Deccanis

The Deccanis or Deccani people are an Indo-Aryan ethno-religious community of Deccani-speaking Muslims who inhabit or are from the Deccan region of South India.^[2] The community traces its origins to the shifting of the Delhi Sultanate's capital from Delhi to Daulatabad in 1327 during the reign of Muhammad bin Tughluq.^[3] Further ancestry can also be traced from immigrant Muslims referred to as Afaqis,^[4] also known as Pardesis who came from Central Asia, Iraq and Iran and had settled in the Deccan region during the Bahmani Sultanate (1347). The migration of Muslim Hindavi-speaking people to the Deccan and intermarriage with the local Hindus who converted to Islam,^[5] led to the creation of a new community of Hindustani-speaking Muslims, known as the Deccani, who would come to play an important role in the politics of the Deccan.^[6] Their language, Deccani, emerged as a language of linguistic prestige and culture during the Bahmani Sultanate, further evolving in the Deccan Sultanates.^[7]

Deccani

Total population
11,747,400 (2011)[1]
Regions with significant populations
India • Saudi Arabia • Pakistan • United Arab Emirates • United States of America • United Kingdom • Canada • Turkey
Languages
Deccani Urdu
Religion
Islam Majority Sunni Islam Minority Shia (incl. Isma'ilism and Twelver Shi'ism)
Related ethnic groups
Tamil Muslims • Andhra Muslims • Marathi Muslims • Hyderabadi Muslims • Muhajir people • Other Indian Muslim communities

Following the demise of the Bahmanis, the Deccan Sultanate period marked a golden age for Deccani culture, notably in the arts, language, and architecture.^[8] The Deccani people form significant minorities in the Deccan, including the Maharashtran regions of Marathwada and Vidarbha, and the states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka (except Tulu Nadu) and northern Tamil Nadu. They form a majority in the old cities of Hyderabad and Aurangabad.^[9][10] After the Partition of India and the annexation of Hyderabad, large diaspora communities formed outside the Deccan, especially in Pakistan, where they make up a significant portion of the Urdu speaking minority, the Muhajirs.^[11]

The Deccani people are further divided into various groups that can broadly be lumped into three: the Hyderabadis (from Hyderabad State); Mysoris (from Mysore state, including Bangalore), and Madrasis (from Madras state, including Kurnool, Nellore, Guntur and Chennai). Deccani is the mother tongue of most Muslims in the states of Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and it is spoken by a section of Muslims in Maharashtra, Goa, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

History

The word Deccani (Persian: دکنی from Prakrit dakkhin "south") was derived in the court of Bahmani rulers in 1487 AD during Sultan Mahmood Shah Bahmani II.^[12]

• 
  A medieval Deccani Muslim horseman
• 
  Map of the Bahmanid empire

The Bahmanid empire was founded by Hasan Gangu, or also known as Zafar Khan, a ruler of Afghan or Turk origin. following the Rebellion of Ismail Mukh.^{[13][14][15][16][17][18]} Hasan Gangu revolted against the Tughlaq dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, with the revolt being led by another Afghan, named Ismail Mukh.^[19] Ismail Mukh succeeded and then abdicated in favor of Zafar Khan, who founded the Bahmani Sultanate.^[19][20] Hasan Gangu was one of the inhabitants of Delhi who were forced to immigrate to Daulatabad in the during the Delhi Sultanate, with the purpose of building a large Muslim urban centre in the Deccan.^[21]

