| 1st row: Liaqat Ali Khan · Abdul Qadeer Khan · Pervez Musharraf 2nd row: Abdul Sattar Edhi · Nawabzada Shahryar Khan · Shaukat Aziz |
| Total population |
|---|
| 12.5–13 million[1] |
| Regions with significant populations |
| Pakistan |
| Languages |
| Religion |
Muhajir (also known as Urdu-speaking people) (Urdu: مہاجر) [literally – migrants] is a term commonly used especially by Pakistanis to describe the Muslim immigrants, and especially their descendents, who chose to settle in Pakistan and shifted their domicile after partition of British India to Pakistan. Some had participated in the movement for creation of Pakistan in 1947. They shifted from the Muslim minority provinces to Muslim majority provinces within of British India. Their principal language is Urdu. [2]
The Urdu term muhajir (Urdu: مہاجر) comes from the Arabic muhājir (Arabic: مهاجر), meaning a "migrant", and the term is associated in early Islamic history to the migration of Muslims from Makkah to Madinah. As a result of the partition of India, a significant number of Muslims emigrated or were expelled from territory that became India. [3]A large portion of these migrants came from East Punjab, and settled in Pakistani Punjab, where sharing a common culture, and where many had tribal linkages, assimilated within a generation. However, the majority of the Muslim migrants who moved to Sindh hailed from what then the British Indian provinces of Bombay, Bihar, Central Provinces and Berar, Delhi, and the United Provinces as well as the princely states of Hyderabad, Baroda, Kutch and the Rajputana Agency. Most of these refugees settled in the towns and cities of Sindh, such as Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur and Mirpurkhas. Many spoke Urdu, or dialects of the language such as Dakhani, Khari boli, Awadhi, Bhojpuri, Mewati and Marwari. Over a period of a few decades, these disparate groups sharing the common experience of partition, and political opposition to the military regime of Ayoub Khan and his civilian successor Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto evolved into a distinct ethnic grouping.[4]
The reasons for immigration of Urdu speaking people toward Pakistan needs to be put in context with the occurrences of the time. While for many Muhajirs, particularly the noble and aristocratic class, settling in Pakistan was strongly associated with the independence movement based on the Two-Nation Theory. For the vast majority however, fleeing to Pakistan was the only choice they had after suffering from communal riots in various parts of South Asia where the Muslim populations were small minorities and at the mercy of the majority community. Many had lost their properties and homes and arrived in Pakistan on foot especially from East Punjab after the Punjab was partitioned into two, and in result of the out-break of riots in Eastern part of that province. That resulted in harrowing tales of violence and atrocities that Punjab's muslims had to undergo. The movement to constitute a separate state comprising the Muslim majority provinces of South Asia, Pakistan movement was pioneered by the Muslim elite of the region and many notables of the Aligarh Movement. It was initiated in 19th century when Sir Syed Ahmed Khan expounded the Two-Nation Theory in Aligarh. Many Muslim nobles, Nawabs (aristocrats and landed gentry) supported the idea. As the idea spread it gained great support amongst the Muslim population of South Asia and in particular the rising middle and upper classes. The Muslims had launched the movement under the banner of the All India Muslim League and Delhi was its main centre where the headquarters of All India Muslim League (the founding party of Pakistan) based since its creation in 1906 and remained there up to August 1947. The participation in the movement on ideological grounds and supporting its Muslim cause with approximately half of the entire mandate in 1945–46 elections.[5]
Muhajirs are a heterogeneous, multi-ethnic group of people which can be sub-divided into smaller more specific groups but who are bound by the Urdu language. For example, there are still important and distinct sub-groups such as the Hyderabadi Muslims still keep many of their unique cultural traditions, such as the unique Hyderabadi cuisine. [6] Muslims from what is now the states of Delhi, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh were themselves of heterogeneous origin, and were roughly divided into two groupings, the Ashrafiya, roughly ten percent of the population, and the Nau-Muslim, literally new Muslims, on account of the fact that they were converts too Islam from Hinduism. The ashrafiya were further divided into four groupings, the Sayyid and Shaikh, who claimed Arab ancestry, and the Pathan who were Pashtun and the Mughal who claimed to be Central Asian. While the so-called Nau-Muslim were further divided into the castes such as the Rajput, Jat, Tyagi, Kamboh and Dogar, who were traditionally landowners and cultivators, and the so called occupational castes such as the Manihar, Saifi and Ansari, who were associated with crafts and trades.[7]People of Pashtun origin, according to 1931 Census of India made just over 6% of the UP Muslim population. [8]However, these two divisions are of historic importance only, as 6 decades of intermarriage between the two groupings has erased the distinction. What defines a Muhajir now is education, urbanism and the Urdu language. This seen by the fact that many Urdu speakers settled in rural Punjab such as the Ranghar and Meo are no longer considered Muhajir. While Gujratis, Burmese, Bengalis, Rajastani people and Malwaris were and are also counted as Muhajirs in Pakistan due to the fact that they migrated to Pakistan after or during independence, despite the fact that they speak their own native languages and have their own distinct cultures, on account of their urban lifestyle.
