Biharis

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It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Bihari Muslims and Stranded Pakistanis (Discuss)

For other uses, see Bihari.

The Biharis
Total population
600,000 - ?
Regions with significant populations
Pakistan,Bangladesh,United Kingdom,United States,Canada
Languages
Urdu
Religions
Islam( Sunni and Shia )
Related ethnic groups
Other Indo-Aryan peoples Punjabis, Memons, Gujaratis, Pashtuns, Sindhis

Bihari (Bhojpuri/Hindi: बिहारी, Urdu: بِہاری) refers to residents of the Indian state of Bihar. During Partition of India in 1947, many Biharis of Islamic faith migrated to East Bengal (later East Pakistan and subsequently Bangladesh).

1 Biharis in Pakistan and Bangladesh
2 See also
3 References
4 External links
5 MQM websites

[edit] Biharis in Pakistan and Bangladesh

See also: Stranded Pakistanis

In 1947, at the time of Partition, many Muslim Biharis moved to what was then East Bengal adjacent to their Bihar province in eastern india. In 1971, when war broke out between West Pakistan and East Pakistan (or Bangladesh), the Biharis sided with the military of West Pakistan.

However, when East Pakistan became the independent state of Bangladesh in December 1971, the Biharis were left behind as the Pakistani army and civilians evacuated and the Bihari population in Bangladesh found themselves unwelcome in both countries. Pakistan feared a mass influx of Biharis could destabilize a fragile and culturally mixed population, and Bangladeshis scorned the Biharis for having supported and sided with the West during the war.

With little or no legal negotiation about offering the Biharis Pakistani citizenship or safe conduit back home to their native Bihar in india, the Biharis ( called stranded Pakistanis by politically biased Bangladeshi politicians) have remained stateless for 33 years. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has not addressed the plight of the Biharis. An estimated 600,000 Biharis live in 66 camps in 13 regions across Bangladesh, and an equal number have acquired Bangladeshi citizenship.

In 1990, a small number of Biharis were allowed to immigrate to Pakistan due to the efforts of MQM, which is still campaigning for their return. There arrival caused much resentment among native Pakistani's who have nothing in common with the Bihari ethnic group beside religion. The arrival of the Bihari's also aggravated the ethnic tensions exisiting in Pakistan. Pakistan has reiterated, that as the successor state of East Pakistan, as well as having greater cultural and linguistic similarities with Bengali's, Bangladesh should accept the Bihari's as full citizenship, much as Pakistan has done with the estimated 4-5 million refugees it rather difficultly absorbed from india at the time of independence.

The majority of Biharis in Pakistan live in Karachi, where Orangi Town has the highest concentration of them while those in Bangladesh are allowed to live in specific camps only mostly within Dhaka city. Due to not having citizenship, most engage in odd jobs of various sorts but considerable crime and thefts has also been attributed to them. Recently the Bangladeshi government has passed a law offerering citizenship to them, finally bringing an end to their status.