are found in Nagpur, Chandrapur, Poona and Marathwada. Both these sub-divisions are endogamous. They usually marry within their own community and preferably in the same sub-division. These two sub-divisions are further divided into clans called kur, which also used as surnames. The main clans are the Barane, Dhoke, Gholpe, Katare, Larokar, Madne, Pardhi and Tumane. Each of these clans are of equal status.[16]
The Khatik are still mainly engaged in the selling mutton, and selling of goats and other livestock. A small minority are now cultivators. With growing urbanization, many Khatik are abandoning their traditional occupation. The Khatik have set a state wide association, the Khatik Samaj Sabha, based in the town of Nagpur. Many Kathik are now doctors, engineers, and police officers. Their customs are similar to neighbouring Marathi communities. The community pay special reverence to Ambagade or Karoji Bua, who is a local deity.[17]
The Muslim Khateek in Maharashtra have now petitioned to the Supreme Court of India for the inclusion of Muslim Dalit, within Scheduled Caste category, a status they have so far been excluded from.[18]
The Khateek are now found mainly in Kasur and Faisalabad districts of Punjab. A small number are also found in the cities of Karachi and Quetta. They are entirely Muslim in Pakistan, and exclusively Sunni. The community is bilingual, speaking both Urdu and Punjabi. They are strictly endogamous, with very few cases of intermarriage with other communities.
The Khateek community is regarded as the pioneers of tannery work in Kasur. The Khateeks, who think of themselves as a kinship group, or biraderi, trace their origins to Jalandhar and other cities of eastern Punjab in India. Their self-designation is now Shaikh or Punjabi Shaikh, although both Khateek and Shaikh are used inter-changeably. The name Khateek is now used as clan designation of the Punjabi Shaikh caste. It is possible, in principle, for there to be Khateeks who are not Shaikh and vice versa. In practice, however, the two terms are used interchangeably by the people in question, not only in Kasur, but also in other sites such as Korangi where tanning work is established. The Khateek of Jalandhar arrived in Pakistan at the time of the partition of India in 1947. Various groups of families attempted to set up their traditional industry in various towns and cities, including Kasur, Karachi, and Quetta.
The Khateeks who settled in Kasur initially established cottage industries where all family members, including women, participated in the work. The first proper tannery was established by the Khateeks in Kasur in the 1960s. From then on, the tendency has been towards industrialization, with cottage industries being replaced by factories withbigger productive capacities and with the extensive use of non-family labour. The Khateeks themselves have withdrawn their labour and focus on managing their businesses. The large Christian community of Kasur and its surroundings, provided the initial core of employees in the industry.[19]
Like other Pakistanis, many Khateeks have emigrated to the United Kingdom, and form a significant part of the community of British Pakistanis, particularly in the city of Glasgow.
www.khatiksamaj.in [1]