Islam in Assam

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Muslims of Assam

The dargah of Azan Fakir. Azan Fakir spread Islam (Sufism) in Assam in the 17th century.
Total population
c. 14,619,086 (2021 estimation) (40.03% of the state population)
Regions with significant populations
Majority -: South Salmara - 95.2%, Dhubri - 79.67%, Goalpara - 57.52%, Bongaigaon - 50.22%, Barpeta - 70.74%, Morigaon - 52.56%, Nagaon - 55.36%, Darrang - 64.34%, Hojai - 53.65%, Hailakandi - 60.31% and Karimganj - 56.36%. Significant -: Cachar - 37.71%, Nalbari - 35.96%, Kokrajhar - 28.44%, Chirang - 22.66% and Kamrup - 39.66%.
Languages
Bengali (Include Sylheti Bengali) - (10.49 million), Assamese - (4 million) and Urdu - (1.25 lakhs).

Islam is the second largest religion in Assam. The Muslim population was approximately 14.61 million, constituting over 40.03% of the total population of the state as of 2021 year,^[1][2] making Assam the second-largest Muslim-populated state in the country after Kashmir.^[3] Reaching the region in the 13th century, Islam is the fastest-growing religion in Assam. Muslims are a majority in almost thirteen districts of Assam and highly concentrated in four districts.^[4][5][6]

History[]

Early expeditions[]

Panbari Mosque, one of the oldest mosque in Assam located at Dhubri

The dargah of Azan Faqir, a Sufi saint who helped spread Islam in the region.

Even after the state-sponsored expulsion of Mughals in 1682, King Sukhrungphaa of the Tungkhungia dynasty was said to have continued to pay great attention to the Powa-Makkah Mosque in Hajo.

It is documented that in 1206, a Delhi Sultanate general called Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji became the first Muslim ruler to have reached Assam. En route to capture Tibet, he arrived with a force of 10–12,000 horsemen to the Kamrup region.^[7] Khalji was able to convert a Mech tribe chieftain to Islam (Ali Mech Raja) who guided the army. He was defeated at the Chumbi Valley and were forced to retreat back to Bengal.^[8][9]

In 1257 Malik Ikhtiyaruddin Yuzbak declared war against Sandhya, the Rai of Kamarupa. Helped by the seasonal spring floods, Sandhya defeated, captured and executed Yuzbak.^{[10]: 39–40} In circa 1360, the Sultan of Bengal Sikandar Shah raided the Kamata kingdom and heavily weakened King Indranarayan's authority. However, Sikandar was forced to retreat to Bengal, in order to suppress the invasion of Firuz Shah Tughlaq of Delhi.^[11]

In the 14th century, a group of walis led by Ghiyath ad-Din Awliya, a Sufi from Baghdad, arrived in the region. They established a khanqah atop the Garurachala Hills in Hajo. Claiming to have brought a lump of soil from Makkah with him, the building came to be known as the Barmaqam Powa-Makkah. Ghiyathuddin died in 1388 and a mazar (mausoleum) was built there.^[12]

Sultanate rule[]

In 1498, Sultan Alauddin Husain Shah dispatched military general Shah Ismail Ghazi with 24,000 soldiers and a flotilla to conquer Kamarupa and Kamata.^[13] The conquest was instigated by Sachipatra, a Brahmin whose son was executed by Nilambar for his promiscuity with the queen.^[14] Successfully imprisoning King Nilambar of the Khen dynasty,^[10] the Bengal Sultanate began issuing coins bearing the Sultan as the "Conqueror of Kamru and Kamta" and publicly inscribed the victory at a stone in Malda.^[15] The Sultan appointed his son, Prince Daniyal,^[16] as the governor of the newly conquered region; that reached up to Hajo and intended to expand to Central Assam.

