![]() Muslim men praying in Siwan district, Bihar, 1910 | |
Total population | |
---|---|
c. 24,538,379 Million | |
Regions with significant populations | |
![]() | 23,138,379[1][2][3][4] |
![]() | 1,000,000[5] |
![]() | 400,000[6] |
Languages | |
Urdu, various Bihari languages[7] | |
Religion | |
![]() (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, Also 500k Biharis got killed by Bengalis during 1971 War. [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]
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.