Total population | |
---|---|
24,654,825 (2011 census) (27% of the state population) [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Majority in Murshidabad (66.3%), Maldah (51.3%), Uttar Dinajpur (50%). Significant minority in Birbhum (37.1%), South 24 Parganas (35.6%), Howrah (26.20%). | |
Languages | |
Majority Bengali, Minority Urdu, Surjapuri, and others |
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Islam |
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According to the 2011 census, West Bengal has over 24.6 million Muslims, making up 27% of the state's population. [6] 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 (mostly they reside in Rural areas). 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. [7] [1] [3] [2] [4] [8]
Muslims form the majority of the population in three districts: Murshidabad, Malda and Uttar Dinajpur. [9] Among these, Uttar Dinajpur is notable as ethnic Bengali Muslims comprise 28% of the district's population, with the remaining 22% being Urdu and Surjapuri speakers. [10]
Islam first arrived in Bengal in the year 1204. [11] The establishment of the first Muslim state in Bengal, the Bengal Sultanate, in 1352 by Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah is credited to giving rise to a Bengali socio-linguistic identity. [12] The Sultanate's influence was expansive, with the Hindu-born sultan Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah funding the construction of Islamic institutions as far as Makkah Al Mukarramah and Madinah Al Munawwarah, which came to be known as al-Madaris al-Banjaliyyah (Bengali madrasas). Sufis also became prominent in this period, such as Usman Serajuddin, also known as Akhi Siraj Bengali, who was a native of Gaur in western Bengal and became the Sultanate's court scholar during Ilyas Shah's reign. [13] [14] [15] Alongside Persian and Arabic, the Sultanate also used the Bengali language to gain patronage and support, contrary to previous states which exclusively favored liturgical languages such as Sanskrit and Pali. [16] [17] Islam became especially widespread when the region was under Mughal rule from 1576 to 1765 and was commonly known as Bengal Subah.[ citation needed ] The Mughal Emperors considered Bengal their most prized province. The Mughal emperor Akbar is credited with developing the modern Bengali calendar. [18]
Year | Pop. | ±% |
---|---|---|
1901 | 3,954,776 | — |
1911 | 2,955,098 | −25.3% |
1921 | 4,101,516 | +38.8% |
1931 | 4,521,313 | +10.2% |
1941 | 5,506,442 | +21.8% |
1951 | 4,402,330 | −20.1% |
1961 | 5,515,348 | +25.3% |
1971 | 7,983,963 | +44.8% |
1981 | 9,743,209 | +22.0% |
1991 | 12,050,000 | +23.7% |
2001 | 18,240,543 | +51.4% |
2011 | 24,654,825 | +35.2% |
Source: [19] |
As per as Indian Census figures, The Muslim population have increased from (5.1 million) 20 per cent in 1951 to (24.6 million) 27 per cent in 2011 (a growth of 19.5 million in absolute numbers and an increasement of 7 per cent points from last 6 decades) respectively. [20]
The Muslim population in West Bengal before 1947 partition was around 33%. [21] After partition of Bengal in 1947, some Muslims from West Bengal left for East Pakistan, (Present-Day-Bangladesh). Estimates show that 1,634,718 Muslim refugees from West Bengal settling permanently in East Pakistan during 1947–1951. [22]
# | District | Total population | Muslim population | % |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Murshidabad | 7,103,807 | 4,707,573 | 66.88% |
2 | South 24 Parganas | 8,161,961 | 2,903,075 | 35.57% |
3 | North 24 Parganas | 10,009,781 | 2,584,684 | 25.82% |
4 | Malda | 3,988,845 | 2,045,151 | 51.27% |
5 | Bardhaman | 7,717,563 | 1,599,764 | 20.73% |
6 | Uttar Dinajpur | 3,007,134 | 1,501,170 | 49.92% |
7 | Nadia | 5,167,600 | 1,382,682 | 26.76% |
8 | Birbhum | 3,502,404 | 1,298,054 | 37.06% |
9 | Howrah | 4,850,029 | 1,270,641 | 26.20% |
10 | Kolkata | 4,496,694 | 926,414 | 20.60% |
11 | Hooghly | 5,519,145 | 870,204 | 15.77% |
12 | Purba Medinipur | 5,095,875 | 743,436 | 14.59% |
13 | Cooch Behar | 2,819,086 | 720,033 | 26.54% |
14 | Paschim Medinipur | 5,913,457 | 620,554 | 10.49% |
15 | Jalpaiguri | 3,872,846 | 445,817 | 11.51% |
16 | Dakshin Dinajpur | 1,676,276 | 412,788 | 24.63% |
17 | Bankura | 3,596,674 | 290,450 | 8.08% |
18 | Purulia | 2,930,115 | 227,249 | 7.76% |
19 | Darjeeling | 1,846,823 | 105,086 | 5.69% |
According to the 2021 census estimation, there were around 28-29 million Muslims living in West Bengal, constituting 28-29% respectively. [24] Nearly most of them (25-26% of state population), about 25-26 million are native Bengali Muslims, constituting around 90% of the total Muslim population in the state, and are mostly concentrated in rural and Semi Urban areas. The Urdu-speaking Muslims from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh constitute rest 3%, numbering around 3 million and are mainly concentrated in Kolkata, Asansol, Islampur subdivision of West Bengal. [25] [3] [26]
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. Muslims of Bangladesh are predominant native Bengali Muslims. The majority of Bangladeshis are Sunni, and follow the Hanafi school of fiqh. Bangladesh is a de facto secular country.
