Piracha

Paracha (Urdu: پراچہ, Hindi: पराचा) or Piracha (Urdu: پِراچہ, Hindi: पिराचा), also known as Peracha, Piracha ,Pracha, and Paracha, is a family name in India and Pakistan, most common in the Punjab region.[1]

Piracha
Origin
Region of originIndian subcontinent
Other names
Variant form(s)Paracha, Peracha, Pracha, Paracha

History

The Paracha caste is native to the Gandhara region of the Indian subcontinent, with the caste name being of Hindi origin.[2]

The Rawalpindi Gazetteer recorded the principal settlements of the Paracha as being Makhad and Attock, stating that the Paracha were of Hindu origin, as with the Khoja; many Piracha later converted to Islam.[3]

The Gazetteer of the Shahpur District mentioned that the Piracha caste engaged in trade and preferred to record their transactions in Hindi, as with the Khoja.[4]

In the early 1980s, a self-published book titled History & Culture of the Paracha Tribe claimed that the Piracha caste was descended from a man named Ali Yemeni, although the "author of the book had not cited any convincing sources to substantiate his claims", reflecting that this theory of origin was most likely "concocted".[1]

Today, the Pirachas are scattered all over the world, and follow the various professions which are mainly business, trading, writing, and politics.

References
  1. Paracha, Nadeem F. (22 January 2017). "Dubious ancestors". Dawn. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  2. Journal of Asian Civilisations, Volume 28. Taxila Institute of Asian Civilisations. 2005. p. 72. Reminiscent of the millennium before Christ, Paracha, a Hindi word, has been in common use as a tribal designation in Gandhara and surrounding provinces, for centuries.
  3. Gazetteer of the Rawalpindi District, Revised Edition (1893-94). Civil and Military Gazette Press. 1896. p. 104. The principal settlements of Parachas are at Makhad and Attock, both on the Indus. They are a race of traders who transactions extend to Turkistan and the Khanates. They are converted Hindus, and seem to be much the same as Khojas.
  4. Wilson, J. (1897). Gazetteer of the Shahpur District. Civil and Military Gazette Press. p. 91. The Musalman Khoja and Piracha traders however mostly keep their accounts in Hindi.
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