Vijayanagara Wars

All Steel Deccani Sword, the Tulwar

The Bahmanids' aggressive confrontation with the two main Hindu kingdoms of the southern Deccan, Warangal and Vijayanagar, made them renowned among Muslims as warriors of the faith.^[22] Ahmad Shah Bahmani I conquered Warangal kingdom in 1425, annexing it to the empire. The Vijayanagar empire, which had subdued the Madurai Sultanate after a conflict lasting four decades, found a natural enemy in the Bahmanids of the northern Deccan, over the control of the Godavari-basin, Tungabadhra Doab, and the Marathwada country, although they seldom required a pretext for declaring war.^[23] Military conflicts between the Bahmanids and Vijayanagara were almost a regular feature and lasted as long as these kingdoms continued. These military conflicts resulted in widespread devastation of the contested areas by both sides, resulting in considerable loss of life and property.^[24] Military slavery involved captured slaves from Vijayanagar and having them embrace a Deccani identity by converting them to Islam and integrating into the host society, so they could begin military careers within the Bahmanid empire. This was the origin of powerful political leaders such as Nizam-ul-Mulk Bahri.^[25][26]

Deccan Sultanates

The five Deccan Sultanates of diverse origins continued to identify as successor states of the Bahmanid dynasty as the basis of legitimacy, and minted Bahmanid coins rather than issue their own coins.^[27] The Nizam Shahs and Berar Shahs were founded by the heads of the Deccani Muslim party.^[28][29] The Adil Shahi Sultanate, which was founded by a Shia Georgian slave, also switched to a Deccani ethnic and political identity under Ibrahim Adil Shah I, who established Sunnism (the religion of the Deccani Muslims).^[30][31] He degraded the Afaqis (Persians) and dismissed them from their posts with a few exceptions, replacing them with nobles of the Deccani party.^{[32][33][34][35]} Uniting in a coalition under the leadership of Hussain Nizam Shah, the Nizam Shahi Sultan, the five Deccan Sultanates defeated the Hindu Vijayanagar empire in the Battle of Talikota, resulting in the Sack of Vijayanagara. Hussain Nizam Shah personally beheaded the Vijayanagar Emperor, Rama Raya.^[36]

• 
  The Malik-i Maidan cannon
• 
  Sultan Hussain Nizam Shah I beheads Rama Raya
• 
  Ruins of Vijayanagar

Pindaris

The first mention of the Pindaris referred to Muslim mercenaries generally settled in the districts of Bijapur, who had served as mercenaries for the armies of most of the Muslim Deccani kingdoms. They took part in the numerous wars against the Mughals of Delhi. The disintegration of the Muslim kingdoms of the Deccan led to the gradual disbandment of the Pindaris. These were at that stage taken in the service of the Marathas. The inclusion of the Pindaris eventually became an indispensable part and parcel of the Maratha army. As a class of freebooters in Maratha armies they acted as a "sort of roving cavalry...rendering them much the same service as the Cossacks for the armies of Russia." The Pindaris would also later be used by kings such as Tipu Sultan.^[37]

18th century

Muslim military men with Deccani background were much sought after by the Marava and Kallar warrior chiefs of the south Indian hinterland. Their fortress towns soon acquired concentrations of migrant Deccanis and Urdu-speaking service people, mostly Sunnis. These incomers included seasoned fighters who had seen service with the Mughals and the Muslim states in northern India.^[38] This was the source of the phenomenal rise of rulers such as Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan.

Sultanat-i-Khudadad of Mysore

Hyder Ali had initially served as an ordinary soldier for the Hindu Wadiyar Kingdom of Mysore and became a cavalry officer in 1749. Once he took control of the army, he took advantage of court politics, stormed into Srirangapatna, and proclaimed himself ruler. Having styled himself as sultan in 1761, Hyder Ali launched a preemptive war against the Marathas, westernizing the army of Mysore in the process and developing the first successful iron-cased rockets as an artillery weapon. With the withdrawal of Madhav Rao, he overran the borderlands between the kingdoms and seized land and immense booty, increasing his power.^[39] Ultimately, this brought him into conflict with the British Empire, between whom a series of wars would begin. His son and successor Tipu Sultan would inherit both conflicts. He saw victory against the Marathas and allied with the French in order to fight the British and their allies. Eventually, after existing for 38 years, the Deccani Muslim Sultanat-e-Khudadad (transl. God-gifted kingdom) would be defeated by an alliance of the British, Hyderabad and the Marathas, and the Wadiyars were reinstated on the Mysori throne.

