Total population | |
---|---|
c. 24 million | |
Regions with significant populations | |
India (Bihar only) | 23,138,379 [1] [2] [3] [4] |
Pakistan | 1,000,000 [5] |
Bangladesh | 400,000 [6] |
Languages | |
Urdu, various Bihari languages [7] | |
Religion | |
Islam (Sunni majority, Shia minority) | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Other Biharis |
Bihari Muslims are adherents of Islam who identify linguistically, culturally, and genealogically as Biharis. They are geographically native to the region comprising the Bihar state of India, although there are significantly large communities of Bihari Muslims living elsewhere in the subcontinent due to the Partition of British India in 1947, which prompted the community to migrate en masse from Bihar to the dominion of Pakistan (both West Pakistan and East Pakistan). [8] [9]
Bihari Muslims make up a significant minority in Pakistan under the diverse community of Muhajirs (lit. 'migrants'), and largely began arriving in the country following the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, which led to the secession of East Pakistan from the Pakistani union as the independent state of Bangladesh. Since 1971, Bihari Muslims residing in Bangladesh are widely referred to as Stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh who are awaiting repatriation to Pakistan, [10] [11] and have faced heightened persecution in the country due to their support for Pakistan during Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence. [12] [13] [14] [15]
The majority of Bihari Muslims adhere to the Sunni branch of Islam and the adoption of the religion by Biharis traces back to the 14th century, when Afghan traders and Sufi missionaries began to arrive in the region a century prior to the Mughal Empire's conquest of the subcontinent. [16] There are also a significant minority of Biharis who adhere to the Shia branch of Islam, largely residing in Patna and Gopalpur in Siwan, tracing their religious descent to Shia Muslim settlers of distant Persian ancestry from Lucknow in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, who arrived in the region during the 19th century. [17]
The large-scale arrival of Muslims in Bihar began in the 14th century, when Turk traders and Sufi saints-warriors settled in the South Bihar plains and furthered the process of agricultural colonisation while also spreading Islam among the local populace. Muslims were not the only new immigrants to Bihar during this period. Inscriptions in Bihar Sharif tell of a Sufi warrior by the name of Malik Ibrahim Bayu who came to Bihar and defeated the non-Hindu Kol tribe who had been oppressing the local Muslims. He conquered many Kol chiefdoms. [18]
Some of the kings and chieftains of medieval Bihar were Muslim. The chieftaincy of Kharagpur Raj in modern-day Munger district was originally controlled by Hindu Rajputs. In 1615 after a failed rebellion by Raja Sangram Singh, his son, Toral Mal converted and he changed his name to Roz Afzun. [19]
The Faujdars of Purnea (also known as the Nawabs of Purnea) created an autonomous territory for themselves under the leadership of Saif Khan and ruled in parts of Eastern Bihar in the early 1700s. They were engaged in a protracted conflict with the neighbouring Kingdom of Nepal. [20]
Many Bihari Muslims migrated to West Pakistan and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) after the partition of India in 1947. [9] [21]
