| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal | |
| Languages | |
| |
| Religion | |
| Islam 100% | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| [citation needed] |
TheKhanzadaorKhan Zadeh are a cluster community ofRajputs found in theIndian states ofUttar Pradesh andRajasthan. A notable community is theKhanzadas of Mewat, the descendants ofRaja Nahar Khan, who are a sub-clan ofJadaun.[citation needed] They refer to themselves as Rajputs. After thePartition of India in 1947, many members of this community migrated to Pakistan, forming a part of theMuhajir community.
The termKhanzada orKhan Zadeh is a literal Persian translation of the Hindi wordRajput, which originates from theSanskrit wordrājaputra (Sanskrit:राजपुत्र; literally "son of a king"). The Sankrit term finds mention in some ancient Hindu scriptures like theRigveda,Ramayana andMahabharata.[1]
The termkhanzada originally applied to the Bachgoti Rajput family of the Rajahs ofHasanpur. They were said to have converted to Islam during the rule ofSher Shah Suri. This family claimed descent from Bariar Singh, a Bachgoti Rajput, who said to have emigrated fromSultanpur in the 13th century. The Bachgoti had started off as a clan of theChauhan Rajputs ofMainpuri. Bariar Singh's grandson, Tilok Chand is said to have converted to Islam, and the family took the name Khanzada.[2]
In northern Awadh, a region comprising roughlyBarabanki District in south east toLakhimpur Kheri District in the north west, the Khanzada have a followed a slightly different path, with a stronger identification with Islam. In a recent study of a Chauhan Khanzada village in Raisenghat Tehsil ofBarabanki District, this particular community was seen to be strongly identifying with neighbouring Muslim rajput of Uttar Pradesh communities, and there was increasingly intermarriage between the two groups. There economic condition in this region is also been affected, with a dwindling in the size of their farms, especially inShravasti andBalrampur districts. Many are now, in fact, landless agricultural labourers.[3][full citation needed][4]The Khanzada, however have been badly affected by abolition of thezamindari system, with many now destitute. They still remain a land owning community, but those especially inBalrampur,Gonda andBahraich are now simply agricultural labourers. The community are also divided on sectarian lines, with the majority beingSunni, while a minority, mainly the ex-taluqdar families beingShia. Like otherIndian Muslims, there is growing movement towards orthodoxy, with many of their villages containingmadrasas. The madrasas have also facilitated the growth ofUrdu, with it beginning to replace theAwadhi dialect they traditionally spoke.[5][better source needed]