In northern Awadh, a region comprising roughly
Barabanki District in south east to
Lakhimpur Kheri District in the north west, the Khanzada have a followed a slightly different path, with a stronger identification with Islam. In a recent study of a Chauhan Khanzada village in Raisenghat Tehsil of
Barabanki District, this particular community was seen to be strongly identifying with neighbouring
muslim rajput of Uttar Pradesh communities, and there was increasingly intermarriage between the two groups. There economic condition in this region is also been affected, with a dwindling in the size of their farms, especially in
Shravasti and
Balrampur districts. Many are now, in fact, landless agricultural labourers. The Khanzada, however have been badly affected by abolition of the
zamindari system, with many now destitute. They still remain a land owning community, but those especially in
Balrampur,
Gonda and
Bahraich are now simply agricultural labourers. The community are also divided on sectarian lines, with the majority being
Sunni, while a minority, mainly the ex-taluqdar families being
Shia. Like other
Indian Muslims, there is growing movement towards orthodoxy, with many of their villages containing
madrasas. The madrasas have also facilitated the growth of
Urdu, with it beginning to replace the
Awadhi dialect they traditionally spoke. ==See also==