Pakistan, India

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Pakistan
Village
India Bihar location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Pakistan
India location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Pakistan
Coordinates: 25°56′18″N87°24′12″E / 25.9384°N 87.4034°E / 25.9384; 87.4034
CountryFlag of India.svg  India
State Bihar
District Purnia
Named for Pakistan (country)
Government
  Type Panchayati Raj
  Body Gram Panchayat
Demonym Pakistani
Languages
  Official Maithili, Hindi
Time zone UTC+5:30 (IST)
ISO 3166 code IN-BR

Pakistan is a village located in Purnia district, Bihar, India. It is named after the country of Pakistan in memory of its Muslim residents who migrated to erstwhile East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh) after the Partition of India in August 1947. [1] Although the village's district shared a common land border with what was East Pakistan at the time of Partition, its present-day Purnia district does not border Bangladesh. [2] The village today does not have any Muslims or mosques and is mainly populated by Hindu tribals. [3]

Contents

History

Purnia district was part of the Bihar Province of the British Raj before its dissolution in August 1947, when British India was partitioned into the Hindu-majority Dominion of India and the Muslim-majority Dominion of Pakistan.

While remaining in India itself, Purnia was in close proximity to the newly created exclave of East Pakistan, prompting many Muslims to migrate there. Before their departure, the Muslim residents handed over their property and other assets to their Hindu neighbours, who subsequently renamed the village "Pakistan" in their memory. [4] Prior to the Indian States Reorganisation Act of 1956, the district of Purnia shared a land border with East Pakistan, which ceased to exist after Islampur subdivision was transferred to the state of West Bengal. [1]

Geography

The village lies some 30 km (19 mi) from Purnia, the district headquarters, and is located in Srinagar Block. [5]

Demographics

Following the Partition of India in 1947, the village ceased to have any Muslim residents; the inhabitants of the village today are Hindus. Pakistan village's residents largely belong to the Santal tribe, the largest tribal group in India. [5] The village today is poverty-stricken and reportedly lacks basic facilities including roads, schools and hospitals. [6] The literacy rate of the district is 35.51%. [7] [5]

Naming controversy

Relations between the states of India and Pakistan have historically been turbulent. The immense violence between Hindus and Muslims that occurred as a consequence of the Partition of India left millions dead and sowed the seeds of discontent between both sides. Following the Partition and subsequent independence from the United Kingdom, the two countries have fought several wars, primarily stemming from their territorial dispute over the Himalayan region of Kashmir, which is claimed in full by both nations. [6]

Residents of neighbouring villages refer to the people of Pakistan village as "Pakistanis" and, due to the local stigma associated with this term, refuse to allow women to marry men from this village. [4] There have been requests submitted to rename the village to "Birsa Nagar", [8] although the submissions have not been acted on by the Indian government. [9] [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Partition of India</span> 1947 division of British India

The Partition of India in 1947 was the change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in the Indian subcontinent and the creation of two independent dominions in South Asia: India and Pakistan. The Dominion of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Pakistan—which at the time comprised two regions lying on either side of India—is now the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the People's Republic of Bangladesh. The partition was outlined in the Indian Independence Act 1947. The change of political borders notably included the division of two provinces of British India, Bengal and Punjab. The majority Muslim districts in these provinces were awarded to Pakistan and the majority non-Muslim to India. The other assets that were divided included the British Indian Army, the Royal Indian Navy, the Royal Indian Air Force, the Indian Civil Service, the railways, and the central treasury. Provisions for self-governing independent Pakistan and India legally came into existence at midnight on 14 and 15 August 1947 respectively.

Events in the year 1947 in India. It was a very eventful year as it became independent from the British crown, resulting in the split of India and Pakistan. Many people died during partition and India became a democracy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Independence Act 1947</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Indian Independence Act 1947 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that partitioned British India into the two new independent dominions of India and Pakistan. The Act received Royal Assent on 18 July 1947 and thus modern-day India and Pakistan, comprising west and east regions, came into being on 15 August.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hinduism in Pakistan</span>

Hinduism is the second largest religious affiliation in Pakistan after Islam. Though Hinduism was one of the dominant faiths in the region a few centuries ago, Hindus accounted for just 2.17% of Pakistan's population in the 2023 Pakistani census. The Umerkot district has the highest percentage of Hindu residents in the country at 54.6%, while Tharparkar district has the most Hindus in absolute numbers at 811,507.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Direct Action Day</span> 1946 sectarian violence in British India

Direct Action Day was the day the All-India Muslim League decided to take a "direct action" using violence to intimidate non-muslims and their leadership for a separate Muslim homeland after the British exit from India. Also known as the 1946 Calcutta Killings, it was a day of nationwide communal riots. It led to large-scale violence between Muslims and Hindus in the city of Calcutta in the Bengal province of British India. The day also marked the start of what is known as The Week of the Long Knives. While there is a certain degree of consensus on the magnitude of the killings, including their short-term consequences, controversy remains regarding the exact sequence of events, the various actors' responsibility and the long-term political consequences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Purnia district</span> District in Bihar, India

Purnia District is one of the thirty-eight districts of the Indian state of Bihar. The city of Purnia is the administrative headquarters of this district. The city of Purnia has continued its tradition of hoisting the national flag at 12:07 am on every Independence Day since 1947. Purnia district is a part of Purnia Division. The district extends northwards from the Ganges river.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Partition of Bengal (1947)</span> Partition of Bengal into East Bengal and West Bengal in 1947

