Kutchi people

The Kutchi people (Kutchi and Gujarati: કચ્છી (Gujarati script); Sindhi: ڪڇي (Perso-Arabic); कच्छी (Devanagari)) traditionally hail from the Kutch district of the western Indian state of Gujarat and the Sindh region of Pakistan.

History

Some of the Kutchi people of India converted from Hinduism to Islam in the 15th century A.D., largely through the efforts of Saiyid Abdullah. The Kutchi Memons were encouraged to spread throughout India, though many remained in Kutch.

Kutchis, being a part of the Indian diaspora, have maintained their traditions abroad; in 1928, Kutchi Hindus in Nairobi held a Swaminarayan procession in which 1200 people attended.

The Kutchis have been living in southern part Sindh for decades and call themselves Sindhis.

Notable Kutchi people

• Shyamji Krishna Varma, revolutionary, lawyer, and journalist
• Abdullah Hussain Haroon, Former Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations
• Abdul Qadir Patel, Pakistani Politician and Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians Member National Assembly of Pakistan from NA-248 (Karachi West-I).
• Azim Premji, industrialist
• El-Farouk Khaki
• Fahmida Mirza, first female Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan
• Faisal Devji
• Gulgee, Pakistani artist
• Hussain Shah, Pakistani boxer
• Harish Bhimani, Indian voiceover artist
• Ian Iqbal Rashid
• Janvi Chheda, Actress, director, and model
• John Nuraney, Canadian politician
• Anandji Virji Shah, Bollywood music director
• Kalyanji Virji Shah, Bollywood music director
• Laxmichand "Babla" Virji Shah, musician and percussionist
• Naheed Nenshi, 36th mayor of Calgary
• Omar Sachedina, CTV Broadcaster
• Salim Merchant
• Shafique Virani
• Shekhar Ravjiani from the music duo Vishal–Shekhar
• Sulaiman Merchant
• Viju Shah, music director
• Vipul Amrutlal Shah, Bollywood director producer
• Chandra Hirjee, World Amateur Snooker Championship winner 1958, Indian Open Billiards Championship winner 1947, 56 and 58.
• Dhairya Dand Indian American inventor and artist

See also

• Kutch State
• Cutch State
• Cutch Agency

References

External links

• Media related to Kutchi at Wikimedia Commons
• Suvichar Ki Dayri