Shaikh of Uttar Pradesh
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
•  India •  Pakistan
|
|
| Languages | |
| • Urdu • Hindi • Khari Boli • Awadhi • Punjabi | |
| Religion | |
•  Islam 100% • |
|
| Related ethnic groups | |
| • Shaikh Siddiqui • Shaikhzada • Qidwai • Zamindara • Shaikh of Bihar • Shaikh of Rajasthan • Shaikh |
The Shaikh are a Muslim community found in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. They are part of the larger Shaikh community of South Asia. Quite a few Shaikh have immigrated to Pakistan, where they form an important element in the Urdu speaking community while some of them moved to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar from the states of Punjab and Haryana either during or before the independence of India and Pakistan. They are also known as Punjabi Shaikh. Common surnames used by the community include: Sayyid, Quraishi, Osmani, Siddiqui, Ansari and Shaikh.
Shaikh is a word or honorific term in the Arabic language that literally means "elder." It is commonly used to designate an elder of a tribe, a revered wise man, or an Islamic scholar. In the context of Uttar Pradesh, the title Shaikh signifies actual or claimed Arab descent and connotes a status group. The Shaikh do not constitute a single homegenous community, but represent instead a congeries of a large number of separate sub-groups. For example, the Shaikhs are divided into a number of sub-groups, referred to as biradaris, based on descent and source of origin and their members not only identify themselves as members of separate groups, but are strictly endogamous. Examples of important Shaikh biradaris are the Qidwai((Siddiqui)), found in Barabanki,Farrukhabad,Kannauj, District, Grand Shaikhs belonging to Allahabad and Behlim found mainly in Bulandshahr District. The most members of Kayastha community converted to Islam and adopted the Shaikh title. The Muslim Kayasths use Siddiqui, Maniharzada as their surnames, and consider themselves belonging to the Shaikh community.
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