Qassab

Qassab

Qassab, the caste of butcher - Tashrih al-aqvam (1825)
Total population
(963,000)
Regions with significant populations
India,  Pakistan
Languages
Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi
Religion
Islam 100%
Related ethnic groups
Qureshi

The Qassab (Urdu: قصاب‎; plural of قصائی Qasai, meaning butcher) are members of the Muslim community or biradari involved in the meat business. Many members of the Qassab community are butchers and work in abattoirs and meat shops where they process and sell the meat of poultry, seafood, cattle, goats, and sheep.

The most common surname of Qassab community is Quraishi. But not all Quraishis are Qassabs. The Quraishi Qassab' are found in North India and Pakistan. They are also known as Chikwa, Bare Qasab, and Bakar Qasab and muslim khatheek'.

The community are the traditional butchers of North India and Pakistan, and get their name from the Arabic word gassab, which means to cut or slit. In Rajasthan, Qassab convert from Hindu khatheek caste in mugal period . .

They have three sub-divisions, the Chikwa who are found in the Rohilkhand and Awadh regions of Uttar Pradesh, and are connected with the slaughtering animals such as sheep and goats, and the Qureshi Qassab, who slaughter cows and buffaloes. A third sub-group are the Bawarchi, a community found mainly in the city of Lucknow and in Gujarat, who are professional cooks. Each Qassab group has a different story as to their origin and migration. For example, most Qassab in the Deccan region claim to have arrived with the armies of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb's invading armies.