A Baro-Bhuyan confederation led by Gandharva Rai's descendant Harup Narayan was successful in removing the Sultanate influence, but the Baro-Bhuyans themselves were removed by Vishwa Singha who established the Koch dynasty in 1515.^[14][17][18] The Sultanate rule lasted for about 15 years.

Turko-Afghan soldiers who were taken as prisoners of wars by the Ahom kingdom in the 16th were later assimilated by the local population, but maintained a semblance of their Islamic beliefs and worked as brass metal workers.^{[citation needed]}

Mughal period[]

In 1613, the Mughal emperor Jahangir appointed Muhammad Zaman Karori of Tehran as the Amil of Sylhet. Zaman took part in Islam Khan I's Assam expedition and was instrumental to the capture of Koch Hajo.^[19] The Mughals also ruled Goalpara (as a part of their Bengal Subah), but could not subdue the other parts of Assam.^[20] The Mughals established four sarkars in the newly acquired land---among which were Dhekeri (between Sankosh and Manas) and Kamrup (between Manas and Barnadi).^[21] Kamrup was also renamed as Shujabad, after Shah Shuja, the Subahdar of Bengal.^[22]

In 1630, a Muslim saint from Baghdad popularly known as Azan Faqir settled in Sivasagar. He preached to the local population about Islam and as a result, many converted and became his disciples.^{[citation needed]} His mausoleum is present in Saraguri Chapori.

There were a number of Muslim rulers of Kamrup during this period and they were referred to as the Faujdars of Shujabad.^[23] The sixth faujdar, Lutfullah Shirazi, built a hilltop mosque in Koch Hajo in 1657. The mosque contained the mazar (mausoleum) of Prince Ghiyath ad-Din Awliya of Iraq, who is commonly credited for introducing Islam to the region.^[24] The Mughals lost Kamrup forever in 1682 after the Battle of Itakhuli. Incomplete list of Faujdars of Guahati:

1. Makram Khan (1612-1614)
2. Mir Sufi (1614-1616)
3. Shaykh Kamal (1616-1632)
4. Abd as-Salam (1632-1638)
5. Noorullah Khan Herati (1638-1656)
6. Lutfullah Shirazi (1656-1658), built a hilltop mosque in Hajo in 1657.^[19]

British Raj[]

When Assam came under colonial rule, the British brought with them a number of immigrant Bengali settlers (mostly Muslims). These immigrant Bengalis encouraged other Bengalis to settle in Assam for economic and social reasons.^[25] The fertile land of Assam and its vast expanse was inhabited by only a moderate indigenous populace at that time( that is, vast lands and forests were present but fewer people) which then attracted a large number of landless immigrant peasants from Bengal presidency, nearly 85% of whom were Muslims. The tea planters and immigrant Marwari businessmen, who needed workers, also welcomed the migrants.^[26]

Early establishments of these neo-coloniser immigrant Bengalis were in the Goalpara district, mostly in the char (riverine) lands and reserved forests.^[25] Most of these Muslim immigrants were known as "Miyas". Since many of them came from the Northeast part of Rangpur and very few of them came from Mymensingh, they were sometimes referred to as "Bongya" or Bongali meaning Outsider.^[27]

After the Government of India Act 1935, a Legislative Assembly was established in Assam in 1937. The Muslim League, led by Muhammed Saadulah, formed a minority government in the state and he again encouraged large scale immigration from then Bengal.^[26]

Independence[]

The Jayantipur Bor Masjid

After the Sylhet referendum in 1947, the Muslim-majority Sylhet region went to East Pakistan while some Muslim-majority areas such as the Karimganj district went to Assam, India.^[28][29]

Assam has some indigenous Muslims like the Gauria, Maria and Deshi, though they are very few as compared to the large-scale Bengal-originating immigrants. Thus, there have been concerns that illegal immigration from neighbouring East Pakistan in India has contributed to a sharp rise in the Muslim population of Assam and has slowly destabilized the native inhabitants of Assam. This fear of "demographic invasion" by East Pakistani has been a political issue in Assam since the days of the Assam Movement (1979–1985).^[30] In 2001, there were 6 Muslim-majority districts in the state of Assam. By 2011, this number had increased to 9.^[31] However, some have stated these numbers have declined in recent years, though there is no concrete proof.^[32]