Bihari Muslim society has traditionally been divided by caste and clan affiliations. Muslims refer to these distinctions as Biradri and the intermarriage remains rare. [22] The neologism Ashraf socio-political groups are historic ruling upper class castes [23] and include groups like Pathans, Sayyid, Sheikh, Mallick and Mirza. The Pathans of Bihar are mostly the descendants of Pashtun settlers with some being descended from local high-caste Bhumihar and Rajput converts who intermarried with the said ethnoreligious group. The Mirzas claim descent from the Mughals and are found mainly in the area around Darbhanga and Muzaffarpur. Among the largest socio-political grouping under the neologism of so-called Ajlaf groups are the Ansaris who form 20% of the Muslim population in Bihar. Their traditional occupation is weaving. [22]
The following table shows the Muslim population of Bihar by district: [24]
Number | District | Population (2001) | Muslim population | Percentage |
1 | Kishanganj | 1,796,348 | 1,123,456 | 68% |
2 | Katihar | 2,392,638 | 1,024,678 | 43% |
3 | Araria | 2,158,608 | 887,972 | 42% |
4 | Purnia | 2,543,942 | 935,239 | 38% |
5 | Darbhanga | 3,295,789 | 748,971 | 23% |
6 | Sitamarhi | 2,682,720 | 568,992 | 21% |
7 | West Champaran | 3,043,466 | 646,597 | 21% |
8 | East Champaran | 3,939,773 | 755,005 | 19% |
9 | Bhagalpur | 2,423,172 | 423,246 | 18% |
10 | Madhubani | 3,575,281 | 941,579 | 26% |
11 | Siwan | 2,714,349 | 494,176 | 18% |
12 | Gopalganj | 2,152,638 | 367,219 | 17% |
13 | Supaul | 1,732,578 | 302,120 | 17% |
14 | Sheohar | 515,961 | 80,076 | 16% |
15 | Muzaffarpur | 4,746,714 | 752,358 | 15% |
16 | Saharsa | 1,508,182 | 217,922 | 14% |
17 | Begusarai | 2,349,366 | 313,713 | 13% |
18 | Banka | 1,608,773 | 190,051 | 12% |
19 | Gaya | 3,473,428 | 403,439 | 13% |
20 | Jamui | 1,398,796 | 170,334 | 12% |
21 | Nawada | 1,809,696 | 204,457 | 11% |
22 | Madhepura | 1,526,646 | 173,605 | 11% |
23 | Aurangabad | 2,013,055 | 221,436 | 11% |
24 | Kaimur | 1,289,074 | 123,048 | 10% |
25 | Khagaria | 1,280,354 | 131,441 | 10% |
26 | Rohtas | 2,450,748 | 246,760 | 10% |
27 | Samastipur | 3,394,793 | 355,897 | 10% |
28 | Saran | 3,248,701 | 337,767 | 10% |
29 | Vaishali | 2,718,421 | 259,158 | 10% |
30 | Jehanabad | 1,514,315 | 124,149 | 8% |
31 | Munger | 1,337,797 | 98,791 | 7.4% |
32 | Patna | 4,718,592 | 366,164 | 8% |
33 | Bhojpur | 2,243,144 | 163,193 | 7% |
34 | Nalanda | 2,370,528 | 176,871 | 7% |
35 | Sheikhpura | 525,502 | 37,755 | 7% |
37 | Buxar | 1,402,396 | 86,382 | 6% |
38 | Lakhisarai | 802,225 | 35,378 | 4% |
Sum total of this table is 14,780,500 Muslims out of 83.0 million total population in 2001 census, hence Muslims were 16.5% of total population in Bihar. In 2011 census, total population grew to 103.9985 million, of which 16.9% or 17,557,809 were Muslims. [25] During 2001–2011, Muslims grew by 33.433%, while non-Muslims grew by 23.537%. District-wise break up by religions for 2011 is not available.
Kishanganj is the only district in Bihar with a Muslim majority.
In common with the rest of India, the Muslims in Bihar are largely descendants of native converts from various castes. [26] The rise of the Indian Muslim population can be traced back to the early 12th century, with many conversions to Islam taking place during the rule of the Sur Empire, which had established its capital in Sasaram. [27]
Islam is India's second-largest religion, with 14.2% of the country's population, or approximately 172.2 million people, identifying as adherents of Islam in a 2011 census. India also has the third-largest number of Muslims in the world. The majority of India's Muslims are Sunni, with Shia making up around 15% of the Muslim population.
Islam is the largest and the state religion of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. According to the 2022 census, Bangladesh had a population of about 150 million Muslims, or 91.04% of its total population of 165 million. The majority of Bangladeshis are Sunni, and follow the Hanafi school of fiqh. Despite being a secular state, Bangladesh is a de facto Islamic country.