The Partition of Bengal in 1947, also known as the Second Partition of Bengal, part of the Partition of India, divided the British Indian Bengal Province along the Radcliffe Line between the Dominion of India and the Dominion of Pakistan. The Bengali Hindu-majority West Bengal became a state of India, and the Bengali Muslim-majority East Bengal became a province of Pakistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dominion of India</span> 1947–1950 dominion in South Asia

The Dominion of India, officially the Union of India, was an independent dominion in the British Commonwealth of Nations existing between 15 August 1947 and 26 January 1950. Until its independence, India had been ruled as an informal empire by the United Kingdom. The empire, also called the British Raj and sometimes the British Indian Empire, consisted of regions, collectively called British India, that were directly administered by the British government, and regions, called the princely states, that were ruled by Indian rulers under a system of paramountcy. The Dominion of India was formalised by the passage of the Indian Independence Act 1947, which also formalised an independent Dominion of Pakistan—comprising the regions of British India that are today Pakistan and Bangladesh. The Dominion of India remained "India" in common parlance but was geographically reduced. Under the Act, the British government relinquished all responsibility for administering its former territories. The government also revoked its treaty rights with the rulers of the princely states and advised them to join in a political union with India or Pakistan. Accordingly, the British monarch's regnal title, "Emperor of India," was abandoned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dominion of Pakistan</span> 1947–1956 monarchy in South Asia

The Dominion of Pakistan, officially Pakistan, was an independent federal dominion in the British Commonwealth of Nations, existing between 14 August 1947 and 23 March 1956, created by the passing of the Indian Independence Act 1947 by the British parliament, which also created an independent Dominion of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Bengal</span> Geographical eastern wing of the Dominion of Pakistan (1947–1955)

East Bengal was a non-contiguous province of the Dominion of Pakistan. Geographically eastern part of the Bengal region, East Bengal existed from 1947 until 1955, when it was renamed East Pakistan. Today, the area is an independent country, Bangladesh. With its coastline on the Bay of Bengal, it bordered India and Burma. It was located close to, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bihari Muslims</span> Adherents of Islam who identify linguistically, culturally, and genealogically as 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karandighi</span> Community development block in West Bengal, India

Karandighi is a community development block that forms an administrative division in Islampur subdivision of Uttar Dinajpur district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Dalkhola, Uttar Dinajpur was established in 2005. The school is temporariliy running at Teest Colony, Dalkhola, Uttar Dinajpur. It is adjacent to Primary Health Center, Dalkhola on NH 34. The land for the construction of permanent building has been transferred and construction work is about to start at Village Sima Anandapur of Panchayat Raniganj. The temporary site is about 3.5 Km from Dalkhola Railway Station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bengali Hindus</span> Ethno-linguistic and religious population from India and Bangladesh

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">1964 East Pakistan riots</span> Ethnic cleansing of Hindus in East Pakistan (modern-day Bangladesh)

The 1964 East Pakistan riots refer to the massacre and ethnic cleansing of Bengali Hindus from East Pakistan in the wake of an alleged theft of what was believed to be the Prophet's hair from the Hazratbal shrine in Jammu and Kashmir in India. The salient feature of the pogroms was its urban nature and selective targeting of Bengali Hindu owned industries and merchant establishments in the capital city of Dhaka. This resulted in unending waves of Bengali Hindu refugees in neighbouring West Bengal. The refugee rehabilitation became a national problem in India, and hundreds of refugees were resettled in Dandakaranya region of Odisha & Madhya Pradesh.

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The Bengali Language Movement is a campaign to preserve Bengali language and Bengalis culture and to oppose anti-Bengali sentiment in India. The movement was started in Manbhum in 1940, ahead of the Partition of India which allocated eastern Bengal to the new nation of Pakistan and led to the relocation of many Bengali communities. In 1947 British India bifurcated into India and Pakistan. The population of the eastern part of Bengal was majority Muslim, and was incorporated into Pakistan. Bengali Hindus in this eastern region migrated to India, principally settling in West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Dandakaranya and Odisha, Maharashtra, Karnataka. The Movement remains prominent in Assam, Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Muhajirs</span>

Muhajir History or History of Muhajirs refers to the history and origins of the Muhajir people in Pakistan. Most Muhajirs migrated from what is now Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Rajasthan, Bihar, Gujarat, and West Bengal, and that results in close ties between the ethnic groups and histories.

References

  1. 1 2 Pakistan without Muslims, a village in India’s Bihar state
  2. The Pakistan that exists in Purnea district of Bihar
  3. "'Pakistan' village in India's Bihar wants to change name". gulfnews.com. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  4. 1 2 "'Pakistan' village in India's Bihar wants to change name | India – Gulf News". Gulf news. 21 December 2020. Archived from the original on 21 December 2020. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 This 'Pakistan' has no Muslims [ permanent dead link ]
  6. 1 2 ‘Pakistan’ in Indian state of Bihar
  7. "Literacy". Archived from the original on 24 May 2008. Retrieved 26 September 2009.
  8. "Pakistan in Bihar to soon vanish from people's memory". 21 December 2020. Archived from the original on 21 December 2020. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  9. "No Muslim Residents: People Of Bihar Village Named 'Pakistan' Desperately Want A Name Change". IndiaTimes. 20 October 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  10. "A village in India called 'Pakistan'". The Express Tribune. 19 October 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2020.