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Molesalam

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Molesalam Rajput
Total population
108,000[1]
Regions with significant populations
India
Languages
Gujarati[1]
Religion
Sunni Islam[1]
Related ethnic groups

The Molesalam are a Muslim Rajput (Muslim Indo-Aryan)[2] community found in the state of Gujarat in India.[1] They also refer to themselves as Molesalam Thakur and sometimes Molesalam Girasia or मॉलेसलाम[1] (Grasiya). There is some documentation of "nomadic Molesalam", but it is unclear from the single source of the relationship with the "origin community".[3]

The Molesalam were targeted in an oppressive shuddhi ‘purification’ campaign launched by the Arya Samaj Hindu organization in 1908. In March of 1926, the Molesalam held an anti-shuddhi conference in Charotar, led by a prominent leader of their community and member of the Bombay Legislative Assembly, Sardar Naharsinhji Ishvarsinhji.[4]: 114 

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Molesalam in India people group profile". Joshua Project. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  2. ^ Berger, Peter; Heidemann, Frank (3 June 2013). The Modern Anthropology of India: Ethnography, Themes and Theory. Routledge. p. 1961. ISBN 978-1-134-06118-1. The dominant Rajput landowners ....which encompassed branches of both Hindu and Molesalam (Muslim) Rajputs.
  3. ^ Bhakare, Shilpa (27 July 2020). "Nomadic Molesalams peddle traditional medicine despite challenges". Village Square. New Delhi, India. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  4. ^ Virani, Shafique N. (2011). "Taqiyya and Identity in a South Asian Community" (PDF). The Journal of Asian Studies. 70 (1): 99–139. doi:10.1017/S0021911810002974. S2CID 143431047.