Naqqal

The Naqqal are a Muslim community found in the state of Uttar Pradesh and Delhi in India. They are also known as the Kashmiri Bhand and recently as Kashmiri Shaikh. The Naqqal are a sub-group within the larger Bhand community.

Origin

The Naqqal literally means mimicry in the Urdu language, and the Naqqal get their name from the fact they were mimics at the court of the Nawabs of Awadh.Their mother tongue is Urdu. According to some traditions, they are a branch of the Mirasi community, while others consider them to be a sub-group of the Bhand community. They were invited by Nawab Nasir-ud-din Haider of Awadh from Kashmir. Most trace their descent from Ali Jan who arrived from Kashmir, and served at the court of Wajid Ali Shah. His descendents kept the tradition of mimicry, entertaining the taluqdars of Awadh.

Present circumstances

The Naqqal are distributed in the old parts of Lucknow city. They now speak Urdu and Awadhi, and dislike the use of the word Naqqal, claiming to be Shaikh. They are strictly endogamous, marrying close kin, and practice both cross cousin and parallel cousin marriages. The community have no system of exogamous clans.