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The Nawayath (also spelled as Navayath and Nawayat and also called Nait, Naiti, Naithee and Naita) are an Indian community and a subgroup of Konkani Muslims. They speak the Nawayathi dialect of Konkani.
The term, as described by Qanoon-e-Islam, Mark Wilks and The Imperial Gazetteer of India, means "new comers" in Persian, referring to Arab emigrants in India.[1]
Indian historian Omar Khalidi says they are one of three groups of Indian Muslims who have used the Nawayath name. These groups have common origins in Arabia and Yemen and Persian Gulf and Iran and Iraq regions, where they were mariners and merchants. One group is based mainly in Bhatkal, manki, Tonse, Malpe, Shiroor, Gangolli, Sagar, Kumta, Kandlur and Murdeshwar villages in Karnataka, while another is found in Chennai in Tamil Nadu. The third group are generally known today as Konkani Muslims, after the region in which they live.[2]
- ^ Kola, Aftab Husain (1 July 2002). "Navayaths of India-an Arabian lake in an Indian ocean". The Milli Gazette. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
- ^ Khalidi, Omar (2006). Muslims in the Deccan: A Historical Survey. New Delhi: Global Media Publications. pp. 17–18.