The identity of Iranians in the Indian Subcontinent, case study: Iranians resident in Bidar city

With the conquest of Sindh in northern India by Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni in the early fifth century AH, the way was opened for the Iranians to enter the subcontinent. Over the years, various groups from Iran migrated to India. The formation of Persianspeaking dynasty in northern and southern India accelerated these migrations. The Gurkhanids in northern India, the Bahmanians, then the Adelshahis, and the Qutb Shahians in Deccan were among the Persian-speaking daynasty that welcomed Iranian immigrants. The spread of Persian poetry, literature and language, architecture, handicrafts, etc. in the Indian subcontinent, caused the Iranian identity to flourish in this part of the world. Various groups from different classes of Iran, migrated to India, which played an important role in spreading Iranian culture and identity. The city of Bidar, 130 km northwest of Hyderabad, was one of the cities where Iranian identity was manifested. The presence of a group of Iranians in the city of Bidar, who introduce themselves as “Gorbati”, became an excuse for this research to examine them in search of Iranian identity. The findings of this study, show that Iranians living in the city of Bidar, who live in a neighborhood called Irani Goli, despite their long stay in this city and the influence of Hindi and Urdu on their Persian dialect, have not forgotten their Iranian identity and The customs and culture of the Persian language are still stable among them. The basis of this research is based on field observations.