Andhra and Hyderabadi Muslims(South Dakhni)

Andhra Muslims is a name given to the Muslims hailing from the regions of Coastal Andhra and Rayalseema in Andhra Pradesh, India. They are economically and educationally advanced than most of the Muslims of India as well as the rest of Andhra Pradesh. Andhra Muslims have a different culture and traditions and speak a distinct dialect of Urdu, hereafter hypothetically referred to as South Dakhni for educational purposes only.Urdu is second official language in Kadapa, Kurnool, Anantapur, Chittoor and Guntur districts of Andhra Pradesh, where Andhra Muslims are in significant numbers. Their culture owes a lot to the local Telugu culture and in many forms of secular practice, they hardly differ from their Andhra Non-Muslim compatriots.

While Hyderabad is the capital of the state of Andhra Pradesh, the indigenous Muslim culture of the city is vastly different from the rest of the State. Due to its position as the capital of one of the most important Muslim dynasties in India for four centuries, Hyderabad has been a melting pot of foreign cultures and influences. Consequently, the imprint of Persian and Arab culture is evident on. Hyderabadi M uslims.Their mother tongue is Urdu (also known as Dakhni ) and the old Hyderabadi elite have Persian, Arab and Pathan roots. Apart from Hyderabad, a sprinkling of Hyderabadi Muslims may be found in Karimnagar, Kurnool and Vishakhapatnam   

The Andhra Muslims on the other hand have been little influenced by foreign cultures. Barring a few of the Telungana districts, they almost universally speak a variant of Dakhni i.e. South Dakhni as their mother tongue and can communicate in Telugu quite well. However many can manage a smattering of standard Urdu, largely because of the dominance of Urdu in Islamic publications in India. In their food habits and other secular practices, they are indistinguishable from their Non Muslim neighbours.

Religion

Almost all of the Andhra Muslims are Sunni, and follow the Hanafi school of  Islamic Jurisprudence. Nevertheless, someShia  practices like Rajab (Imam Jafar Sadiq) Ke Kunde / Kheer Pooriyan and fire-walk during Muharram are prevalent among an insignificant few. Machilipatanam also known as Bandar, a town in Krihna District has the second largestShia population in Andhra P radesh after Hyderabad, though.

Language

South Dakhni is the language spoken by Andhra Muslims. The term South Dakhni is not cognizant to Andhra Muslims as they simply refer to it as Urdu, though different from standardUrdu. South Dakhni is closely related to the more widespread and famous Hyderabadi Urdu and are mutually intelligible. South Dakhni has some loan words fromTelugu but its contribution to the later is quite significant. Though they might not be pronounced the same way as in Urdu or South Dakhni that is spoken locally, such words inTelugu were borrowed from  Urdu South Dakhni like Hyderabadi Urdu and other Dakhni dialects is different from traditional Urdu in many ways. The plural of a word is formed by sufixing 'an' to the word, the letter 'n' is silent. Eg. pottian (girls), choran (thieves), machcharan (mosquitoes), naaman (names), kitaban (books) etc. And, the letter "Qaaf" is pronounced as "Khaa"; 'qabar' (grave) is pronounced as 'khabar' (news) and 'qadam' (foot) is pronounced as 'khadam'.

Some Telugu words in South Dakhni...

• Tippalaan meaning Hardhship; originally tippalu
• Chambu meaning mug, also often used to express Exhaustion

Some Urdu words in Telugu...

• Maaji - originally Maazi, meaning former
• Tareekhu - originally Tareekh, meaning date (Arabic origin)
• Moju - originally Mouj, meaning to have fun
• Raaji Naama - originally Raazi Naama, meaning resignation (Persian origin)
• Jamindaar - originally Zamindaar, meaning land lord
• Kalamu - originally Qalam, meaning pen (Arabic)
• Khaidi - originally Qaidi, meanining inmate (Arabic)
• Jawabu - originally Jawab, meaning answer (Arabic)
• Sawalu - originally Sawal, meaning question (Arabic) 
• Tarafu - originally Taraf, meaning direction or on behalf (Arabic)
• Meku - originally Mekh, meaning nail (Persian)
• Kaazhi (Kaali) - originally Khaali, meaning empty (Arabic)
• Munasabu - originally Munsif, meaning judge (Arabic)
• Roju - originally Roz, meaning day (Persian)

Some salient features of South Dakhni...

