Konkani Muslims

What is the history behind Konkani Muslims of India?

Konkani Muslims have a history going back thousand years. Konkani speaking Muslims of India can be divided into four groups: Nawayathis, Siddis, Goan Konkani Muslim and Daldi.

Nawayathis:

The Konkan region’s first interaction with Islam was with the Arabian and Persian traders who used to visit the west coast of India for spice trade. The port towns of Bhatkala and Kadewad (Karwar) was regularly visited by them. The Arabians called Kadewad as Bait-e-kol (Baithkol), meaning “Bay of safety”. It was used to take refuge from rough winds.

Around thousand years ago some Persians and Arabians settled in Konkan. They were called “Nawayath”, meaning “new comer”. They propagated Islam and intermarried with the native Jain and Hindu Konkanis. They were the first Konkani Muslims.

The number of Konkani Muslims increased during the Bahamani and Bijapur Sultanate rule of Goa in late 15th century. Islam received state patronage during this period and many Konkanis embraced it.

The political influence of Konkani Muslims ended in 1510, when Adil Shahis were defeated and old Goa (Velha Goa) was conquered by the Portuguese. Starting from 1550s, the Portuguese started religious persecution of non Christians in Goa. To keep their faith alive, Hindus and Muslims migrated to Coastal Karnataka and Maharashtra. The  town in Karnataka is the most prominent Nawayathi settlement.

The Nawayath community speak a unique dialect of Konkani called ‘Nawayathi', which is different from Konkani spoken by Hindus and Christians. Nawayathi has Konkani as base with influence of Persian, Arabic and Urdu.

Siddis:

Siddis are Indians of African ancestry. They are descended from the East and Southeast Africans brought as slaves to India. There are many Siddi communities in India like Gujarati, Hyderabadi and Konkani Siddis.

Konkani Siddis of North Canara:

[]

The majority of Konkani Siddis are Muslims and a small number of them are Hindus and Christians. Siddis learned Konkani after arriving to Konkan. They still follow some of their African customs like worshiping ancestors.

The Konkani Siddis were brought to India as slaves between 16th and 18th century by the Portuguese colonizers. They are mainly descended from the Bantu people of Southeast Africa.

We should keep in mind that not all Siddis are Konkanis and not all Siddis were brought as slaves by the Portuguese. Siddis predate the Portuguese arrival in India. The earliest Siddis were brought to India by Arabs. The ones brought by Portuguese to Goa learnt Konkani and only they can be called Konkani Siddis.

Some Siddis were kept as slaves and indentured servants by the Portuguese themselves, while others were sold to the Adil Shahis of Bijapur. Some skilled Siddis were given high ranking military and administrative roles in the Bijapur Sultanate.

Many Siddis escaped Slavery in Goa and settled in Karnataka. Following the end of Slavery by Portuguese in 1761, most Siddis of Goa migrated to Karnataka.

Konkani Siddis are present mainly in North Canara (Uttara Kannada) district of Karnataka. A small number are also present in Belgaum, Dharwad districts and Goa. There is also a small Konkani Siddi community in Karachi, Pakistan. They had migrated there following the Partition of India.

Goan Konkani Muslim:

They are the Konkani Muslims who live in Goa. One should keep in mind that not all Muslims of Goa are Konkani Muslims, it is only those that have Konkani as mother tongue that can be called Konkani Muslim. There are many Urdu / Dakhni Urdu speaking Muslims in Goa.

The Goan Muslim community dates to the times of Deccan Sultanate rule of Goa. During this time Goa became the main port from which Muslims of South and Central India embarked on Hajj Pilgrimage. It saw a lot of interaction with Muslims. The Deccan Sultanates used Turkish and Arabic mercenaries, many of whom intermarried with locals. There were also economic incentives for Muslims and some positions in bureaucracy were given only to Muslims.

Much before the start of religious persecution, the Goan Muslim community was hit hard by the Portuguese. Following their initial conquest in 1510, many Muslims were killed in the defense of Goa. Some Muslims civilians of the city of Ribandar, who had not fled from Portuguese were killed under the order of the Governor and their bodies were thrown into the Mandovi river.

Like Hindus, Goan Muslims were also religiously persecuted. Many migrated South to Canara and eventually assimilated into the Nawayath community. Some migrated North into Sindhudurg and Ratnagiri. The present day Goan Konkani Muslims are mainly those who are descended from the Muslims who have fled to the Nova Conquista areas, that were not initially ruled by the Portuguese, and those who returned to Goa after religious persecution ended.

Daldi:

They are the Muslims who live in North Konkan. i.e Coastal Maharashtra. They are found mainly in the Ratnagiri and Raigad districts. They speak a dialect of Konkani called Daldi.

Like Goan Konkani Muslims, they were mainly descended from those to converted during the rule of Deccan Sultanate. Many of Daldis were of Goan descent.

Other than this, there are some Muslims who have descended from Mangalorean Christians who converted to Islam during Tippu Sultan’s rule. Canara Christians were persecuted and imprisoned in Srirangapatna by Tippu Sultan. Many Christians converted to Islam during this period.

They live mainly in the larger South Canara (Dakshina Kannada) and Mysuru district. They do not form any distinct community among Konkani Muslims. They have merged into the Nawayath, Urdu speaking Dakhni Muslim or possibly Beary Muslim community. I don’t think those who assimilated into Dakhni or Beary community can be called Konkanis.

Most Konkani Muslims are Sunnis and follow the Shafi‘i system of law, unlikely most other Indian Muslims who follow the Hanafi system.

Muslims Konkanis usually write Konkani in Perso-Arabic script instead of Devanagari or Kannada. A sad thing is many of present day Konkani Muslims have stopped speaking Konkani in favor of Urdu. Urdu has been making steady inroads into the Konkani Muslim community and this is a worrying factor.