Bihari Muslims
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
•  India •  Pakistan• Bangladesh •  United States •  Canada •  Australia | |
| Languages | |
| • Urdu • Hindi • Bhojpuri[1] | |
| Religion | |
•  Islam (Sunni and Shi'a) | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| • Bihari peoples • Indian Muslims |
Bihari Muslims are people originating and tracing descent from the Indian state of Bihar who practice Islam as their religion. Bihari Muslims mainly practice Sunni Islam of the Hanafi creed, though a small Shia minority exists.
Origin
About 3 million Bihari Muslims migrated to Pakistan and Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) after independence.
Society
The Bihari Muslim community is split into the Ajlaf and the Ashraf with Ashraf Muslims having a higher status then Ajlaf Muslims.[citation needed] Ashraf Groups in Bihar are Syeds, Pathans, Sheikhs, Mirzas and Maliks.[2] The Ajlaf on the other hand are descendants of low caste converts.
Muslims are spread throughout the State of Bihar, but are mainly concentrated in some districts, especially Kishanganj, Katihar, Araria, Purnia, Bhagalpur, Madhubani, Sitamarhi, Champaran, Siwan, Samastipur, Madhepura, Darbhanga, Begusarai, Nawada, Gaya, Jehanabad and Muzaffarpur.
Distribution by district
| Number | District | Population (2011) | Muslim population | Percentage |
| 1 | Kishanganj | 1,296,348 | 1,011,151 | 78% |
| 2 | Katihar | 2,392,638 | 1,017,495 | 43% |
| 3 | Araria | 2,158,608 | 887,972 | 41% |
| 4 | Purnia | 2,543,942 | 935,239 | 37% |
| 5 | Darbhanga | 3,295,789 | 748,971 | 23% |
| 6 | Sitamarhi | 2,682,720 | 568,992 | 21% |
| 7 | West Champaran | 3,043,466 | 646,597 | 21% |
| 8 | East Champaran | 3,939,773 | 755,005 | 19% |
| 9 | Bhagalpur | 2,423,172 | 423,246 | 18% |
| 10 | Madhubani | 3,575,281 | 641,579 | 18% |
| 11 | Siwan | 2,714,349 | 494,176 | 18% |
| 12 | Gopalganj | 2,152,638 | 367,219 | 17% |
| 13 | Supaul | 1,732,578 | 302,120 | 17% |
| 14 | Sheohar | 515,961 | 80,076 | 16% |
| 15 | Muzaffarpur | 3,746,714 | 573,951 | 15% |
| 16 | Saharsa | 1,508,182 | 217,922 | 14% |
| 17 | Begusarai | 2,349,366 | 313,713 | 13% |
| 18 | Banka | 1,608,773 | 190,051 | 12% |
| 19 | Gaya | 3,473,428 | 403,439 | 12% |
| 20 | Jamui | 1,398,796 | 170,334 | 12% |
| 21 | Nawada | 1,809,696 | 204,457 | 11% |
| 22 | Madhepura | 1,526,646 | 173,605 | 11% |
| 23 | Aurangabad | 2,013,055 | 221,436 | 11% |
| 24 | Kaimur | 1,289,074 | 123,048 | 10% |
| 25 | Khagaria | 1,280,354 | 131,441 | 10% |
| 26 | Rohtas | 2,450,748 | 246,760 | 10% |
| 27 | Samastipur | 3,394,793 | 355,897 | 10% |
| 28 | Saran | 3,248,701 | 337,767 | 10% |
| 29 | Vaishali | 2,718,421 | 259,158 | 10% |
| 30 | Jehanabad | 1,514,315 | 124,149 | 8% |
| 31 | Munger | 1,337,797 | 98,791 | 7.4% |
| 32 | Patna | 4,718,592 | 366,164 | 8% |
| 33 | Bhojpur | 2,243,144 | 163,193 | 7% |
| 34 | Nalanda | 2,370,528 | 176,871 | 7% |
| 35 | Sheikhpura | 525,502 | 37,755 | 7% |
| 37 | Buxar | 1,402,396 | 86,382 | 6% |
| 38 | Lakhisarai | 802,225 | 35,378 | 4% |
Sum total of this table is 14,780,500 Muslims out of 83.0 millions total population in 2001 census, hence Muslims were 17.81% of total population in Bihar. In 2011 census, total population grew to 103.9985 millions, of which 18.964% or 19,922,048 were Muslims. 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.
See also
References
- ^ "Case of Bhojpuri and Hindi in Mauritius". lexpress.mu. 27 July 2007. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
- ^ https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=BSceVSL-3C8C&pg=PA20&dq=pathans+in+bihar&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=pathans%20in%20bihar&f=false
- ^ http://www.censusindia.gov.in/errorStatus.htm?aspxerrorpath=/Census_Data_2001/Census_Data_Online/CensusDataOnline_Login.aspx