Muslim Rajputs or Musalman Rajpoots are the descendants of Rajputs in the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent who are followers of Islam. They converted from Hinduism to Islam from the medieval period onwards, creating various dynasties and states while retaining Hindu surnames such as Chauhan. Today, Muslim Rajputs can be found mostly in present-day Northern India and Pakistan. They are further divided into different clans.
Bihari is a demonym given to the inhabitants of the Indian state of Bihar. Bihari people can be separated into three main Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic groups, Bhojpuris, Maithils and Magadhis. They are also further divided into a variety of hereditary caste groups. In Bihar today, the Bihari identity is seen as secondary to caste/clan, linguistic and religious identity but nonetheless is a subset of the larger Indian identity. Biharis can be found throughout India, and in the neighbouring countries of Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh. During the Partition of India in 1947, many Bihari Muslims migrated to East Bengal. Bihari people are also well represented in the Muhajir people of Pakistan because of Partition.
Stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh are Bihari Muslim migrants with homelands in present-day India who settled in East Pakistan following the partition of India in 1947.
Indian Sikhs number approximately 21 million people and account for 1.7% of India's population as of 2011, forming the country's fourth-largest religious group. The majority of the nation's Sikhs live in the northern state of Punjab, which is the only Sikh-majority administrative division in the world.
Muslim communities in South Asia apply a system of social stratification. The stratification that operates among Muslims arises from concerns other than in the concepts of pure and impure that are integral to the Indian caste system. It developed as a result of relations between the foreign conquerors and upper caste Hindus who converted to Islam (Ashraf) and the local lower caste converts (Ajlaf) as well as the continuation of the Indian caste system among local converts. Non-Ashrafs are backward caste converts. The neologism "Pasmanda" includes Ajlaf and Arzal Muslims, and Ajlafs' statuses are defined by them being the descendants of converts to Islam and are also defined by their pesha (profession). These terms are not used in local, sociological vocabulary in places such as Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh, and therefore tell us very little about the functioning of Muslim society.
The Kakori Shaikh are a Muslim community found in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. They are also found in the province of Sindh in Pakistan, particularly the city of Karachi.
Bhumihar, also locally called Bhuinhar and Babhan, is a Hindu caste mainly found in Bihar, the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh, and Nepal.
Pakistan and Bangladesh are both South Asian Muslim-majority countries. Following the end of British rule in India, the two countries formed a single state for 24 years. The Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971 resulted in the secession of East Pakistan as the People's Republic of Bangladesh. Pakistan recognized Bangladesh in 1974 after pressure from across the world. Today, bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Pakistan are considered to be cordial.
Bihari Mauritians are the descendants of mainly Bhojpuri speaking migrants to Mauritius. A majority of Indo-Mauritians are of Bihari descent, and the majority of Mauritians are Indo-Mauritian. Castewise, most Bihari Mauritians are Vaishyas with significant Bhumihars, Brahmins, Rajputs, Koeris, Chamars, Yadavs, Kurmis, Banias and Kayasthas. All but one Mauritian Prime Ministers have been of Bihari Vaishya descent. The community includes a Hindu majority with a Muslim minority. About 65.7 % of the 1.3 million population of Mauritius is of Indian origin, most of them from Bihar, with Bhojpuri as their ancestral tongue.
The Khanzada or Khan Zadeh are a cluster community of Muslim Rajputs found in the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. A notable community is the Khanzadas of Mewat, the descendants of Raja Nahar Khan, who are a sub-clan of Jadaun. They refer to themselves as Muslim Rajputs. After the Partition of India in 1947, many members of this community migrated to Pakistan.
The Muhajir people are Muslim immigrants of various ethnic groups and regional origins, and their descendants, who migrated from various regions of India after the Partition of India to settle in the newly independent state of Pakistan. The community includes those immigrants' descendants, most of whom are settled in Karachi and other parts of urban Sindh. The Muhajir community also includes stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh who migrated to Pakistan after 1971 following the secession of East Pakistan in the Bangladesh Liberation War.
