The Kutchi people (Kutchi and Gujarati: કચ્છી (Gujarati script); Sindhi: ڪڇي (Perso-Arabic); कच्छी (Devanagari)) traditionally hail from the Kutch district of the western Indian state of Gujarat and the Sindh region of Pakistan.[2]
History
Some of the Kutchi people of India converted from Hinduism to Islam in the 15th century A.D., largely through the efforts of Saiyid Abdullah.[3] The Kutchi Memons were encouraged to spread throughout India, though many remained in Kutch.[3]
Kutchis, being a part of the Indian diaspora, have maintained their traditions abroad; in 1928, Kutchi Hindus in Nairobi held a Swaminarayan procession in which 1200 people attended.[4]
The Kutchis have been living in southern part Sindh for decades and call themselves Sindhis.[2]
Notable Kutchi people
- Shyamji Krishna Varma, revolutionary, lawyer, and journalist
- Abdullah Hussain Haroon, Former Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations
- Abdul Qadir Patel, Pakistani Politician and Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians Member National Assembly of Pakistan from NA-248 (Karachi West-I).
- Azim Premji, industrialist
- El-Farouk Khaki
- Fahmida Mirza, first female Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan
- Faisal Devji
- Gulgee, Pakistani artist
- Hussain Shah, Pakistani boxer
- Harish Bhimani, Indian voiceover artist
- Ian Iqbal Rashid
- Janvi Chheda, Actress, director, and model
- John Nuraney, Canadian politician
- Anandji Virji Shah, Bollywood music director
- Kalyanji Virji Shah, Bollywood music director
- Laxmichand "Babla" Virji Shah, musician and percussionist
- Naheed Nenshi, 36th mayor of Calgary
- Omar Sachedina, CTV Broadcaster
- Salim Merchant
- Shafique Virani
- Shekhar Ravjiani from the music duo Vishal–Shekhar
- Sulaiman Merchant
- Viju Shah, music director
- Vipul Amrutlal Shah, Bollywood director producer
- Chandra Hirjee, World Amateur Snooker Championship winner 1958, Indian Open Billiards Championship winner 1947, 56 and 58.
- Dhairya Dand Indian American inventor and artist
See also
References
- ^ "2011 Census tables: C-16, population by mother tongue". Census of India Website. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
- ^ a b "Is Kutchi Rabita Committee any good in a peaceful Lyari?". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
- ^ a b Srinivas, Smriti (2001). Landscapes of Urban Memory: The Sacred and the Civic in India's High-Tech City. University of Minnesota Press. p. 280. ISBN 978-1-4529-0489-4.
- ^ Williams, Raymond Brady (8 November 2018). Introduction to Jethalal Hinduism. Cambridge University Press. p. 220. ISBN 978-1-108-42114-0.
External links
Media related to Kutchi at Wikimedia Commons- Suvichar Ki Dayri
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This page was last edited on 13 May 2024, at 16:34