Gujarati Muslims - History

History

Located in the westernmost portion of India, Gujarat includes the region of Kutch, Saurashtra, and the territories between the rivers Banas and Damanganga. Islam came early to Gujarat, with immigrant communities of Arab trading communities settling on the western seacoast of India as early as the 8th Century A.D. They were later joined by Persian traders. Many of these early merchants were Ismaili, both Mustaali and Nizari. They laid the foundation of the Bohra and Khoja communities. Gujarat at this time was ruled by the Valabhi dynasty. In the thirteenth century, the last Hindu ruler Karna, was defeated by Alauddin Khilji, the Turkic Sultan of Dehli. This ushered a period of five centuries of Muslim Turkic and Mughal ruler. This led to a conversion of a number of Hindu Gujarati people to Islam, and led to the creation of new communities such as the Molesalam and Miyana communities.

In the sixteenth century, the Memon community immigrated from Sindh and settled in Kutch and Kathiawar. While in Bharuch and Surat, a schism occurred among the Bohras, and a new community of Sunni Bohras was created. Another Muslim sect, the Mahdawi also settled in Gujarat, and led to the creation of the Tai community. In 1593, the Mughal Emperor Akbar conquered Gujarat, and incorporated Gujarat in the Mughal Empire. This period led to the settlement of the Mughal community. A good many Sayyid and Shaikh families also are said to arrived during the period of Mughal rule. After the death of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, in 1707, Mughal rule began weaken after ruling for a century. Most of Gujarat fell to the Marathas, and this period saw the dispersal of further Pathan and Baluch, who came as mercenaries and were destroyed or defeated by the Marathas. Gujarat fell to British in the late 19th Century.