Islam in West Bengal

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Muslims in West Bengal
Motijheel-Jama-Mosque-at-Murshidabad-West-Bengal.jpg
West Bengal's oldest mosque located at Murshidabad district
Total population
24,654,825 (2011 census)
(27% of the state population)Increase2.svg [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
Zohora Begum Mosque in Kolkata Zohora Begum Mosque 4.JPG
Zohora Begum Mosque in Kolkata

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]

Contents

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]

History

The Gazi Dargah (gaajii drgaa) of Tribeni (tribenii) in West Bengal. This is one of the oldest Islamic heritage structures of Bengal Zafar Khan Ghazi Mosque And Dargah at Tribeni in West Bengal.jpg
The Gazi Dargah (গাজী দরগা) of Tribeni (ত্রিবেনী) in West Bengal. This is one of the oldest Islamic heritage structures of Bengal

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]

The Bengal Sultanate, 16th century covering whole Western part of Bengal Bengal Sultanate.png
The Bengal Sultanate, 16th century covering whole Western part of Bengal

Population

Historical Muslim Population
YearPop.±%
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]

Partition and immigration

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]

Population by district (2011)

Percentage share of Muslims in the districts of West Bengal, 2011 Census Percentage of Muslim population in West Bengal.svg
Percentage share of Muslims in the districts of West Bengal, 2011 Census
Muslims in West Bengal by district (2011) [23]
#DistrictTotal populationMuslim population %
1 Murshidabad 7,103,8074,707,57366.88%
2 South 24 Parganas 8,161,9612,903,07535.57%
3 North 24 Parganas 10,009,7812,584,68425.82%
4 Malda 3,988,8452,045,15151.27%
5 Bardhaman 7,717,5631,599,76420.73%
6 Uttar Dinajpur 3,007,1341,501,17049.92%
7 Nadia 5,167,6001,382,68226.76%
8 Birbhum 3,502,4041,298,05437.06%
9 Howrah 4,850,0291,270,64126.20%
10 Kolkata 4,496,694926,41420.60%
11 Hooghly 5,519,145870,20415.77%
12 Purba Medinipur 5,095,875743,43614.59%
13 Cooch Behar 2,819,086720,03326.54%
14 Paschim Medinipur 5,913,457620,55410.49%
15 Jalpaiguri 3,872,846445,81711.51%
16 Dakshin Dinajpur 1,676,276412,78824.63%
17 Bankura 3,596,674290,4508.08%
18 Purulia 2,930,115227,2497.76%
19 Darjeeling 1,846,823105,0865.69%

Linguistic groups

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]

Notable Muslims from West Bengal

Kolkata

Malda

Murshidabad

Hooghly

Bardhaman

Birbhum

North 24 Parganas

South 24 Parganas

Howrah

Uttar Dinajpur

Midanapur

Cooch Behar

Jalpaiguri

Nadia

See also

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