Islam in Uttar Pradesh is the second largest religion in the state with 38,483,967 adherents in 2011, forming 19.26% of the total population. Muslims of Uttar Pradesh have also been referred to as Hindustani Musalman. They do not form a unified ethnic community, but are differentiated by sectarian and Baradari divisions, as well as by language and geography. Nevertheless, the community shares some unifying cultural factors. Uttar Pradesh has more Muslims than any Muslim-majority country in the world except Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Egypt, Iran and Turkey.
According to the 2011 census, West Bengal has over 24.6 million Muslims, making up 27% of the state's population. The vast majority of Muslims in West Bengal are ethnic native Bengali Muslims, numbering around over 22 million and comprising 24.1% of the state population. There also exists an Immigrants Urdu-speaking Muslim community numbering 2.6 million, constituting 2.9% of the state population and mostly resides in Urban areas of the state.
Dildarnagar Kamsar or Kamsaar, is a Pargana or a region of 32 places around Karamnasa river in Ghazipur district, and Kaimur District of Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar, India. Of whom main mouzas being 19. It is a large settlement of pathans mostly Khanzada Pathans and Afghan Pathans.
The "Bihari" minority in Bangladesh were subject to persecution during and after the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, experiencing widespread discrimination. Biharis were ethnic Urdu-speakers and largely maintained a pro-Pakistani stance, supported the Pakistan Armed Forces and opposed the independence of Bangladesh and the Bengali language movement of the Bengali Muslims. Biharis faced reprisals from Mukti Bahini and militias resulting in an estimated death toll ranging from 1,000 to 150,000.
Bengali Muslims are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising about two-thirds of the global Bengali population, they are the second-largest ethnic group among Muslims after Arabs. Bengali Muslims make up the majority of Bangladesh's citizens, and are the largest minority in the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam.
Rajputs in Bihar are members of the Rajput community living in the eastern Indian state Bihar. They are popularly known as Babu Saheb, a term that is mainly used in Bihar, the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand. They traditionally formed part of the feudal elite in Bihari society. Rajputs were pressed with the Zamindari abolition and Bhoodan movement in post-independence India; along with other Forward Castes, they lost their significant position in Bihar's agrarian society, leading to the rise of Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
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Abdul Kadir Khanzada, who represents Orangi Town in Pakistan's parliament, said he would like to welcome Nitish to his constituency, where a majority of over a million people have their roots in Bihar.
According to local NGOs working for Bihari welfare, around 400,000 members of the community live in camps in Bangladesh.
Others got attracted to the supposedly greener pastures in West Pakistan. Hence, in Karachi, a separate Bihari colony of construction labourers came into existence even before Pakistan was formally created. ... Moreover, some of the wealthier Biharis migrated towards West Pakistan. In order to induce further migration, Maulana Abdul Quddus Bihair, Chairman of the Bihar Relief Committee (Karachi) and also of the Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Islam began propagating that there was a better scheme of land and flats to be given to them in Karachi by January 1947. Quddus presented the province of Sindh as a destination that offered openings for traders, cultivators, labourers, contractors, manufacturers, weavers and professionals, and therefore was the 'best substitute for Bihar'.
Approximately 240,000 Bihari Muslims live in various camps around the country; they have remained in the country since 1971 awaiting settlement in Pakistan. Biharis are non-Bengali Muslims who emigrated to what was formerly East Pakistan during the 1947 partition of British India. Most supported Pakistan during Bangladesh's 1971 war of independence. They later declined to accept Bangladesh citizenship and asked to be repatriated to Pakistan. The Government of Pakistan historically has been reluctant to accept the Biharis. During a visit to Dhaka in January, the Pakistani Prime Minister announced that Pakistan would be willing to assist in their repatriation, but no repatriation occurred during that year.