Bihari Muslims are people originating and tracing descent from the Indian state of Bihar who practice the religion of Islam. The vast majority of Bihari Muslims are followers of the Sunni sect and even in pre-Mughal Bihar, all the Ulemas, Mullas and Sufis were Sunnis. There is however a significant community of Shia Muslims residing in Patna who descend from settlers from Lucknow who came in the 1800s.
Origin
In common with the rest of India, the overwhelming majority of Muslims in Bihar are descended from native converts from various caste groups. The rise in the Muslim population can traced to the early twelfth century with many conversions taking place during the rule of the Sur Empire which had its capital in Sasaram, Bihar.
History
The large-scale arrival of Muslims in Bihar began in the 1300's when Afghan 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 as many upper-caste Hindus arrived also including Rajput and Bhumihar clan chiefs who cut down the forested areas and drove the indigenous Adivasis out of the region. 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. 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. The Faujdars 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. Many Bihari Muslims migrated to Pakistan and Bangladesh after independence in 1947.
Society
Bihari Muslim society has traditionally been divided by caste and clan affiliations. Muslims refer to these distinctions as biraderi and they are not as rigid as those followed by Hindus, but intermarriage remains rare. The Ashraf groups are equivalent to upper castes and include groups like Pathans, SayyidsheikhMaliks 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. The Mirzas claim descent from the Mughals and are found mainly in the area around Darbhanga and Muzzafarpur. The Ajlaf Muslims are mostly the descendants of low-caste Hindu converts. Among the largest Ajlaf groups are the Ansaris who form 20% of the Muslim population in Bihar. Their traditional occupation is weaving.
Distribution by district
The following table shows the Muslim population of Bihar by district:
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. 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.
