The Nekari also known as Nekri are a Muslim community found in north east India. [1] In Bengal Nekari are part of Fishing community. [2]
The community is traditionally associated with selling fish. According to their traditions, the community gets its name from the word Urdu work nek, which means honest, and kar meaning living, so the Nekari literally means those who make an honest living, There is some evidence to suggest that the community are converts from the Hindu Jele caste. The Nekari are found mainly in the district of 24 Parganas, in particular along the banks of the rivers Ischamati and Raimangal. They speak Bengali and belong to the Sunni sect of Islam. [3]
The Nekari were the traditional fish mongers of Bengal, and the community remains associated with this occupation. A majority however are now daily wage labourers. They are strictly endogamous, and marry close kin. There customs are similar to other Bengali Muslim communities. [4]
The Patua are an artisan community found in the state of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha in India and parts of Bangladesh. Some Patuas are Hindus, while others are Muslims. Hindu Patuas are active in the Kalighat and Kumartuli regions of Calcutta, along with some other parts of West Bengal, where they are reduced in number. It is believed that most Patuas are actually converts from Hinduism to Islam. Today, they practice customs that are both Hindu and Islamic in nature. They may have also been Buddhist at various points in time. Today, however, the majority of them are impoverished Muslims who rely on patronage from mainly Hindus, but also increasingly from tourists who buy their painted scrolls, as Frank J. Korom has described and analysed in his book Village of Painters: Narrative Scrolls from West Bengal.
Nomads are known as a group of communities who travel from place to place for their livelihood. Some are salt traders, fortune-tellers, conjurers, ayurvedic healers, jugglers, acrobats, actors, storytellers, snake charmers, animal doctors, tattooists, grindstone makers, or basketmakers. Some anthropologists have identified about 8 nomadic groups in India, numbering perhaps 1 million people—around 1.2 percent of the country's billion-plus population. Aparna Rao and Michael Casimir estimated that nomads make up around 7% of the population of India.
The Ghosi are a Muslim community found mainly in North India.
The Rajgonds are the ruling class of the Gonds. The region of Gondwana consisted of neighbouring kingdoms. To the south was the Kingdom of Chanda and to the north was the powerful Garha-Mandla kingdom. In the 16th century, the Kingdom of Deogarh rose as a powerful state with the Kherla Kingdom in its western past.
The Thakurai are a Muslim Rajput community found in the state of Bihar in India. They are mostly concentrated around East and West Champaran District and the surrounding region. A small number are also found in the Terai region of Nepal.
Shershabadia, is a Bengali Muslim community found in the state of West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand in India. They belong to Shaikh community and also form a significant part of the Shaikhs of West Bengal and Bihar. Common surnames used by the community include Shekh, Sekh, Haque, Islam, Mondal. Most of them are Sunni Muslims who associate with the Ahl-i Hadith movement.
The Abdal are a Muslim community found in North India. They are a sub-group within the Arabic old shekh community.
The Faqir are a Muslim ethnic group in India.
The Shikalgar are a Muslim community found in the state of Maharashtra in India.
The Nashya Shaikh or Nashya Sekh is a Muslim community found in northern parts of the state of West Bengal in India. They are culturally and linguistically similar to both people of northern Bangladesh and Goalpara of Assam. A small number of the community are also found in the neighboring state of Bihar, 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 the Koch people and are bilingual, speaking both Bengali and Surjapuri.
The Lodha Muslim are a tribal or Adivasi community found in the state of West Bengal in India. They are a Muslim tribe.
The Tuntia, or sometimes pronounced Tutia, is a Muslim community found in the state of West Bengal in India. They are also known as Tute and are a community of Bengali-speaking peasant farmers.
The Kahar is community found in north east India and Bangladesh. They are a community of palanquin bearers and agriculturists, from the Hindu Kahar caste. The Kahar are also known as Sardars, especially in Murshidabad District.
The Kan, also known as Khalifa, are a Muslim community native to Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal.
The Mal Muslims are a Muslim community found in north east India and Bangladesh. They are a Muslim converts from the Hindu Mal caste. The community is also known as Besati Mal or Churiwala. Mal Muslim are listed as Other Backward Classes by the Government of India and Government of West Bengal.
The Sapuria are a Muslim community found in the state of West Bengal in India, as well as in Bangladesh. They are also known as Bedia Mal and Sanpui.
The Kela are a Hindu community found in the states of Gujarat and Rajasthan in India. They are also known as Dhat Maheshwari.
The Mahimal, also known as Maimal, are a Bengali Muslim community of inland fishermen predominantly indigenous to the Sylhet Division of Bangladesh and the Barak Valley in Assam, India.
Nirdhi Bhil or sometimes pronounced as Nilde Bhil are a Muslim community found in India.
Majd ad-Dīn al-Madanī, also known as Madan Shāhjahānpūrī, was an 18th-century Indian Muslim theologian. He served as the first principal of the Calcutta Madrasa, the first Alia Madrasa of Bengal.
Nekari or Nekri, a fish-mongering community of Bengal are concentrated in the district of North 24 Parganas in West Bengal mainly along the rivers of Ischamati and Rai.