Nawab Bahadur QaziAbdul Latif was a Bengali Muslim aristocrat, educator and social worker. His title, Nawab was awarded by the British in 1880. He was one of the first Muslims in 19th-century India to embrace the idea of modernisation.
East Bengal ( was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 1955, when it was renamed as East Pakistan. East Bengal had a coastline along the Bay of Bengal to the south, and bordered India to the north, west, and east and shared a small border with Burma to the southeast. It was situated near, but did not share a border with Nepal, Tibet, the Kingdom of Bhutan and the Kingdom of Sikkim. Its capital was Dacca, now known as Dhaka.
The Nawab of Dhaka, originally spelt in English Nawab of Dacca, was the title of the head of one of the largest Muslim zamindar in British Bengal and Assam, based in present-day Dhaka, Bangladesh. The title of nawab, similar to the British peerage, was conferred upon the head of the family by Queen Victoria as a recognition of the first Nawab's loyalty and contribution to the social welfare activities.
Bhuiyan was a title for landowners in medieval Bengal and Assam. It has been adopted as a surname by different communities in West Bengal, Assam, and Bangladesh.
Kazi is a family name in Bengal, it originates from the Arabic qadi meaning judge and is typically used among Muslims. Kazi, also spelt Qazi and Quazi, is a title awarded to Islamic judges, commonly used hereditarily in Bengal as a family name.
Ubaidullah Al Ubaidi Suhrawardy was a Bengali Islamic scholar, educationist and writer from Midnapore. He is often regarded as the Father of modern Islamic education in Bengal.
Bengalis in Pakistan are ethnic Bengali people who had lived in either West Pakistan or East Pakistan prior to 1971 or live in present-day Pakistan. Most Pakistani Bengalis, are bilingual speaking both Urdu and Bengali and are mainly settled in Karachi. Bengalis that arrived in Pakistan before 1971 have now assimilated with the Urdu-speaking people in Karachi.
Sujapur Assembly constituency is an assembly constituency in Malda district in the Indian state of West Bengal.
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.
Rubi Noor was an Indian politician and the leader of the Indian National Congress who served as four term MLA from Sujapur. She was younger sister of A. B. A. Ghani Khan Choudhury and mother of Mausam Noor.
Chowdhury is a title of honour, usually hereditary, originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is an adaption from Sanskrit. During the Mughal rule, it was a title awarded to eminent people, while during British rule, the term was associated with zamindars and social leaders. The common female equivalent was Chowdhurani.
The Bengal Provincial Muslim League (BPML) was the branch of the All India Muslim League in the British Indian province of Bengal. It was established in Dhaka on 2 March 1912. Its official language was Bengali. The party played an important role in the Bengal Legislative Council and in the Bengal Legislative Assembly, where two of the Prime Ministers of Bengal were from the party. It was vital to the creation of the Dominion of Pakistan, particularly after its election victory in 1946.
Rahimunnessa was an 18th-century female Bengali Muslim poet. She wrote poetry in medieval Bengali, notable works of hers include a Bengali translation of the Persian Laily Majnu and the poem Payar Chhanda.
Ajmal Ali Choudhury was a Pakistani politician and former Minister of Commerce of Pakistan. He was also a member of the 4th National Assembly of Pakistan. His close relationship with Muhammad Ali Jinnah and contributions during the 1947 Sylhet referendum led to him being known as the Sylhet's Quaid by his supporters. However, he became heavily criticised after supporting Pakistan during the Bangladesh Liberation War.
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