Hyderabadi Muslims, also referred to as Hyderabadis, are a community of Deccani people, from the area that used to be the princely state of Hyderabad in the regions of Marathwada, Telangana, and Kalyana-Karnataka.
While the term "Hyderabadi" commonly refers to residents in and around the South Indian city of Hyderabad, regardless of ethnic origin, the term "Hyderabadi Muslims" more specifically refers to the native Urdu-speaking ethnic Muslims of the erstwhile princely state. The collective cultures and peoples of Hyderabad Deccan were termed "Mulki" (countryman), a term still used today. The native language of the Hyderabadi Muslims is Hyderabadi Urdu, which is a dialect of the Deccani language.
With their origins in the Bahmani Sultanate and then the Deccan sultanates, Hyderabadi culture and cuisine became defined in the latter half of the reign of the Asif Jahi Dynasty in Hyderabad. The culture exists today mainly in Hyderabad, Aurangabad, Parbhani, Nanded, Raichur, Bidar, Gulbarga, and among the Hyderabadi Muslim diaspora around the world, in particular, Pakistan, the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
History
The Deccan Plateau acted as a bulwark sheltering South India from the invasions and political turmoil that affected North India. This allowed the Muslim-ruled state of Hyderabad to develop a distinctive culture during the Qutb Shahi dynasty, the brief Mughal rule and later the Asaf Jahi dynasty of the Nizams.
According to Time, the seventh Nizam was the richest man in the world during the late 1940s, and fifth richest person of all time according to Forbes magazine after adjustment for inflation and currency purchasing power parity.
The Nizam was the Muslim ruler of the vast princely Hyderabad State. The capital city of Hyderabad was primarily Urdu-speaking Muslim until the incorporation of Hyderabad into India and the subsequent rise to dominance of the native Telugu-speaking Hindu people of Telangana. The state's economy was agrarian, and Hyderabad was primarily a government and administrative hub, run mostly (but far from exclusively) by Muslims. The aristocracy, jagirdars and deshmukhs (wealthy landowners), and even minor government officials, could afford to hire servants, usually also Muslims, in a social order similar to the class system of Victorian England. The Nizam allied himself with the British early on, with ensuing political stability.
After the fall of the Mughal Empire in 1857, many Muslim writers, poets, scholars, musicians and other eminent personalities migrated from Delhi to Hyderabad in hope of seeking patronage of the Nizam or the nobility. Muslims continued to emigrate to the state seeking employment in the Nizam's court, army, Hyderabad Civil Service or educational institutions. Among those who spent significant time in Hyderabad are writers Dagh Dehlvi, Fani Badayuni, Josh Malihabadi, Ali Haider Tabatabai, religious scholar Shibli Nomani and classical musicians Tanrus Khan and Bade Ghulam Ali Khan.
After Indian independence from the British Raj, Hyderabad State, under the rule of the seventh Nizam lasted for a year, until 18 September 1948, when the Indian Army launched Operation Polo Hyderabadi military forces who wished for Hyderabad State to remain independent. The Indian army soon decided to intervene. The operation resulted in the massacre of thousands of Muslims.
Hyderabadi Muslim identity after integration
The Invasion of Hyderabad by the newly independent Dominion of India, other than the shock of the controversial massacre, created an identity crisis for the Hyderabadi Muslim people. Thousands of Hyderabadi Muslims emigrated from the then integrated Indian state of Andhra Pradesh to Pakistan, the UK, the U.S. and Canada, resulting in a large diaspora.
The people who migrated to Pakistan were covered under term Muhajir, along with other Urdu-speaking immigrants from present day India. The Muhajir people began to dominate politics and business mainly in the metropolitan city of Karachi but their Hyderabadi Muslim identity was lost, and replaced by Karachi's cosmopolitan culture. The Hyderabadi Muslims who stayed in integrated Andhra Pradesh were faced with new language issues, and a wave of immigration of more Telugu people from the coastal areas as well as other Indian states, especially after 1956.
After the Indian reorganization of 1956, with states being divided on linguistic lines, Hyderabadi Muslims, in Telangana, Marathwada, and Kalyana-Karnataka were faced with the emerging dominance of the indigenous Telugu, Marathi, and Kannada languages respectively. Their native language Dakhini became a home language, while Urdu, once dominant in the politics of these regions became comparatively less widespread.
The relative isolation of Hyderabad until annexation to India, its distinctive dialect of Urdu and the strong web of interconnecting family relationships that still characterizes Hyderabadi Muslims, sometimes leads to charges of parochialism from other Indian Muslim communities, but it also ensures a Hyderabadi Muslim identity endures among the Indian diaspora.
