The Ghanchi are a Gujarati Muslim

Gujarati Muslim

The term Gujarati Muslims is usually used to signify an Indian Muslim from the State of Gujarat in west India, who speaks the Gujarati Language as a mother-tongue and follows certain customs different from the rest of Indian Muslims...

 community found in the states of Gujarat and Rajasthan

Rajasthan

Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...

 in India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. A small number of Ghanchi are also found in the city of Karachi

Karachi

Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...

 in Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

.

Origin

The Muslim Ghanchi are traditionally a community associated with the manufacturing of cooking oil, but have no connection with the Muslim Teli

Muslim Teli

The Muslim Teli are an ethnic group found in Pakistan and India. The word Tel means oil and Teli means person dealing with manufacture and sale of cooking oil in Urdu...

 of North India

North India

North India, known natively as Uttar Bhārat or Shumālī Hindustān , is a loosely defined region in the northern part of India. The exact meaning of the term varies by usage...

. Most Ghanchis claim to be of Shaikh

Gujarati Shaikh

The Shaikh are a Muslim community found in the state of Gujarat in India. They are part of the larger Shaikh community of South Asia. Included within the Shaikh community are the Shaikhda of Bharuch district and the Sodagar of Patan.-History and origin:...

 status. They are found mainly in the districts of Panchmahal, Sabarkantha

Sabarkantha district

Sabarkantha is a district in Northeast of Gujarat state of India.-Geography:The administrative headquarters of the district is Himmatnagar, about 80 km from Ahmedabad....

 and Banaskantha

Banaskantha district

Banaskantha is one among the twenty-six districts of the Gujarat state of India. The administrative headquarters of the district is at Palanpur which is also its largest city...

 and North Gujarat

North Gujarat

The North part of Gujarat is called North Gujarat. It includes Gandhinagar, Banaskantha, Sabarkantha, Mehsana and Patan districts.North Gujarat is dominant in the Dairy Industry.Currently the water table is dropping 6 meters every year....

. The towns of Godhra

Godhra

Godhra is a town and originally the name came from "Gou" which means "Cow" and "Dhara" which has two meanings: one in Sanskrit which means "Hold or Land" and the other in Hindi which means Flow. So, identically it means The Land of the Cow, a municipality in Panchmahal district in Indian state of...

, Kalol

Kalol

Kalol is a city and a municipality in Panchmahal district in the Indian state of Gujarat.- Geography :Kalol is located at . It has an average elevation of 100 metres .It is famous for its oil field.- Industry :...

 and Kadi

Kadi

Kadi may refer to:*Kadi, Gujarat, a city and municipality in Mehsana district, Gujarat, India*Kadhi, an Indian dish*Kadı, an official in the Ottoman empire*Qadi or kadi, Islamic judge*Al-Qadi, an Arabic surname*Quadi, an ancient Germanic tribe...

 are centres of the Ghanchi community in Gujarat. They have no connection with the Ghanchi-Pinjara

Ghanchi-Pinjara

The Ghanchi-Pinjara are a Muslim community found in the state of Gujarat in India. A small number of Ghanchi are also found in the city of Karachi in Pakistan. - Origin :...

 community, who were also traditionally associated with the manufacture of oil.

In Rajasthan

Rajasthan

Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...

, the Ghanchi are said to get their name from the ghanch, a traditional oil pressing machine. They are distributed in the districts of Dungarpur

Dungarpur

Dungarpur is a city in the southernmost part of Rajasthan state of India. It is the administrative headquarters of Dungarpur District. The rail line between Udaipur and Himatnagar in Gujarat runs through the town, shortest distance to the National Highway 8 from Dungapur town is...

, Banswara

Banswara

Banswara is a city in Banswara District in south Rajasthan in India. Banswara princely state was founded by Maharawal Jagmal Singh. It is named for the "bans" or bamboo forests in the area. It is also known as 'City of Hundred Islands', due to presence of numerous islands in the Mahi River, which...

, Jodhpur

Jodhpur

Jodhpur , is the second largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is located west from the state capital, Jaipur and from the city of Ajmer. It was formerly the seat of a princely state of the same name, the capital of the kingdom known as Marwar...

 and Udaipur

Udaipur

Udaipur , also known as the City of Lakes, is a city, a Municipal Council and the administrative headquarters of the Udaipur district in the state of Rajasthan in western India. It is located southwest of the state capital, Jaipur, west of Kota, and northeast from Ahmedabad...

. The Ghanchi of Rajasthan

Rajasthan

Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...

 speak Mewari, with many also speaking Urdu

Urdu

Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...

.

In Gujarat

The Ghanchi are traditionally involved in the manufacture of cooking oil. But with the advancement of modern technology, has led to the Ghanchi to take up other occupations. Many of now petty businessmen and many have now become transporters.

The Ghanchi are strictly endogamous. Like other Gujarati Muslims, they follow the principle of jamat bandi, and have their own caste association, the Ghanchi Jamat. The Ghanchi are Sunni Muslim

Muslim

A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

s, and belong to the Deobandi

Deobandi

Deobandi is a movement of Sunni Islam. The movement began at Darul Uloom Deoband in Deoband, India, where its foundation was laid on 30 May 1866.-History:...

 sub-sect.

In Rajasthan

In Rajasthan

Rajasthan

Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...

, the Ghanchi are still involved with oil pressing. A large number of the community are now cultivators. The Ghanchi of Rajasthan

Rajasthan

Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...

 have a state wide caste

Caste

Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...

 association, the Ghanchi Jamat. They are strictly endogamous, marrying close kin, practicising both parallel cousin and cross cousin marriages.

Ghanchi of Pakistan

The city of Karachi

Karachi

Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...

 in Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

 is home to a large community of Ghanchis. Many are settled in the locality of Ghanchi Para

Ghanchi Para

Ghanchi Para is one of the neighbourhoods of Saddar Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. The name Ghanchi Para literraly means Ghanchi quarter, and is home to the Ghanchi community. In additions to the Ghanchi, the area is also home to a number of other Gujarati Muslim communities such as Chhipa,...

, as well as other parts of Saddar Town

Saddar Town

Saddar Town is a town in the central part of Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. The word Saddar generally means the “centre” and also “head” . The town is bordered by Jamshed Town and Clifton Cantonment to the east, Kiamari Town and the Arabian Sea to the south and Lyari Town to the west...

 in Karachi

Karachi

Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...

.