• 
  Territories of the original Wadeyar kingdom
• 
  Hyder's Dominions in 1780
• 
  Hyder Ali as 'The Pretended Fakir'
• 
  Sir David Baird Discovering Body of Tipu Sultan

Culture

Painting

Hunting party, Deccan, 1st half of 17th century

Deccani style painting originated in the 16th century in the Deccan region, containing an insightful native style with the blend of Persianate techniques and is similar to neighbouring Vijayanagara paintings. Due to Islamic influence, Deccani paintings are mostly of nature and inspired by local floral and fauna. Some Deccani paintings present the historical events of the region.^[40][41]

Handicraft

Bidriware Hookah

The craftspersons of Bidar were so famed for their inlay work on copper and silver that it came to be known as Bidri.^[42] It was developed in the 14th century C.E. during the rule of the Bahmani Sultans.^[42] The term "bidriware" originates from the township of Bidar, which is still the chief center of production.^[43] Bidriware is a Geographical Indication (GI) awarded craft of India.^[42]

See also

• South Asian ethnic groups
• Dakhini
• Hyderabadi Muslims
• Andhra Muslims

Further reading

• Urban Culture of Medieval Deccan (1300 A.D. TO 1650 A.D.)
• Bulletin of the Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Volume 22 (1963)

References

1. "Deccani population statistics, 2011".
2. "Kya ba so ba – Learning to speak south-indian urdu". www.zanyoutbursts.com. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
3. Aggarwal, Dr Malti Malik and Mala. Social Science. New Saraswati House India Pvt Ltd. ISBN 978-93-5199-083-3.
4. "Āfāqī | people | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
5. Eaton, Richard Maxwell (8 March 2015). The Sufis of Bijapur, 1300-1700: Social Roles of Sufis in Medieval India. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1-4008-6815-5.
6. Burton, J. (February 1968). "V. N. Misra and M. S. Mate Indian prehistory: 1964. (Deccan College Building Centenary and Silver Jubilee Series, No.32.) xxiii, 264 pp. Poona: Deccan college postgraduate and Research Institute, 1965. Rs.15". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. 31 (1): 162–164. doi:10.1017/s0041977x00113035. ISSN 0041-977X. S2CID 161064253.
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8. "Sultans of Deccan India, 1500-1700 Opulence and Fantasy | The Metropolitan Museum of Art". metmuseum.org. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
9. "Urdu is the 2nd most spoken language in 5 states". The Siasat Daily. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
10. Eaton, Richard Maxwell (1996). Sufis of Bijapur, 1300 - 1700 : social roles of Sufis in medieval India (2nd ed.). New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publ. p. 41. ISBN 978-8121507400. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
11. Leonard, Karen Isaksen (1 January 2007). Locating Home: India's Hyderabadis Abroad. Stanford University Press. ISBN 9780804754422.
12. Narendra Luther (1991). Prince;Poet;Lover;Builder: Mohd. Quli Qutb Shah - The founder of Hyderabad. Publications Division Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. ISBN 9788123023151. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
13. Jenkins, Everett (2015). The Muslim Diaspora (Volume 1, 570-1500): A Comprehensive Chronology of the Spread of Islam in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas, Volume 1. McFarland. p. 257. ISBN 9781476608884. Zafar Khan alias Alauddin Hasan Gangu ('Ala al-Din Hasan Bahman Shah), an Afghan or a Turk soldier, revolted against Delhi and established the Muslim Kingdom of Bahmani on August 3 in the South (Madura) and ruled as Sultan Alauddin Bahman Shah.
14. Kulke, Hermann; Rothermund, Dietmar (2004). A History of India. Psychology Press. p. 181. ISBN 9780415329200. The Bahmani sultanate of the Deccan Soon after Muhammad Tughluq left Daulatabad, the city was conquered by Zafar Khan, a Turkish or Afghan officer of unknown descent, had earlier participated in a mutiny of troops in Gujarat.