• Kaiku - why instead of Kyon in traditional Urdu Eg. Kaiku gaya un? (Why did he go? )
• Mujhe - me instead of Mereku in Hyderabadi Urdu Eg. Mujhe malum nai. (I don't know. )
• Tujhe - you instead of Tereku in Hyderabadi Urdu Eg. Tujhe malum kya? (Do you know? )
• Un/In - he/she instead of Woh/Yeh in traditional Urdu Eg. Un kidhar gaya? (Where did he go? )
• Ku - for instead of Ko in traditional Urdu Eg. Iqbal ku khana hona kate. (Iqbal wants food. )
• Ko - Ke in traditional Urdu Eg. Iqbal ku deko aavo. (Iqbal ko deke aavo in traditional Urdu meaning Give it to Iqbal and come back here. )
• Po - on instead of Pe or Per in traditional Urdu Eg. Kitab table po hai. ( The book is on the table. )
• Si - from instead of Se in traditional Urdu Eg. Sab si alag hai un. ( He's different from everyone. )
• Nakko - an alternate (and informal) negative generally indicating "no thanks" or "do not". Can be (and is often) used in place of mat.
• Naheen, naa and mat (from traditional Urdu) are still used where nakko is inappropriate for the context or in polite situations. Eg. Khana nakko mujhe. ( I don't want food. )
• Hau or Ho - for yes, instead of "Haan".
• Potti - (slang; rather offensive) - Girl
• Potta - (slang; rather offensive) - Boy
• Khan - Man Eg. Chalao khan. ( Let's go, man.)
• Halka - Slow Eg. Zara halka chalo bawa. ( Will you walk a bit slow? )
• Kate – it is hard to describe the actual meaning as its used in various sentences under various circumstances. Eg. Kaiku kate? ( Why? ); Iqbal ku khana hona kate. (Iqbal wants food.)

History

The spread of Islam in Andhra Pradesh has been the gradual result of centuries of Muslim rule. Consequently there is no specific time period from which the spread of Islam here may be dated. A useful indicator would be the invasion of Malik Kafur  in 1312. Proselytization was carried out by individual Sufi saints and major shrines may be found in Ksdapa and Penukonda. Major medieval forts like Kondavid Fort, Vinukonda and Gurramkonda  also have a significant resident Muslim population that descends from their garrison. Many of them claim North Indian or even Persian ancestry.

Population

According to the Census of 2001, Andhra Pradesh has a population of approximately 7 million Muslims who form around a little under 9% of the State's population. Out of this around a million and a half live in Hyderabad. Therefore an approximate figure for Andhra Muslims would be somewhere around 6 million. The sex ratio is around 960 females per 1000 males, higher than the national average of 933. The literacy rate stands at 68%, again higher than the

Distribution

Andhra Muslims are found fairly spread over the State. However their greatest concentration is in Kurnool district   where they number around 600,000 and form 17% of the district's population. Important populations are also found in Kadapa, Nizamabad, Guntur and Anantapur.  Like the Muslims of North India, Andhra Muslims are also concentrated in the cities with much smaller rural populations.Nizamabad town is around 36% Muslim while Kadapa and Anantapur follow with around 30% and 25% respectively. North Coastal Andhra has very few Muslims.

Occupational Structure

Most Andhra Muslims like rest of Andhra population are agriculturists. Many Andhra Muslims are also found in various crafts, some passed on for generations. Significant number are involved in small businesses and what is known as "Kutir Parishrama". Due to lack of higher education among Andhra muslims their representation among executive level jobs are limited, however many Andhra Muslims have held distinguished posts with in state and private sector.