Piracha

Quality 0.50 · 0 views · Updated 2 months ago

Muslim community in Pakistan and India

title: "Piracha" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["social-groups-of-punjab,-pakistan", "social-groups-of-punjab,-india"] description: "Muslim community in Pakistan and India" topic_path: "geography/pakistan" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piracha" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Muslim community in Pakistan and India ::

Paracha (Punjabi: پَراچہ) or Piracha (Urdu: پِراچہ) is a Muslim trading community and surname in Pakistan and India, most common in the Punjab region.

Etymology

The name "Piracha" is believed to have been derived from parcha (), one of the main items which they used to trade in. According to Ahmad Hasan Dani, however, the term is derived from prachyas ().

History

According to Christophe Jaffrelot Pirachas were the early Khatri converts to Islam. The historians Robina Yasmin and J. S. Grewal also consider them to have converted to Islam from the Khatri and Arora castes of Punjab. Another reference suggests that "Paracha" as a tribal designation had been in common use in the ancient Gandhara region, with Dani stating them to have been engaged in trade between central Asia and Indus valley since the era of Kushan Empire. According to Jaffrelot, the community takes pride in its ancient origins and some of them add the title of rajah to their names.

Notable people with surname

Ehsan-ul-Haq Piracha, Pakistani politician
Farid Ahmad Paracha, Pakistani politician
Hamza Paracha, Pakistani cricketer
Javed Ibrahim Paracha, Pakistani politician
Nadeem Farooq Paracha, Pakistani cultural critic
Saifullah Khan Paracha, Pakistani politician
Saifullah Paracha, Pakistani Islamist
Uzair Paracha, Pakistani Islamist

Fictional characters

Kaneez Paracha, a character from Ackley Bridge
Nasreen Paracha, a character from Ackley Bridge

References

Yasmin, Robina. (2022). "Muslims Under Sikh Rule in the Nineteenth Century". I.B. Tauris.
Dani, Ahmad Hasan. (2008). "History of Pakistan: Pakistan Through Ages". Sang-e Meel Publications.
Jaffrelot, Christophe. (2002). "A History of Pakistan and Its Origins". Anthem Press.
Grewal, Jagtar Singh. (1984). "Business Communities of India: A Historical Perspective". Manohar.
Puri, Baij Nath. (1988). "The Khatris: A Socio-Cultural Study". M.N. Publishers and Distributors.
(2005). "Journal of Asian Civilisations, Volume 28". Taxila Institute of Asian Civilisations.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::