7 months ago
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Muslim voters are often said to ballot en-bloc. This presumption has been applied to the Muslims of Seemanchal successful Bihar arsenic well, mostly owed to the astonishing emergence of Asaduddin Owaisi’s enactment All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) successful 2020.
However, this is hardly the case. Around 28% of Bihar’s 2.31 crore Muslim colonisation unrecorded successful the Seemanchal portion comprising Kishanganj, Katihar, Araria and Purnia districts. While astir each of them are from the Sunni denomination of Islam, the assemblage is not homogeneous.
Caste composition
Muslims successful Seemanchal are broadly divided into 3 castes — the Surjapuri, Shershahbadi and Kulhaiya castes. Although the differences betwixt them are not precise evident to an outsider, these 3 caste groups disagree culturally, seldom intermarry, and talk chiseled dialects. The dialects originate from a substance of Maithili and Bangla, diluted with words borrowed from Hindi and Urdu. The dialect spoken by Shershahbadis is person to Bangla, portion the Kulhaiya dialect is person to Maithili. Surjapuri lies determination successful the middle, with dense dilution from Urdu words.
However, the biggest quality betwixt the caste groups depends connected which Sunni Islamic question they travel — Barelvi, Deobandi, oregon Ahle Hadith. Surjapuris are divided betwixt Barelvi and Deobandi, with a larger conception leaning towards the former. The Kulhaiyas are predominantly Deobandi, portion Shershahbadis mostly travel Ahle Hadith. Barelvi, Deobandi and Ahle Hadith are 3 Sunni Islamic movements successful South Asia. Barelvis clasp Sufism, veneration of saints, and the solemnisation of Prophet Muhammad’s birthday. Deobandis are much reformist, discourage excessive saint veneration and innovations, portion maintaining immoderate Sufi power successful a stricter form. Ahle Hadith adherents trust straight connected the Quran and Hadith, opposing immoderate spiritual customs not recovered successful aboriginal Islamic texts.
Earlier, each 3 groups — the Surjapuri, Shershahbadi and Kulhaiya — were identified arsenic Shaikh, 1 of the 3 castes categorised arsenic upper-caste Muslims on with Pathan and Syed. However, owed to the humanities backwardness of the portion and changes successful governmental representation, Shershahbadis and Kulhaiyas were included successful the database of Extremely Backward Classes (EBC), portion Surjapuris remained successful the Backward Caste category. The Bihar caste Census 2023 identifies Surjapuris arsenic the 3rd largest Muslim caste radical (after Shaikh and Ansari) with a colonisation of astir 24.5 lakh people. The Shershahbadis person astir 13 lakh, and Kulhaiyas, 12.5 lakh. There is besides a 4th caste derived from Shaikh called the Sekhra, with a colonisation of astir 2.5 lakh successful Seemanchal. In addition, determination are Muslims from antithetic castes who person migrated from antithetic parts of Bihar to Seemanchal for concern purposes. They are collectively referred to by locals arsenic Pachhimas, meaning Westerners oregon those coming from the west, peculiarly from the portion astir the Begusarai district.
The Surjapuri Muslims chiefly unrecorded successful Kishanganj, Purnia and Katihar districts. Araria is dominated by Kulhaiya Muslims, with a sizeable colonisation besides surviving successful Purnia. Shershahbadi Muslims chiefly unrecorded successful Katihar, with a sizeable beingness successful Kishanganj.
Shifting trends
Caste consciousness and voting on caste lines is simply a caller improvement among the Muslims of Seemanchal. These governmental shifts began astir 2000, and by 2010, the alteration had go visible.
Before 2000, determination were Muslim MLAs from each 4 salient castes successful Seemanchal. Mohammad Hussain Azad, Rafique Alam, Abdul Jalil Mastan (Amour), Abdus Subhan, Islamuddin, Najmuddin, Mohammad Suleman, Abdul Jalil (Kadwa) and Usman Ghani from the Surjapuri caste; Mohammad Taslimuddin, Hasibur Rahman, Motiur Rahman, Halimuddin Ahmed, Muzaffar Hussain and Beula Doza from Kulhaiyas; Mohammad Shakoor, Mubarak Hussain and Mansoor Alam from Shershahbadis; and Mohammad Azimuddin from the Sekhra caste were elected MLAs from antithetic constituencies of Seemanchal. Many of them got elected from seats not dominated by their castes.
However, this well-distributed representation, which reflected the saying Jiski jitni sankhya bhaari, Uski utni hissedaari (the greater one’s numbers, the greater one’s share), was not reflected astatine the Lok Sabha level. The Kishanganj Lok Sabha constituency, dominated by Surjapuri Muslims, was represented either by Kulhaiya leaders similar Mohammad Tahir, Jamilur Rahman, Halimuddin Ahmed and Mohammad Taslimuddin, oregon by upper-caste Muslim leaders specified arsenic Syed Shahabuddin, Syed Shahnawaz Hussain, oregon parachute politicians similar M.J. Akbar.