15. Wink, André (2020). The Making of the Indo-Islamic World C.700-1800 CE. Cambridge University Press. p. 87. ISBN 9781108417747.
16. Kerr, Gordon (2017). A Short History of India: From the Earliest Civilisations to Today's Economic Powerhouse. Oldcastle Books Ltd. p. 160. ISBN 9781843449232. In the early fourteenth century, the Muslim Bahmani kingdom of the Deccan emerged following Alauddin's conquest of the south. Zafar Khan, an Afghan general and governor appointed by Sultan Muhammad bin Tughluq, was victorious against the troops of the Delhi Sultanate, establishing the Bahmani kingdom with its capital at Ahsanabad (modern-day Gulbarga).
17. Scott, Jonathan (2016). Ferishta's History of Dekkan from the first Mahummedan conquests: with a continuation from other native writers, of the events in that part of India, to the reduction of its last monarchs by the emperor Aulumgeer Aurungzebe: also, the reigns of his successors in the empire of Hindoostan to the present day: and the history of Bengal, from the accession of Aliverdee Khan to the year 1780. hansebooks. p. 15. ISBN 9783743414709. Some Authors write that he was descended from Bahman, one of the ancient kings of Persia. And I have seen a pedigree of him, fo derived (?), in the royal library of Ahmednagar: but am inclined to believe, such lineage was only framed upon his accession to royalty, by flatterers and poets, and that his origin is too obscure to be authentically traced. The apellation of Bahmani, he certainly took in compliment to Kango Brahmin, which is often pronounced Bhamen, and by tribe he was an Afghan.
18. Wink, Andre (1991). Indo-Islamic society: 14th - 15th centuries. BRILL. p. 144. ISBN 9781843449232.
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21. A. Rā Kulakarṇī; M. A. Nayeem; Teotonio R. De Souza (1996). Mediaeval Deccan History: Commemoration Volume in Honour of Purshottam Mahadeo Joshi. Popular Prakashan. p. 34. ISBN 9788171545797.
22. Sheila Blair, Sheila S. Blair, Jonathan M. Bloom (25 September 1996). The Art and Architecture of Islam 1250-1800. Yale University Press. p. 159. ISBN 0300064659.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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24. Medieval India UPSC Preparation Books History Series. Mocktime Publication. 2011.
25. Richard M. Eaton (17 November 2005). A Social History of the Deccan, 1300-1761: Eight Indian Lives, Part 1, Volume 8. Cambridge University Press. p. 126. ISBN 9780521254847.
26. Roy S. Fischel (2020). Local States in an Imperial World. p. 72. ISBN 9781474436090.
27. Pushkar Sohoni (2018). The Architecture of a Deccan Sultanate. Bloomsbury. p. 59. ISBN 9781838609283.
28. Sakkottai Krishnaswami Aiyangar (1951). Ancient India and South Indian History & Culture. Oriental Book Agency. p. 81.
29. Thomas Wolseley Haig · (101). Historic Landmarks of the Deccan. Pioneer Press. p. 6.
30. Navina Najat Haidar; Marika Sardar (13 April 2015). Sultans of Deccan India, 1500–1700: Opulence and Fantasy (illustrated ed.). Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 6. ISBN 9780300211108.
31. Shanti Sadiq Ali (1 January 1996). The African Dispersal in the Deccan: From Medieval to Modern Times. Orient Blackswan. p. 112. ISBN 9788125004851.
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33. Richard M. Eaton (17 November 2005). A Social History of the Deccan, 1300-1761: Eight Indian Lives, Volume 1 (illustrated ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 145. ISBN 9780521254847.
34. Radhey Shyam Chaurasia (1 January 2002). History of Medieval India: From 1000 A.D. to 1707 A.D. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. p. 101. ISBN 9788126901234.
35. Shihan de S. Jayasuriya; Richard Pankhurst (2003). The African Diaspora in the Indian Ocean (illustrated ed.). Africa World Press. pp. 196–7. ISBN 9780865439801.
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41. Mark Zebrowski (1983). Deccani Painting. University of California Press. pp. 40–285. ISBN 0-85667-153-3.
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