Malkana

The Malkana are a Muslim Rajput community found in Pakistan and North India.

According to the traditions of the Farukhabad District Malkanas, they were originally members of the Hindu Rajput caste. They were converted during the reign of the Mohammed Shah Bangash, the Pathan ruler of Farrukhabad. They relate their story of their conversion to Islam to an incident. Once, Qassim Ali, the son of a local Muslim ruler visited Farrukhabad, and hunted peacock in the forest. A Hindu Rajput of the area, named Fateh Singh, murdered Qasim Ali, after being told the Qassim Ali had killed the peacock. The king, on hearing the death of his son, came to the locality, and challenged the Rajputs to battle. During the course of the battle, one of the Rajputs, Umroa Singh came in the custody of the Muslims. Once released, other members of the Rajput community considered him impure, and as result of this social ostracism, converted to Islam. He took the name the Amir Khan.

In Agra District, the Malkana claimed descent from a number of Hindu castes. Those of Kiraoli, where they occupy five villages, claim descent from a Jat. Other Malkana families in the district claim descent from Panwar, Chauhan, Parihar and Sikarwar Rajputs. In Hathras District, they were found mainly near the town of Sadabad. They belonged to Jat and Gaurwa communities that had converted to Islam. At the turn of the 20th century, the Malkana were a community that was on the religious faultline, as there customs were a mixture of Hindu and Muslim traditions. They kept Hindu names, used the salutation Ram Ram, and were endogamous. But the community buried their dead, practised circumcision, and visited mosques on special occasions. This eclectic nature of the community led to attempts by both Hindu and Muslim revivalist to target them.

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