| Total population |
|---|
| 2,500[1] |
| Regions with significant populations |
| • India • Pakistan |
| Languages |
|
• Urdu • Khari Boli • Hindi |
| Religion |
|
• Islam 100% • |
| Related ethnic groups |
|
• Turk • Turk Jamat • Mughal |
The Turk are a Muslim community found in the Terai region of the states of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh in India.[2]
Contents |
The Turks claim to have come from Central Asia to India with the armies of Mohammad Ghori, who settled in the slopes of the Himalayas, to guard the plains of North India from the Rajputs of the Garhwal and Kumaon hills. Some claim to have originally been Oghuz Turks. They are now found in Udham Singh Nagar District of Uttarakhand state, and the terai portions of the districts of Rampur, Moradabad and Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh. A few are also found in the Baheri tehsil of Bareilly District. According to some traditions they converts from the Hindu Banjara caste, but at present, they are entirely distinct from the Muslim Banjaras, who are also found in the Terai region. It is described in Gazetteer of the Rampur State 1911 A.D. on page 41-42, "On enquiry from some of those who called themselves Turks it appeared that they were originally Sheikhs, who belonged to the Siddiqi and Faruqi clans and came from Bokhara. A party of Sheikhs is to said to have first settled in Herat, whence they come to Punjab and settled in the Jalandhar district and afterwards made their way into the districts of Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar and Meerut. In these latter districts they are known under the name of Garha , while in Bijnor and Moradabad they are called Jhojhas , and in Bareilly, Rampur and Budaun they are designated Turks ."[3] So Turk is a designation, not a particular caste. This community is a group of many Sub-castes. The Turk speak Urdu as well as the Khari boli dialect of Hindi.[4]
The Turk are an endogamous community, and prefer marrying close kin. The Turk are divided into three sub division 1- The Jhojha, 2-The Khoja, 3- The Boobhney. They are essential small and medium sized farmers, and their villages tend to be uni-caste. The Turk cultivate wheat, paddy, maize, sorghum and sugar cane. Those in north Rohilkhand have benefited from the effects of the Green Revolution. Their customs are similar to other neighbouring Muslim communities such as the Rayeen and Rohilla. They have fairly active caste council, which deals with community welfare as well as an instrument of social control. The Turk are entirely Sunni Muslims, like other Muslim communities in western Rohilkhand, they have seen a growth in madrasas in their villages.[5]