Shaikh or Sheikh (Sindhi: شيخ), is a Sindhi tribe or caste. The “Shaikh” word is an Arabic term meaning elder of a tribe, lord, revered old man, or Islamic scholar. The Shaikhs of Sindh are one of the major tribe of the Sindhi Muslims ethnic group; they are converted from Sindhi Hindu Lohana/Brahmin tribes.[1][2] They speak the various dialects of Sindhi, depending on their place of residence. The Shaikh are largely an urban community, residing in the towns and cities of Sindh. Shaikhs have different communities within them, namely Baghdadi, Sanjogi, Nangani, Deewan, and Chatani.[3][page needed]
Origin
In Sindh, it is used as an ethnic title generally attributed to converted Hindu trading families that became Muslims.[1][2]
Notable people
- Khan Bahadur Shaikh Sir Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah KCSI, Pakistani politician from Sindh, first Chief Minister of Sindh (1937–1938), fifth Chief Minister of Sindh (1942–1947), first muslim Governor of Sindh (1947–1948)
- Shaikh Ayaz (1923–1997), Sindhi poet of Pakistan
- Marium Mukhtiar (1992–2015), first lady pilot of Pakistan, died while on duty
- Najmuddin Shaikh (born 1939), former Foreign Secretary, Pakistan
- Imtiaz Ahmed Shaikh, MPA Shikarpur Pakistan people’s party PS 11
- Noshad A. Shaikh, Medical practitioner and academic person
- Shaikh Abdul Majeed Sindhi, Writer, politician and journalist
- Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Pakistani economist and politician
- Abdul Kadir Shaikh, Pakistani politician (1926–2008)
- Nauman Islam Shaikh, Pakistani politician
- Muhammad Ali Shaikh, Academic person
- Haleem Adil Sheikh, Pakistani politician
References
- ^ a b Qasmi, Ali Usman; Robb, Megan Eaton (15 September 2017). Muslims against the Muslim League. Cambridge University Press. p. 285. ISBN 978-1-107-16663-9.
As the use of this title ‘Shaikh’ in Sindh indicates, Shaikh Abdul Majid Sindhi was a Hindu convert from Thatta, who edited key Sindhi Muslim newspapers such as Al-Haq, Al-Amin and later Al-Wahid, and played a prominent role in Muslim League politics in the province
- ^ a b Malkani, K. R. (1984). The Sindh Story. Allied.
Bawa Harnamdas of Sadhbela, Sukkur, described the Situation aptly to Mr. Jinnah when the latter called on him at that island temple in 1930 and made an offering of Rs. 100. Mr. Jinnah asked him why there was communal tension in Sindh. And the Bawa said in Sindhi: “Shaikh putt shaitan jo; na Hindu, na Musalman” (the new convert Sheikh is the son of satan; he is neither Hindu nor Muslim).
- ^ Gazetteer of West Pakistan, the Former Province of Sind Including Khairpur State. Gazetteer Cell, Board of Revenue, Lahore 1968 by H. T Sorely