It took a gangly Surjapuri leader, Maulana Asrarul Haque Qasmi, a well-known Islamic student who served arsenic wide caput of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, 24 years to get elected from Kishanganj. He archetypal contested successful the 1985 byelection but could lone triumph successful the 2009 wide elections, erstwhile Surjapuri Muslims collectively rallied down him against the incumbent Mohammad Taslimuddin, a Kulhaiya. After that, successful 2014, Mr. Taslimuddin shifted his basal to neighbouring Araria, a Kulhaiya-dominated constituency.
In consequent elections, Surjapuri Muslims continued to predominate the Kishanganj seat, reaching a highest successful the past Lok Sabha elections which saw a triangular contention betwixt 3 Surjapuri Muslim candidates — Mohammad Jawaid from the Congress, Mujahid Alam from the Janata Dal (United), and Akhtarul Iman from the AIMIM. Meanwhile, Mr. Taslimuddin’s household has maintained dominance successful Araria, winning oregon losing successful adjacent contests since 2014. Katihar’s agelong hold for section Muslim practice successful Parliament continues arsenic Tarique Anwar, a Syed from Arwal, has held sway determination for 50 years.
The contiguous scenario
Since 2000, the fig of Surjapuri MLAs successful the Bihar assembly has ranged betwixt 5 and seven, Kulhaiya betwixt 1 and two, Sekhra betwixt zero and one, portion MLAs from the astir vilified Shershahbadi assemblage has dropped from 2 to zero.
Out of the 24 Assembly constituencies successful Seemanchal, 11 were won by Muslim MLAs successful 2020. Of these, six are Surjapuri, 2 Kulhaiyas, 1 Sekhra, and 2 upper-caste Muslims. The fig of Muslim MLAs successful the portion was the aforesaid successful 2015, but past determination were 7 Surjapuri MLAs and lone 1 upper-caste Muslim MLA. Purnia’s Baisi spot is presently represented by Syed Ruknuddin Ahmad, an upper-caste Muslim whose household has traditionally managed a section dargah, a shrine revered by Barelvi Muslims. Senior Congress person Shakeel Ahmad Khan, besides an upper-caste Muslim, has consecutively won from Katihar’s Kadwa seat.
Just similar the Kishanganj Lok Sabha seat, successful galore seats the caste equation has present stabilised. All 4 Assembly seats successful the Kishanganj territory — Kochadhaman, Bahadurganj, Kishanganj and Thakurganj — on with Katihar’s Balrampur, are dominated by Surjapuri Muslims. Araria district’s Jokihat and Araria are accepted Kulhaiya seats. Purnia’s Amour and Baisi are mostly Surjapuri-dominated but person a important Kulhaiya population. Katihar’s Pranpur has a premix of Surjapuri and Shershahbadi populations, portion Kadwa has a ample Surjapuri population. Katihar’s Barari, Manihari and Korha, and Kishanganj’s Thakurganj and Kishanganj seats, person a sizeable Shershahbadi population.
Sekhra Muslims are numerically important successful the Araria assembly seat, though the lone existent Sekhra MLA represents Purnia’s Kasba, which has a notable Kulhaiya and Shershahbadi presence.
It is present astir intolerable for a non-Surjapuri Muslim campaigner to triumph from Kochadhaman, Bahadurganj, Kishanganj, Thakurganj and Balrampur. Similarly, a non-Kulhaiya Muslim cannot anticipation to triumph from Jokihat, and the Araria assembly spot is besides hard for a non-Kulhaiya Muslim candidate. Amour and Baisi, though Surjapuri-dominated, often spot beardown Kulhaiya candidates. Pranpur is the lone spot wherever a salient Shershahbadi Muslim campaigner has appeared successful the past fewer elections. Manihari is reserved for Scheduled Tribes, Korha for Scheduled Castes, portion nary of the large alliances present tract Muslim candidates successful Barari.
The Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) successful Bihar, which is the Opposition alliance, comprising the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Congress, Left parties and others volition respect the caste dominance successful their summons organisation this clip arsenic well. The AIMIM which had tasted occurrence successful 5 seats of Seemanchal by unifying Surjapuri-Kulahaiya votes is making the aforesaid effort again successful these elections. The AIMIM Bihar main Akhtarul Iman is simply a salient Surjapuri person and the incumbent MLA from Amour. However, the enactment has announced a Kulhaiya campaigner successful the neighbouring Baisi seat, successful an effort to unite Surjapuri-Kulhaiya votes successful the region, and it is fixed that the party’s campaigner successful the neighbouring seat, Jokihat, volition beryllium a Kulhaiya.
Tanzil Asif is the laminitis of Seemanchal-based quality level Main Media.
