Bihari Muslims
Muslim couple at a polling booth in Gaya, Bihar during the 2015 elections
Total population
c. 24 million
Regions with significant populations
 India (Bihar only)23,138,379[1][2][3][4]
 Pakistan1,000,000[5]
 Bangladesh400,000[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 collaboration with West Pakistani forces in perpetrating the 1971 Bangladesh genocide against Bengalis.[12][13][14][15] Within the context of the conflict in Bangladesh, the term "Bihari" refers to all Urdu speakers from India and originates from the term "Bahar" (outsider) which Bengalis used to refer to all Urdu-speaking migrants.[16]

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.[17] 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.[18]

History

Sher Shah Suri Tomb in Sasaram. He was the founder of the Sur Empire and was born in Bihar to Pathan parents.

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.[19]

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.[20]

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.[21]

Many Bihari Muslims migrated to West Pakistan and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) after the partition of India in 1947.[9][22]

Society

Bihari Muslim society has traditionally been divided by caste and clan affiliations. Muslims refer to these distinctions as Biradri and the intermarriage remains rare.[23] The neologism Ashraf socio-political groups are historic ruling upper class castes [24] 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.[23]

Distribution by district

The following table shows the Muslim population of Bihar by district:[25]

Number District Population (2001) Muslim population Percentage
1Kishanganj1,796,3481,123,456 68%
2Katihar2,392,6381,024,67843%
3Araria2,158,608887,97242%
4Purnia2,543,942935,23938%
5Darbhanga3,295,789748,97123%
6Sitamarhi2,682,720568,99221%
7West Champaran3,043,466646,59721%
8East Champaran3,939,773755,00519%
9Bhagalpur2,423,172423,24618%
10Madhubani3,575,281941,57926%
11Siwan2,714,349494,17618%
12Gopalganj2,152,638367,21917%
13Supaul1,732,578302,12017%
14Sheohar515,96180,07616%
15Muzaffarpur4,746,714752,35815%
16Saharsa1,508,182217,92214%
17Begusarai2,349,366313,71313%
18Banka1,608,773190,05112%
19Gaya3,473,428403,43913%
20Jamui1,398,796170,33412%
21Nawada1,809,696204,45711%
22Madhepura1,526,646173,60511%
23Aurangabad2,013,055221,43611%
24Kaimur1,289,074123,04810%
25Khagaria1,280,354131,44110%
26Rohtas2,450,748246,76010%
27Samastipur3,394,793355,89710%
28Saran3,248,701337,76710%
29Vaishali2,718,421259,15810%
30Jehanabad1,514,315124,1498%
31Munger1,337,79798,7917.4%
32Patna4,718,592366,1648%
33Bhojpur2,243,144163,1937%
34Nalanda2,370,528176,8717%
35Sheikhpura525,50237,7557%
37Buxar1,402,39686,3826%
38Lakhisarai802,22535,3784%

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.[26] 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.

Muslim communities

In common with the rest of India, the Muslims in Bihar are largely descendants of native converts from various castes.[27] 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.[28]

Notable Bihari Muslims

Khan Bahadur Khuda Bakhsh

References

  1. ↑ Joy, Shemin. "Caste survey in Bihar: OBCs, EBCs make up 63.13% of population; Gen Category 15.52%". Deccan Herald.
  2. ↑ "Bihar Caste Census Population, Religion-wise Population & more". RajNeetPG. 3 October 2023.
  3. ↑ "India's religions by numbers". The Hindu. 26 August 2015. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  4. ↑ "Census of India Website : Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India". censusindia.gov.in. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  5. ↑ Arshad, Sameer (5 November 2012). "Will Nitish's visit boost Biharis in Pakistan?". Times Of India. 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.
  6. ↑ "The neglected 'Bihari' community in Bangladesh". Deutsche Welle. 14 January 2019. According to local NGOs working for Bihari welfare, around 400,000 members of the community live in camps in Bangladesh.
  7. ↑ "Case of Bhojpuri and Hindi in Mauritius". lexpress.mu. 27 July 2007. Archived from the original on 27 September 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  8. ↑ Khan, Engr Imtiaz Alam (15 December 2019). "HISTORY: THE FALL OF DHAKA FROM BIHARI EYES". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  9. 1 2 Sajjad, Mohammad (13 August 2014). Muslim Politics in Bihar: Changing Contours. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-55981-8. 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'.
  10. ↑ "In Pictures: Plight of Biharis in Bangladesh". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  11. ↑ Zakaria, Anam. "Remembering the war of 1971 in East Pakistan". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  12. ↑ Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Report Submitted to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, U.S. House of Representatives and Committee on Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate by the Department of State in Accordance with Sections 116(d) and 502B(b) of the Foreign Assistance 1961, as Amended S. prt. United States: U.S. Department of State. 1998. p. 1869. 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.
  13. ↑ Times, Kasturi Rangan Special to The New York (22 December 1971). "Bengalis Hunt Down Biharis, Who Aided Foe". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  14. ↑ "Biharis". Minority Rights Group. 19 June 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  15. ↑ Jacob, Frank (2019). "Genocide and Mass Violence in Asia – Bangladesh" (PDF). OAPEN Online Library and Publication Platform. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  16. ↑ Redclift, Victoria (2017). "The demobilization of diaspora: history, memory and 'latent identity'". Global Networks. 17 (4): 500–517.
  17. ↑ Prasad, Ram Chandra (7 November 1983). "Bihar". National Book Trust, India – via Google Books.
  18. ↑ Chaturvedi, Ritu (7 November 2018). Bihar Through the Ages. Sarup & Sons. ISBN 9788176257985 – via Google Books.
  19. ↑ Gyan Prakash (30 October 2003). Bonded Histories: Genealogies of Labor Servitude in Colonial India. Cambridge University Press. pp. 63–65. ISBN 978-0-521-52658-6.
  20. ↑ Yogendra P. Roy (1992). "Tahawar Singh-A Muslim Raja of Kharagpur Raj (1676 - 1727)". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 53: 333–334. JSTOR 44142804.
  21. ↑ P. J. Marshall (2 November 2006). Bengal: The British Bridgehead: Eastern India 1740-1828. Cambridge University Press. p. 50. ISBN 978-0-521-02822-6.
  22. ↑ Ghosh, Partha S. (23 May 2016). Migrants, Refugees and the Stateless in South Asia. SAGE Publishing India. ISBN 9789351508533 – via Google Books.
  23. 1 2 Jawaid Alam (1 January 2004). Government and Politics in Colonial Bihar, 1921-1937. Mittal Publications. pp. 20–21. ISBN 978-81-7099-979-9.
  24. ↑ Karna, Mahendra Narain (1981). Studies in Bihar's Economy and Society. Concept Publishing Company.
  25. ↑ "Error Value". www.censusindia.gov.in. Archived from the original on 8 April 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  26. ↑ Singh, Vijaita (25 August 2015). "Bihar elections among factors in religious data of Census 2011 release". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 30 December 2017 – via www.thehindu.com.
  27. ↑ "Bihar Information". Director, Public Relations. 7 November 1984 – via Google Books.
  28. ↑ Alam, Mohd Sanjeer (27 January 2012). Religion, Community, and Education: The Case of Rural Bihar. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199088652 – via Google Books.
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