Islam in West Bengal

According to the (2021) estimation, the West Bengal state has over 31,144,763 Muslims, who form 30% of the state's population. The vast majority of Muslims in West Bengal are Bengali Muslims numbering around 2.6 crore and comprising 25% of the state population, but a notable section of non-Bengali Muslims also exist, particularly among Biharis, Hindustanis, Dawoodi Bohra and various Native communities such as Raj bongshi particular numbering around 6.2 Millions comprising rest 5% of the state population. [1][3][2][4][6] Muslims form the majority of the population in three districts: Murshidabad, Malda and Uttar Dinajpur.[7]

Muslims in West Bengal
West Bengal's oldest Mosque located at Murshidabad district
Total population
24,654,825 (2011 census)
(27% of the state population)[1][2][3][4][5]
Regions with significant populations
Majority in Murshidabad with 66.3%, Maldah with 51.3%, Uttar dinajpur with 50%. Significant minority in Birbhum with 37.1%, South 24 Parganas with 35.6%, Howrah with 26.20%.
Languages
Bengali and Urdu

Zohora Begum Mosque in Kolkata

Demography
Percentage and population of Muslims in West Bengal by decades[8][9]
Year Percentage (%) Muslim Population Total population
1901 29.44 3,954,776 16,940,088
1911 26.31 2,955,098 17,998,769
1921 26.07 4,101,516 17,474,348
1931 26.65 4,521,313 18,897,036
1941 26.18 5,506,442 23,229,552
1951 19.85 5,102,330 26,299,980
1961 19.79 6,915,348 34,926,279
1971 20.46 9,083,963 44,312,011
1981 21.51 11,743,209 54,580,647
1991 23.61 16,050,000 68,077,965
2001 25.25 20,240,543 80,176,197
2011 26.99 24,654,825 91,347,736

History
See also: Bengal Sultanate
The Gazi Dargah (গাজী দরগা) of Tribeni (ত্রিবেনী) in West Bengal. This is one of the oldest Islamic heritage structures of Bengal. Address: Tribeni - Shibpur Rd, Shibpur, Tribeni, West Bengal 712502

Islam first came into Bengal in the year of 1204.[10] The entire Bengal region was under Mughal empire rule from 1576–1765 and was commonly known as Bengal Subah.[11] The Mughal Empire eventually controlled the region under its Bengal Subah viceregal province. The Mughal Emperors considered Bengal their most prized province. Emperor Akbar redeveloped the Bengali calendar.[12] The establishment of a single united Bengal Sultanate in 1352 by Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah finally gave rise to a "Bengali" socio-linguistic identity.[13] The Ilyas Shahi dynasty acknowledged Muslim scholarship, and this transcended ethnic background. Usman Serajuddin, also known as Akhi Siraj Bengali, was a native of Gaur in western Bengal and became the Sultanate's court scholar during Ilyas Shah's reign.[14][15][16] Alongside Persian and Arabic, the sovereign Sunni Muslim nation-state also enabled the language of the Bengali people to gain patronage and support, contrary to previous states which exclusively favoured Sanskrit, Pali and Persian.[17][18] The born-Hindu Sultan Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah funded the construction of Islamic institutions as far as Mecca and Madina in the Middle East. The people of Arabia came to know these institutions as al-Madaris al-Bangaliyyah (Bengali madrasas). The Pathan occupation of Bengal was limited to the region of Gauda, the rest of which was held in sway by different Bengali Hindu rulers. Islam religion gradually spread throughout the Bengal region, and many Bengali Hindus converted to Islam.[19] From 1200-1500 AD Sufism attained its 'Golden Age' in Bengal, being influenced by the diverse Sufi orders of Qadiriya, Chistia, Naqshbandi, Mujaddid, Suhrawardiyya etc. Sufis are held responsible for most of the conversion of native Bengalis into Islam through out the Bengal region.[20]

See also: Nawabs of Bengal and Murshidabad
The Bengal Sultanate, 16th century covering whole Western part of Bengal

The list of the native Bengali Islamic empire of Bengal region are -:

Sultanates: Islamic rulers under the banners of Khilji Dynasty (1200 CE - 1230 CE), the Mamluk Sultanate (1227 CE - 1281 CE), the Tughlaq Sultanate (1324 CE - 1339 CE), the kingdom of Bengal Sultanate (1334 - 1578), the Suri Empire (1532 - 1555) Ruled Bengal.