Demographics and distribution
The largest concentration of Hyderabadi Muslims is in the old city of Hyderabad. After the Partition of India and the Incorporation of Hyderabad by India, the Muslims of the state lost their privileged status, so significant numbers chose to migrate to other countries such as Pakistan, the Arab States of the Persian Gulf, the United States, UK, Canada and Australia.Leonard 2007Leonard 2009
A section of Muslims in Hyderabad are of Hadhrami Arab origin, who came to serve in the Nizam's military. They are known as Chaush and mostly reside in the Barkas neighbourhood of Hyderabad. Opposed to the popular belief, they are not considered a part of Hyderabadi Deccani Muslims. There are also some Siddis who are of African descent.Yimene 2004Ali 1996: 193–202
In Pakistan, most of the Hyderabadi migrants are settled in the southern port city of Karachi. According to a 2003 Estimate, the population of the Hyderabadi population in Karachi was stated to be 200,000.Leonard2003: 232 The main neighbourhoods where the Hyderabadi migrants in Karachi initially settled were Hyderabad Colony, Bahadurabad, and Liaquatabad.Ansari 2005: 140 In 2007, a replica of the famous Charminar monument in Hyderabad was built at the main crossing of Bahadurabad. Some notable Pakistani people who migrated from the former Hyderabad State include Abul A'la Maududi, Anwar Maqsood, Asif Iqbal Razvi, Faysal Quraishi, Mohammed Ehteshamuddin, Muhammad Raziuddin Siddiqui, Naseer Turabi, Syed Mohammad Ahsan, and Waheed Yar Khan.
In the United States, Hyderabadi Muslims form a close-knit segment of the South Asian diaspora, with significant populations concentrated in metropolitan areas such as Chicago, Detroit, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, the San Francisco Bay Area, and New York City. Among these, Chicago and Dallas are known to have some of the largest and most active Hyderabadi Muslim communities. These communities have established mosques, cultural centers, and organizations that reflect their unique Deccani heritage. For instance, the Masjid-e-Alam in Chicago, the Dallas Islamic Center, and Masjid-e-Khadeejah in Garland, Texas, are closely associated with Hyderabadi Muslim founders and patrons. Other mosques like the Al-Noor Society in Chicago and several community mosques in Detroit’s suburbs such as Islamic Association of Greater Detroit (IAGD) in Rochester Hills and others in Canton, as well as Houston’s Hillcroft district, also see significant involvement from Hyderabadi Muslims. Organizations such as the Hyderabadi American Society and informal networks across states actively host events that blend faith, food, and identity.
In recent years, many younger-generation Hyderabadi Muslims in the diaspora have increasingly intermarried with other South Asian diaspora communities — including Pakistanis, North Indian Muslims, and Bangladeshis — leading to more culturally blended households.
Classification
Hyderabadi Muslims today, refer to the Urdu speaking Muslim community, from the 1801 landlocked princely state of Hyderabad, who developed a distinct cultural identity from other Dakhini Muslims. Even though the princely state of Hyderabad had once reached the southernmost points of India, it's the culture from the known landlocked territories of the Nizam, that constitutes Hyderabadi Muslim culture, while the Dakhini Muslims of the Carnatic, and the Circars, developed their own distinct culture, and culinary tradition. The Chaush community, even though they speak Urdu, and live in the erstwhile Hyderabad State, are usually not considered Hyderabadi Muslims, since they came recently to the region. Even though they absorbed many Hyderabadi Muslim cultural features, namely language and cuisine (Chaush cuisine has more Arab influences), they're a more homogeneous group, of Hadhrami Arab ancestry, and reside in close knit Chaush communities such as the Barkas neighborhood of Hyderabad. This is compared to most Hyderabadi Muslims, who have ancestries from various ethnic origins, most notably from Northern India, are less a homogeneous group.
Culture
Hyderabadi Muslims, are noted for their hospitable nature also known as Deccani Tehzeeb. While Hyderabadi Muslims take pride in their "Nawabi" language, literature, poetry, architecture, and cuisine, the performing arts are often overlooked, especially regarding Hyderabadi culture. In fact, the culture of the Hyderabadi Muslims is being lost. The founding of the city of Hyderabad can be attributed to Ali who is popularly known as Hyder meaning The Lion and four minarets of Charminar represents four caliphs. Tales of the legendary dancers Taramati, and Premamati, are also an insight into the rich culture under the Qutb Shahi era. Mah Laqa Bhai, a prominent Hyderabadi Muslim poet of the 18th century, patronized the Kathak dance form in the courts of the Nizam, which is now being lost amongst Hyderabadi Muslims.
Apart from these, a traditional Hyderabadi Muslim wedding is identified by various local traditional elements, such as the traditional garb, Sherwani for the groom and Khada Dupatta along with jewelry for the bride, as well as Hyderabadi cuisine served at the ceremony.
Another cultural practice unique to the region is Tasmia Qwani also known as Bismillah Ceremony, family ceremony in which a Muslim child is initiated to read the Quran. It is also characterized by local elements.
Communal Harmony, known as Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb, is integral to the Culture of Hyderabad.
Other than musical forms of art, Hyderabadi Muslims have taken great honour in the writing, and reading of poetry, and annual Mushairas and Mehfils take place around the world, which has become a symbol of unity for Hyderabadi Muslims, and Urdu poets alike, continuing an ancient tradition.
Language and literature
One of the most identifiable markers of Hyderabadi Muslim culture is the local dialect of Urdu, called Hyderabadi Urdu which in itself is a form of Dakhini. It is distinct by its mixture of vocabulary from Turkish, Persian and Arabic, as well in some vocabulary from Telugu and Marathi that are not found in the standard dialect of Urdu. In terms of pronunciation, the easiest way to recognize a Hyderabadi Urdu is use of "nakko" (no) and "hau" (yes); whereas in standard Urdu it's "nahi" for no and "haa" for yes.