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|---|---|
| Regions with significant populations | |
| India (Assam,West Bengal) | |
| Languages | |
| Assamese and Deshi/Goalparia/Kamtapuri/Rajbongshi | |
| Religion | |
 Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Koch,Mech,Maria,Goriya, |
| Islam in Bangladesh |
|---|
 |
Ideology/schools of thought |
Deshi,Uzani or Koch Muslims (Bengali-Assamese: দেশী, উজানী) people are an indigenous Muslim community residing mostly inAssam and other parts of eastern India. The Deshi Muslim people can be found inMeghalaya,North Bengal, easternBihar,Rangpur andBogura ofBangladesh. InWest Bengal andBihar they are known asNashya Shaikh.[1][2] Deshis are Muslim converts fromKoch,Mech or other indigenous communities. In July, 2022, theGovernment of Assam gave them recognition as an "IndigenousAssamese Muslims" community vide an Order.[3][4]
The community is categorized as General category in Assam andOBC West Bengal.[citation needed]
The Deshi (literal meaning:local or original) community identifies themselves as the original ethnic inhabitant of this land similar to the other tribal communities. They belonged to a range of indigenous communities, such as Koch, Rabha, Mech, Garo, Nath, Yogi.
Deshi community is one of the old ethnic groups of Assam. It has the recorded history dates back to 13th century, some quarter century prior to the arrival ofChaolung Sukaphaa, the founder ofAhom dynasty.Ali Mech is said to be the first person of the community and he led the native force duringBakhtiyar Khalji's Tibet campaign in 1205.[5] Deshi Muslims are the descendants of Ali Mech.
The group once known as Koch Muslim.[6] They are homogeneous with the Koch Rajbongshi people and are bi-linguistic speaking both Assamese language and Kamatapuri language.
Most other conversions took place during the 16th century, when the lower-class Koch and Mech peopleunable to find a respectable position in the newly formedKoch kingdom (1515–1956) switched to Islam.[7] The conversion ofKamata rulerChakradhvaj (1455–1485) to Islam popularized this religion among the local people.
Assam’s Deshi Muslims, around 21 lakh in number, are spread across the districts of Bongaigaon, Chirang, Dhubri, Goalpara, Kokrajhar, Kamrup, South Salmara-Mankachar, and Kamrup (Metro). They belonged to a range of indigenous Assamese communities, such as Koch, Rabha, Mech, Garo, Nath, Yogi and Kalita.
"Those who have been converted toIslam have been absorbed in the great fraternity of that religion, while those who have not acceptedMahammedanism, are to all intents and purposes low caste Hindoos… there is clear evidence they were once a very numerous race, and the kingdom they ruled for two centuries comprised the Bengal districts ofDinagpore and the districts ofKamrup andGowalpara in Assam. Their power was broken up about the year 1750, A.D….. Their unmistakable darkness of colour is found very largely to this day inRungpore and Dinajpore, and they have supplied the great majority of the converts to Mahammedism in those districts. None of them have returned their mother tongue asKoch. They have long since abandoned that forBengali, and the inhabitants ofKoch Behar have adopted the same fashion." (Report on the Census of British India taken on 17 February 1881, Page 211)."The Koch ... people, who once had a religion and language of their own, have completely abandoned their language and have either been converted to Islam or have become low caste Hindoos, affording a striking example of the way in which Hindooism is replenished. (Report on the Census of British India taken on 17 February 1881, Page 296).
W.W. Hunter was the Director General of Statistics of British India. In his bookA Statistical Account of Assam’ Vol-II published in 1879, page 31 mentioned Musalman Koch. He said, "The total of the Kochs has been considerably reduced by the exclusion of a number of Musalman Kochs, who had been erroneously included; and the total of the ' unspecified ' Muhammadans has been correspondingly augmented." The present Deshi Muslims are the descendants of those Musalman Koch as mentioned by Hunter.
InWest Bengal, the Deshi Muslims are known asNashya Shaikh or Nashya Sekh. Their origin to the indigenous communities ofKoch people of northernWest Bengal andAssam, some of them are also fromMech community. They are culturally and linguistically similar to both people of northern Bangladesh and the erstwhileGoalpara district ofAssam. A small number of the community are also found in the neighboring state ofBihar, where they are known as the Bengali Shaikh. The group is descended from a set of tribals which were collectively referred to as Koches, who converted to Islam as they were unable to find a favourable position in Hindu society and came to be known as the Rajbanshi Muslims. They are homogeneous with theKoch people and are bilingual, speaking bothBengali andSurjapuri. The Nashya still retain many cultural traits of their pre-Islamic past. For instance the reverence ofpirs was a continuation of their previous beliefs. Most people of the community are non-practicing Muslims though the newer generations are becoming increasing Islamic due to globalization. From historic evidence, it seems a segment of the population of northernBengal began to convert to Islam when the region fell under the control ofBakhtiyar Khilji. Some of the earliest converts were the chiefsAli Mech andKala Pahar.
The language of Deshi Muslim is known as 'Deshi Bhasa’. There are some slight variations in the Deshi Bhasa as one move from one district to another. The Deshi Bhasa have five dialects in Assam-Barbondi, Mahendragonji, Bausia, Ghullia and Jhaarue. The Deshi Bhasha is known differently in various states in government documents. In Assam, it is vaguely called asGoalpariya. InBihar and West Bengal it is known asSurjapuri. The Deshi Bhasa is closely related to neighbouringAssamese andRajbanshi, as well as many otherIndo-Aryan languages of Assam including theUrdu.
The nouns in Deshi language takes [i] or [ni] as suffix to indicate feminine gender. If the noun ends in a vowel, it replaces the vowel with [i], if in consonant it suffixes [ni] as feminine marker. For example,
| Masculine | Meaning | Feminine | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chengr-a | boy | Chengr-i | girl |
| Bet-a | son | Bet-i | daughter |
| Daktar | Doctor(M) | daktar-ni | doctor(F) |
The Deshi Muslim community have a rich and distinct culture of their own. They have their folk song and literature. These can be mostly seen during the festivals and marriage ceremonies. During the marriage ceremonies, the women folk sings the Deshi song. The Deshi people observe ‘Beshoma’ which is a harvesting festival likeBihu, and most strikingly they also observe ‘Amaati’ a custom prevalent among Rajbongshis which is related toAmbubachi mela of Kamakhya Temple.
The Deshi community follow the religion ofIslam. They are not rigid in their religious views on Islam.
The Deshi Janagosthiya Mancha (DJM) is the lone organization which represent the community in Assam.
The Print, Electronic and Social Media are now covering the Deshi community which was in non-existent earlier.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)The grandson of Haju, Vishu Sing (1515–1540) with all the people of condition apostatised to Hinduism and took the name ofRajbonshi, those who declined, finding that they were treated as vile, adopted Islam. Thus the mass of the Koch people became Mohammadans