| Year | Population of Pakistan | Percentage | Urdu Speakers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | 33,740,167 | 7.05% | 2,378,681 |
| 1961 | 42,880,378 | 7.56% | 3,246,044 |
| 1972 | 65,309,340 | 7.60% | 4,963,509 |
| 1981 | 84,253,644 | 7.51% | 6,369,575 |
| 1998 | 132,352,279 | 7.57% | 9,939,656 |
| Rank | Division | Urdu speakers | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| – | Pakistan | 9,939,656 | 7.57% |
| 1 | Sindh | 6,407,596 | 21.05% |
| 2 | Punjab | 3,320,320 | 4.51% |
| 3 | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | 138,400 | 0.78% |
| 4 | Islamabad Capital Territory | 81,409 | 10.11% |
| 5 | Balochistan | 63,032 | 0.96% |
| 6 | Federally Administered Tribal Areas | 5,717 | 0.18% |
In addition to those in Pakistan, a significant number of Muhajirs have left Pakistan and settled outside.
Regions with significant populations:
In recent years a large numbers of muhajir businessman have migrated to malaysia,uae,qatar and canada mostly involved in shipping,textile,garment and real estate industry
Note: These figures are likely to include 2nd and 3rd generations who have been born overseas and are considered residents of their respective countries.
After independence, when the Muslims arrived in Pakistan, the values the migrants brought with them varied from region to region, depending on their origin. The rich heritage brought by migrants from the urban centres of India, such as Lucknow, Delhi, and Madras and Hyderabad which had been seats of Islamic culture and learning for centuries, were to have a major influence on the cities of Pakistan, especially Karachi. The notable 20th century Islamic scholar/author Muhammad Hamidullah who was involved in formulating the first constitution of Pakistan, left because he did not find the life and values in Pakistanis conducive to his background from Hyderabad Deccan, settling in Paris as a refugee.
Upon arrival in Pakistan, the Muhajirs did not assert themselves as a separate ethnic identity but were at the forefront of trying to a construct an Islamic Pakistani identity, Muhajirs were a key vote-bank for the anti-hardline elements. Muhajirs dominated the bureaucracy of the early Pakistani state, largely due to their higher levels of educational attainment, gradually as education became more widespread, Panjabi's and Pashtuns as well as other native Pakistani's started to take their fair share of the pool and all groups are more balanced as per their national percentage. However, the critical early years was facilitated by the experience many Muhajir had both in politics and in higher education and was appreciated by all Pakistani's especially during the tenious early years after independence.
As previously mentioned, this situation changed by the 1970s when other ethnic groups began to assert themselves more strongly and demand more rights fuelled by the widespread introduction of education and rising literacy rates particularly amongst the countries two largest ethnic groups, the Panjabi and the Pashtuns. This included the right to use local languages rather than Urdu (leading to language riots in Sindh), and quotas in Pakistan for underprivileged ethnic groups in government and educational institutions. Seeing their privileged status threatened, the Muhajirs also began to assert themselves as a separate ethnic group and began to organise themselves politically. The most notable manifestations of this were the creations of the All Pakistan Muhajir Student Organization and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (formerly the Muhajir National Movement) as a secular progressive ethnic movement. Since then, the MQM has dominated politics in the Muhajir areas of Karachi, Hyderabad, and other urban centres in Sindh. In saying this, it should be mentioned that not all Muhajir's support the MQM. Even though the MQM has sought to convert itself from an ethnic movement to a nationwide political movement, its political stronghold is still largely restricted to its Muhajir base.
The original language of the Mughals had been Turkish, but after their arrival in South Asia, they came to adopt Persian and later Urdu. Urdu is a Indo-European language, and in the Indo-Aryan subdivision. The word Urdu is believed to be derived from the Turkish word 'Ordu', which means camp. It was initially called Zaban-e-Ordu or language of the army and later just Urdu. The word 'Ordu' was later Anglicised as 'Horde'. Urdu, though of South Asian origin, came to be heavily influenced by Persian and Arabic and somewhat by Turkish however, its grammatical structure is based on old Parakrit or Sanskrit. Urdu speakers have
adopted this language as their mother tongue for several centuries having lost their own native tongues from the respective regions they originated from. Urdu has been the medium of the literature, history and journalism of South Asian Muslims during the last 200 years. Most of the work was complemented by ancestors of native Urdu speakers in South Asia. The Persian language, which was the official language during and after the reign of the Mughals, was then slowly starting to lose ground to Urdu during the reign of Aali Gohar Shah Alam II. Subsequently, Urdu developed rapidly as the medium of literature, history and journalism of South Asian Muslims. Most of the literatory and poetic work was complemented by various historic poets of mughal and subsequent era among which Mir Taqi Mir, Khwaja Mir Dard, Mir Amman Dehalvi, Mirza Ghalib, Bahadur Shah II Sir Syed Khan and Maulana Hali are the most notable ones. The Persian language which had its roots during the time of Moguls was then replaced later by Urdu to which Mogul kings like Shah Jahan rendered patronage as well as support. Many poets in Pakistan such as Zafar Iqbal, Sir Mohammed Iqbal, Faiz Ahmad Faraz, Munir Niazi and Saifuddin Saif contributed their efforts for the Urdu language.