Mughal Subahdars: Districts or Subahs were distributed among the allies and commandants of the Mughal Empire. Mughal emperors such as Akbar, Jahangir and Aurangzeb placed high regard for the Bengal province and were also aware of the riches this region had to offer.[21]

Population
Historical Muslim Population
YearPop.±%
1901 3,954,776—    
1911 2,955,098−25.3%
1921 4,101,516+38.8%
1931 4,521,313+10.2%
1941 5,506,442+21.8%
1951 5,102,330−7.3%
1961 6,915,348+35.5%
1971 9,083,963+31.4%
1981 11,743,209+29.3%
1991 16,050,000+36.7%
2001 20,240,543+26.1%
2011 24,654,825+21.8%
Source: [9]

Partition and immigration

The Muslim population in West Bengal before 1947 partition was around 30%.[22] After partition of Bengal in 1947, some Muslims from West Bengal left for East Pakistan, (Present-Day-Bangladesh). Estimates show that 1,534,718 Muslim refugees from West Bengal settling permanently in East Pakistan during 1947–1951.[23]

Population by district (2011)
Percentage share of Muslims in the districts of West Bengal, 2011 Census
Muslims in West Bengal by district (2011)[24]
#DistrictTotal populationMuslim population %
1Murshidabad7,103,8074,707,57366.88%
2South 24 Parganas8,161,9612,903,07535.57%
3North 24 Parganas10,009,7812,584,68425.82%
4Malda3,988,8452,045,15151.27%
5Bardhaman7,717,5631,599,76420.73%
6Uttar Dinajpur3,007,1341,501,17049.92%
7Nadia5,167,6001,382,68226.76%
8Birbhum3,502,4041,298,05437.06%
9Howrah4,850,0291,270,64126.20%
10Kolkata4,496,694926,41420.60%
11Hooghly5,519,145870,20415.77%
12Purba Medinipur5,095,875743,43614.59%
13Cooch Behar2,819,086720,03325.54%
14Paschim Medinipur5,913,457620,55410.49%
15Jalpaiguri3,872,846445,81711.51%
16Dakshin Dinajpur1,676,276412,78824.63%
17Bankura3,596,674290,4508.08%
18Purulia2,930,115227,2497.76%
19Darjeeling1,846,823105,0865.69%
##West Bengal (Total)91,276,11524,654,82527.01%
Trends in Muslim population of West Bengal after Partition[25][9]
Census year % of total populationDecadal growthIncrease
1946 (Before partition)30.32%[22]NANA
195119.85%27.26%

-10.47%

196120%36.48%+0.15%
197120.46%29.76%+0.46%
198121.51%29.55%+1.05%
199123.61%36.89%+2.1%
200125.25%25.91%+1.64%
201127.01%21.80%+1.76%
202130%[2]26.30%+2.99%
Trends in Muslim population of West Bengal before Partition[9]
Census year % of total populationIncrease
190129.44%-
191126.31%-3.13%
192126.07%-0.24%
193126.65%+0.58%
194126.18%-0.47%

Linguistic groups
Bengali Muslim children's celebrating Pohela Boishakh, Bengali new year

According to the 2021 census, there were around 31.14 million Muslims living in West Bengal. Nearly most of them (24% of state population), about 24.91 million are native Bengali Muslims, constituting around 80% of the total Muslim population in the state, and are mostly concentrated in rural and Semi Urban areas. The Urdu-speaking Muslims from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh constitute rest 6%, numbering around 6.22 million and are mainly concentrated in Kolkata,Asansol,Islampur Subdivision of West Bengal. [26][27][28]

Projections

West Bengal's Muslims percentage in the total population share have increased slightly, from 30.3% in 1946 (before partition) to again regaining the same share of percentage of 30% as per the last estimation conducted for 2021 census.[2][23] Based on the current growth rate, It has been estimated, that the percentage share of Muslim population in the state is approximately doubling in a span of 100 years starting from 19% in 1951 to 40% by 2061 as an prediction.[29]

