Shaikhs in North India

Shaikh, also rendered as Sheikh, Sheik, Shaik, Shaykh, Shaikh, Shekh, Cheikh, Šeih, Šejh, Şeyh and other variants (Arabic: شيخ, shaykh; pl. شيوخ shuyūkh), is a title given to many South Asian Muslim castes. It originally was a word or honorific term in the Arabic language that commonly designated a chief of a tribe, royal family member, Muslim religious scholar, or "Elder". However in Northern India, Shaikh was used as an ethnic title, by those claiming Arab descent, particularly from prominent Muslim figures such as the Rashidun Caliphs, majority of these claims of descent from the Rashidun Caliphs are false. Only a few Shaikhs in North India are genuinely of Arab descent.