Assam Movement and accord[]

The Assam Movement or the Assam Agitation (1979-1985) led by All Assam Students Union (AASU) and the ‘All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad’ (AAGSP) was a popular uprising to drive out the illegal immigrants from Bengal/Bihar etc. The movement ended with the signing of the Assam Accord by leaders of AASU-AAGSP and the Government of India under PM Rajiv Gandhi. During this period of six long years of the historic movement, reportedly, 855 people (later on 860 according to AASU reports) sacrificed their lives in the hope of an "infiltration free Assam" in the 1979-1985 Assam agitation. In addition, the infamous Nellie and Khoirabari massacre also took place during this time claiming the lives of 2,191 and 100-500 respectively.

The Assam Accord (1985) was a Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) signed between representatives of the Government of India and the leaders of the Assam Movement for the indigenous ethnic groups in New Delhi on 15 August 1985. The fundamental aspect of the Assam Accord was: foreigners who came to Assam on or after March 25, 1971, shall continue to be detected; deleted and practical steps shall be taken to expel such foreigners. The indigenous people of Assam (by meaning indigenous is for those who are living since ages even before colonization took place in 1826 as per UN definition of the indigenous people). Further details are available on public domain which can be referred to, for detailed information.

Post 1985, Assam witnessed a multiple change of governments; from the Indian National Congress to the Asom Gana Parishad and finally the BJP's maiden entry in 2016 with CM Sarbananda Sonowal at the helm, an erstwhile member of AASU who also signed the Assam Accord.

Shutdown of Islamic schools[]

The Assam state has passed a law converting state-run Islamic schools into regular schools, saying they provided sub-standard education.

Opposition parties criticised the move and stated it reflected the government's anti-Muslim attitude in the Hindu-majority country.

More than 700 of the Islamic religious schools, known as madrasas, in Assam will be shut by April, the state's education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told the local assembly.^[33]

Demographics[]

Ilias Ali on a journey to propagate family planning among the riverine Muslims of rural Kamrup.

A Muslim man from Barpeta who ethnically identifies as a Miya.

Assamese is the official language of the state and the most widely spoken, and so it serves as a lingua franca for inter-ethnic communications. Bengali, which is an official language in Assam's Barak Valley, is also a popular common language among certain communities.

The Assamese Muslims are often divided into four subgroups; Deshi, Maria, Gauria and Syeds. Some of these people are descendants of defeated Mughal soldiers, captured in Ahom–Mughal conflicts, who eventually married native Assamese women and adopted Assamese language and culture. Their population totals to roughly 4 million, comprising 12.8% of state population. The Syeds claim to be descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.^[34][35][36]

The Deshi or Zula are descendants of indigenous converts to Islam from the Koch, Mech, Rabha, Boro and Indo-Aryans. They consider Ali Mech, the 13th-century chief, as their founding father.^[37] This group mainly converses in Goalpariya and Rajbanshi, as opposed to Boro and Rabha. They are mainly found in the western districts of Goalpara, Kokrajhar, Dhubri and South Salmara-Mankachar (i.e. Lower Assam).^[38]

The Maria are descended from captured Muslim soldiers who were part of Bakhtiyar Khalji's army in 1206. They are named as such because they were engaged in the bell-metal and smithy industry, the word Maria meaning one who hits metals. On the other hand, the Gauria are descendants of Muslim soldiers who accompanied Turbak Khan during his conquest of Assam in 1532. This army hailed from Gaur in Bengal, so are referred to as Gauria. The Mariya and Gauria are minority groups and can be found in Sivasagar, Jorhat, Tinsukia, Golaghat, Kamrup and some other districts in Assam. They speak Assamese language as their own mother tongue.^[39]

