Pashtuns(Afghans) of Maharashtra
The Pashtuns(afghans) of Maharashtra are a community of Indian Pashtuns who got settled in the Indian state of Maharashtra and now form a broader part of the Muslim community in the state. They now mostly speak the Dakhni dialect of the hindustani language.
| Areas with significant populations
Mumbai, Aurangabad, Malegaon, Ahmednagar, Beed, Jalna |
|---|
| Languages
Pashto, Dakhni, Hindi, Urdu, Marathi, Konkani |
| Religion
Islam |
History
The earliest record of Pashtuns in Maharashtra dates back to late 13th century AD when khiljis attacked devgiri(daultabad).Few afghans(pashtuns) and turks permanently got settled there but almost all of them retreated towards northern India. The first major wave of afghans(Pashtuns) arrived in 14th century during the rule of Bahmani sultanate. The Bahmani sultanate and their successor Deccan sultanates used to hire these Pashtuns in their armies. After sometime these Pashtun soldiers and administrators were given jagirs by these sultanates. Few Pashtuns also served under the Maratha empire and the Rohilla pathans from northern India were also recruited by the Nizams of Hyderabad which controlled a large portion of Maharashtra.
Present circumstances
Today's most of the Pashtuns of Maharashtra have got permanently settled there. By the local population of Maharashtra they are mostly called Pathans which is a Indian term for Pashtuns/Afghans. These Pathans nowadays follow mostly local Marathi and Deccani culture. Intermarriages among the Pashtuns and local Deccani Muslims, Marathi Muslims and Konkani Muslims are common. Some of the Pashtun communities are strictly endogamous only marrying with pure unmixed Pashtuns. Pashtun tribes include Lodi, Kakar, Panni, Suleimanzai, Durrani, Ghilzai, Afridi, Ghori and Yusufzai. Surnames adopted by the Pashtuns of the state include Khan, Shaikh, Sayyed and Patel or middle and last names like Khan Pathan, Shaikh Pathan, Sayyed Pathan and Patel Pathan or just Pathan.