Notable Muslims from West Bengal

Kolkata
  • Begum Rokeya, Bengali Feminist thinker Writer,Philanthropists

Malda

Murshidabad

Hooghly

Bardhaman

North 24 Parganas

South 24 Parganas

See also

References
  1. https://www.indiaonlinepages.com/population/west-bengal-population.html
  2. "West Bengal assembly elections: Why getting Muslims votes could be tough for Mamata Banerjee". Times of India.
  3. https://www.freepressjournal.in/analysis/why-the-30-muslim-vote-share-is-crucial-in-bengal-explains-robin-roy
  4. https://www.indiacensus.net/states/west-bengal
  5. Census of India - Religious Composition
  6. "Census 2011 shows Islam is the fastest growing religion in India". Mint. 26 August 2015.
  7. Saibal Sen (26 August 2015). "Bengal beats India in Muslim growth rate".
  8. https://m.statisticstimes.com/demographics/india/west-bengal-population.php
  9. Nahid Kamal. "The Population Trajectories of Bangladesh and West Bengal During the Twentieth Century: A Comparative Study" (PDF).
  10. http://pu.edu.pk › historyPDF the diffusion of islam in bengal - Punjab University
  11. Lex Heerma van Voss; Els Hiemstra-Kuperus; Elise van Nederveen Meerkerk (2010). "The Long Globalization and Textile Producers in India". The Ashgate Companion to the History of Textile Workers, 1650–2000. Ashgate Publishing. p. 255. ISBN 9780754664284.
  12. Shoaib Daniyal. "Bengali New Year: how Akbar invented the modern Bengali calendar". Scroll.in. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  13. Ahmed, ABM Shamsuddin (2012). "Iliyas Shah". In Islam, Sirajul; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  14. 'Abd al-Haqq al-Dehlawi. Akhbarul Akhyar.
  15. Abdul Karim (2012). "Shaikh Akhi Sirajuddin Usman (R)". In Islam, Sirajul; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  16. Hanif, N (2000). Biographical Encyclopaedia of Sufis: South Asia. Prabhat Kumar Sharma, for Sarup & Sons. p. 35.
  17. "What is more significant, a contemporary Chinese traveler reported that although Persian was understood by some in the court, the language in universal use there was Bengali. This points to the waning, although certainly not yet the disappearance, of the sort of foreign mentality that the Muslim ruling class in Bengal had exhibited since its arrival over two centuries earlier. It also points to the survival, and now the triumph, of local Bengali culture at the highest level of official society." (Eaton 1993:60)
  18. Rabbani, AKM Golam (7 November 2017). "Politics and Literary Activities in the Bengali Language during the Independent Sultanate of Bengal". Dhaka University Journal of Linguistics. 1 (1): 151–166. Archived from the original on 11 October 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017 – via www.banglajol.info.
  19. "GlobalFront Homepage". www.globalfront.com. Archived from the original on 14 October 2007. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  20. https://www.thedailystar.net/news/sufi-influence-in-bengal
  21. https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/history-of-bengal-324618-2016-05-20
  22. "Muslims of West Bengal" (PDF). core.ac.uk. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  23. Chatterji, Joya (2007). The Spoils of Partition: Bengal and India, 1947–1967. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-139-46830-5.
  24. Population by religious community: West Bengal. 2011 Census of India.
  25. B.P. Syam Roy (28 September 2015). "Bengal's topsy-turvy population growth". The Statesman. Archived from the original on 10 September 2016.
  26. https://m.timesofindia.com/india/owaisis-entry-into-bengal-likely-to-unsettle-tmcs-sway-over-minorities/articleshow/79206288.cms
  27. https://www.freepressjournal.in/analysis/why-the-30-muslim-vote-share-is-crucial-in-bengal-explains-robin-roy
  28. https://m.timesofindia.com/india/west-bengal-elections-2021-mamata-banerjee-and-muslim-votes/articleshow/81700787.cms
  29. https://www.myind.net/Home/viewArticle/demographic-warning-west-bengal
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