Muhajirs brought their rich poetic culture along with them which they held in their original states centuries ago prior to independence. Some of the most notable ones historic poets are Mirza Ghalib, Mir Taqi Mir, Mir Aman Dehalwi, Khawaja Mir Dard, Bahadur Shah Zafar, Jigar Muradabad etc. Subsequent to independence, many notable Urdu poets migrated to Pakistan, besides a large number of less famous poets, authors, linguists and amateurs. Consequently, Mushaira and Bait Bazi became a part of the national culture in Pakistan. Josh Malihabadi, Jigar Moradabadi, Akhtar Sheerani, Tabish Dehlvi, and Nasir Kazmi are a few of the noteworthy poets. Later, Jon Elia, Parveen Shakir, Mustafa Zaidi, Dilawar Figar, Iftikhar Arif, Rafi Uddin Raaz and Raees Warsi became noted for their distinction.
With the emergence of Muhajirs in urban areas of Pakistan, Urdu virtually became the lingua franca. The country's first Urdu Conference took place in Karachi in April 1951, under the auspices of the Anjuman Taraqqi-i-Urdu. The Anjuman, headed by Maulvi Abdul Haq not only published the scattered works of classical and modern writers, but also provided a platform for linguists, researchers and authors. Among them Shan-ul-Haq Haqqee, Shahid Ahmed Dehlvi, Josh Malihabadi, Qudrat Naqvi, Mahir-ul-Qadri, Hasan Askari, Jameel Jalibi and Intizar Hussain are significant names. Whereas Akhtar Hussain Raipuri, Sibte Hassan and Sajjad Zaheer were more inclined to produce left-winged literature. Among women writers, Qurratulain Hyder, Khadija Mastoor, Altaf Fatima and Fatima Surayya Bajia became the pioneer female writers on feminist issues.
Muhajirs have played an extremely important and influential role in science and technology in Pakistan. Scientists such as Ziauddin Ahmed, Raziuddin Siddiqui and Salimuzzaman Siddiqui, gave birth to Pakistan Science and later built the integrated weapons program, on request of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Muhahir later forwarded to developed the Pakistan's space program and other scientific and strategic programs of Pakistan. Many prominent scientists come from the Muhajir class including Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, Dr. Ishfaq Ahmad, Ghulam Murtaza, Raziuddin Siddiqui, Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy, Dr. Salimuzzaman Siddiqui, and Atta ur Rahman to name a few.
The Muhajir community brings a rich culture with it. Muhajirs have and continue to play an essential role in defining and enriching Pakistani culture and more significantly, music. Some famous Muhajir Pakistani musicians include: Nazia Hassan, Mehdi Hassan, Munni Begum, and Ahmed Jahanzeb. Muhajirs contribution has not been limited to pop but has spanned various music genres, from traditional Ghazal singing to rock. Muhajirs in Pakistan are also famous for their contribution towards the art of painting.
The intial business elites of pakistan were muhajirs. Some of the prominent ones are Habib Bank Limited, Hyesons, Isphani group, Schon group etc. Nationalization proved to be catastrphpic for muhajir business and final blow to it was given by the dictatorship of zia ul haq. But in recent years many muhajirs have established there business in pakistan contributing in textile, garment, leather, food prodcts, cosmetics and personal goods industry. Few of pakistan's biggest financial institution were founded or headed by muhajirs State bank of pakistan, EOBI, PIDC, United Bank Of Pakistan, First Women Bank etc, were established by muhajir bankers.
muhajir are active in sports in pakistan many muhajir are playing in pakistani cricket team with legend like javed miandad, saeed anwar,mohsin khan,sikhander bakht and moin khan and now with younger players like asad shafiq,fawad alam,khurram manzoor playing for the international side other than cricket muhajirs are playing hockey,tennis,squash,badminton new craze for bodybuilding and weightlifting is paicking up amongst the youthfull members of muhajir coomunity
Muhajirs clung to their old established habits and tastes, including a numerous desserts, savoury dishes and beverages. The Mughal and Indo-Iranian heritage played an influential role in the making of their cuisine. In comparison to other native Pakistani dishes, Muhajir cuisine tends to use traditional royal cuisine specific to the old royal dynasties of now defunct states of ancient India. Most of a dastarkhawan dining table include chapatti, rice, dal, vegetable and meat curry. Special dishes include biryani, qorma, kofta, seekh kabab, Nihari and Haleem, Nargisi Koftay, Roghani Naan, Naan, sheer-qurma (sweet), qourma, chai (sweet, milky tea), paan and Hyderabadi cuisine, and other delicacies associated with Muhajir culture.
Since Pakistan's independence in 1947, there has been a steady rise in intermarriages that have taken place between Punjabis, Kashmiris, Sindhis, Balochs, Seraikis, Brahuis and Muhajirs. However majority of Muhajirs still prefer marriage within their communities.