The Bengali Muslims are the largest majority group in Assam. The Barak Valley is home to native Sylheti speakers; generally considered as a Bengali dialect.^[40] The valley's Karimganj district was historically a part of the District of Sylhet but was separated from it during the Partition of India in 1947. The other two districts of the Barak Valley; Cachar and Hailakandi, were historically a part of the Dimasa Kingdom which also hosted a large Sylheti Muslim population. There also a number of Sylhet-origin Muslims inhabiting the Hojai district. The Miya people are descended from Muslim immigrants from the modern-day Bangladeshi divisions of Mymensingh, Rangpur and Rajshahi. They are concentrated in the central and lower Assam districts such as Dhubri, Morigaon, Goalpara, Hojai, Kamrup, Darrang, Nagaon, Bongaigaon, Barpeta, Hailakandi, Karimganj, South Salmara district, Nalbari, Chirang and Bodoland. Their population is around 10.49 million, comprising about 30% of the state population, out of 40% of the Assam's total Muslim population as of 2021 year estimation report.^{[41][42][34][43]}

The third group are the are descendants of Muslim migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, who speak Hindustani. Their population is about 1.25 lakhs in Assam, comprising 0.4% of state population as of 2011. They are mainly found in Brahmaputra valley.^[44]

Human Rights issues[]

Bengali Muslims in Assam have faced repeated and increased attacks.^[45] In 1983, around 3000 Bengali Muslims were killed in the Nellie massacre, (unofficial figures run at more than 10,000).^[46][47]

During the 2012 Assam violence there was communal riot between Bengal origin Muslim and indigenous Bodo people.^[48] Almost 80 people were killed, most of whom were Bengali Muslims and some Bodos. Nearly, 400,000 people were displaced to migrant camps, most being Muslims.^[49] Indian nationalist politicians have accused Bangladesh of trying to expand its territory by ostensibly promoting illegal immigration. However, Indian government census reports note a decline in immigration from Bangladesh between 1971 and 2011.^[32][50]

On 10 June 2021, nearly 100 families of about 500 Bengali-speaking Muslims were rendered homeless through land eviction, leaving them with no option but to take shelter near a road. A similar drive was also carried out on May 17 at Jamugurihat in North Assam's Sonitpur district which have evicted 25 Muslim families, all belonging to the Bengali speaking groups. The district administration officials said they had illegally occupied government land and did not vacate it despite several warnings in the past.^[51][52]

Many Bengali speaking Muslims in Assam are victim of NRC which directly declared them under D voter category. Citing the statistics, the letter alleged that the numbers suggest there was pressure from State authorities to declare more persons as foreigners as far as possible. Between 1985 and 2016, out of 468,934 referrals, 80,194 Bengali speaking Muslims were declared as foreigners. In 2017, 13,434 persons from the same community were declared foreigners.^[53][54] Assam last NRC which was conducted on 2019 year, have found that 1.9 million people names were out of the list, of which nearly around 5 lakhs Bengali Muslims names were excluded.^[55]

Population[]

Source: (Census of India) 1901-2021^[56][57]

• Variation for two decades (1971–1991). In 1981, census was not conducted in Assam due to disturbed conditions resulting from insurgency. Muslims in Assam have recorded the most dramatic decline in fertility since NFHS-3, which was conducted 14 years earlier. The number of children who would be born per woman — or the total fertility rate (TFR) — of the Muslim community in Assam is at 2.4 which is higher than the 1.6 for Hindus as of 2019-20 research by the fifth National Family Health Survey. The reduction in fertility among Muslims has been from 3.6 in 2005–06 to 2.4 in 2019–20, a drop of 1.3 compared to 0.4 among Hindus in the same period, although from a lower base.^[58] Muslim percentage have increased from 12.4% in 1901 to 40.03% in 2021 year (which is a sharp rise of 27.63% for past 120 years). The estimated Muslim population of Assam for upcoming 2021 census is 14.61 million out of 36.54 million total population, making up 40.03% of the state population.^[59][60][61]

