Dhakaiyas

The Old Dhakaiyas (Bengali: পুরান ঢাকাইয়া, romanized: Puran Dhakaiya) are a group of Indo-Aryan people, often viewed by some as the original inhabitants of Dhaka city. They are sometimes referred to as simply Dhakaiya. Their history dates back to the Mughal period with the migration of Bengali cultivators and North Indian merchants to the city. The Bengali cultivators came to be known as Kutti and they speak Dhakaiya Kutti, a dialect of Bengali and the North Indian merchants came to be known as Khoshbas and they speak Dhakaiya Urdu, a dialect of Urdu. Dhakaiya Kutti Bengalis have been described as a wealthy community of the Dhaka city. It is said that some people living in Greater Dhaka are even unaware of the existence of an Urdu-speaking non-Bihari minority community although their presence dates back centuries.