Qazi (surname)
Qazi is a Kashmiri Pandit clan or surname,[1] native to the Kashmir Valley in Jammu and Kashmir, India.
History and usage[edit]
Last names in Kashmir were created and taken on, on the basis of tribal (caste) backgrounds.[2] The Brahmins in the region were tribally divided further into 103 gotras.[2] Each gotra was further divided into distinctive krams. A kram is often the relic of a nickname applied to the ancestor of the subdivision.[2] These krams later became surnames in the Kashmiri naming system.
Some local Brahmins were holding spheres of influence[2] in the valley, even after the advent of Islam in Kashmir, by owning different jobs and positions of higher status.[2] One of these influential Brahmin krams was Qazi.[2] The name Qazi was used by those Brahmins who decided cases, i.e., worked as judges under the Muslim rulers.[3]
Notable Kashmiris named Qazis[edit]
- Abrar Qazi, actor in Indian television drama
- Shafat Qazi, entrepreneur and film producer
- Qazi Nisar, politician and former Mirwaiz of southern Kashmir
- Qazi Touqeer, singer
- Qazi Yasir, suspended Mirwaiz of southern Kashmir
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Pandit, Bansi (March 22, 2008). Explore Kashmiri Pandits. Dharma Publications. p. 101. ISBN 9780963479860. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f Wani, Muhammad Ashraf; Wani, Aman Ashraf (2023). The Making of Early Kashmir- Intercultural Networks and Identity Formation. Taylor & Francis. p. 72. ISBN 9781000836554. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
The ethnicity was also constructed on the basis of tribal background, occupations or some contingencies. For instance, the brahamanas were divided into 103 gotras (tribal divisions), and each gotra was divided into distinctive families famous after family appellation called kram. Kram is often the relic of a nickname applied to the ancestor of the subdivision. And when during the rule of Muslims, some of them held different positions in the state apparatus. They came to be called after those offices such as Razdan, Fotadar, Ambardar, Ganju, Karawani, Diwani, Qazi, Muhatasib, Naqib, Amin and Waguzari, which became their permanent surnames.
- ^ South Asian Language Review - Volumes 3-4. Creative Book Publishers International. 1993. p. 62. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
Qazi - one who decides cases, a judge