Population by district (2011 year)[]

Below is a breakdown of the Muslim population by district in the Indian state of Assam according to the 2011 Census of India: ^[4] Muslims are majority in eleven districts out of thirty-three in Assam. Muslims are majority in Dhubri, Bongaigaon, Goalpara, Barpeta, Morigaon, South Salmara district, Hojai, Nagaon, Darrang, Karimganj and Hailakandi. Highest concentration in Cachar, Nalbari, Kamrup, Kokrajhar and Chirang.

Trends[]

Islam was first introduced in Assam by Pir Azan who have came from Baghdad in 17th century (1601-1700) during the reign of Ahom king Pratap Singha. He preach Islam to local indigenous assamese tribes in various parts of Assam. He played a vital role in unifying the people of the Brahmaputra Valley. He is considered as a legendary Sufi saint who composed many spiritual songs related to Allah in Assamese language. Thousands of devotees from all over the country visit his Dargah at Sivsagar to pay their homage to this great reformer who had done a lot for the people of Assam.^[62]

Projections[]

In 1891, Muslim Population in Assam was only about 5% and by the 2001 census it has risen to above 30% and now as per the latest census of 2011, It has increased to above 34% of the total Assam population. As far as for upcoming 2021 census, it has been estimated that present Muslim population in Assam is over 40%, which have gone up from 35% in comparison to the previous decade of 2011 census respectively.^[63]

Illegal immigration[]

Census of India between (2001-2011) have shown that Bengali Muslim population grows 5-7% in Assam specially in the bordering districts over the past decade.^[64] In February 2020, the Assam Minority Development Board announced plans to segregate illegal Bengali Muslim immigrants from the indigenous Muslims of the state, though some have expressed problems in identifying an indigenous Muslim person. According to the board, there are 1.4 crore (14 million) Muslims in the state, of which 10 million are of Bengali origin, and rest are Indian origin indigenous Assamese.^[65][66][67] Allegedly that the number of 'illegal Bangladeshis' in Assam of all religions is about 1 crore (10 million) and are scattered across the length and breadth of the state.^[68][69] A report reveals that out of total 33 districts in Assam, Bangladeshis dominate almost 15 districts of Assam.^[70][71][72]

Notable Muslims from Assam[]

• Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, First Muslim president of India from Assam
• Anwara Taimur, the only woman chief minister of Assam (She was the first Muslim woman Chief Minister of any state in India).
• Mofida Ahmed, Assam's first women MP. (Elected From Jorhat (Lok Sabha constituency) 1957)
• Syed Abdul Malik, writer
• Hafiz Ahmed writer
• Badruddin Ajmal, member of the Indian Parliament^[73] from Dhubri Lok Sabha constituency; founder of the Assam United Democratic Front (AUDF), now All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF);^[74] president of the Assam State Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind; Industrialist, Businessman and a Social worker.
• Ismail Siddique
• Mafizuddin Ahmed Hazarika, writer
• Adil Hussain, actor
• Wasbir Hussain, journalist
• Baharul Islam, Justice of the Supreme Court of India
• Abdul Matlib Mazumdar, Indian freedom fighter and political leader based in undivided Assam State. He was the most prominent Muslim opponents of the demand for a separate Muslim state of Pakistan, especially in the eastern part of the country.
• Ali Mech, First converted Muslim of Assam
• Abu Nechim, the first Muslim IPL cricketer from Assam.
• Muhammed Saadulah, the only Assamese Muslim member of the drafting committee of the constituent assembly of India
• Imran Shah, writer
• Parveen Sultana, Padma Bhushan vocalist
• Zerifa Wahid, actor

See also[]

• Islam in West Bengal
• Christianity in Assam

Notes[]

References[]