| Sher Shah Suri |
| Regions with significant populations |
|---|
| • Afghanistan • Pakistan • India |
| Languages |
| Religion |
|
• Islam 100% • |
| Related ethnic groups |
|
• Pashtun • Rohilla • Pathans of Rajasthan • Pathans of Gujarat • Pathans of Uttar Pradesh • Pathans of Punjab • 30-35% of the Muhajir people |
The Pathans of Bihar (Pashto: د بیهار پښتانه), have a large community of Pashtuns in the state of Bihar in India, who are said to have settled in the region from the 13th Century onwards. These Pashtun are known as Pathan, which is the Hindi and Urdu term for a Pashtun. Another common name for the community is Khan, which also a common surname. The name Pathan in Bihar now refers to two distinct but related communities, the Nasli (from the Arabic word nasl meaining racial or by birth) and Divani (from the Arabic word diwan meaning a royal court). The former are descendents of various Pashtun settlers in Bihar, while the latter are Rajput and Bhumihar converts to Islam.[1]
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The Pathan settlement in Bihar began during the period of Khilji rule, with the settlements of the Nuhani Afghans in the Bhojpur region. Bahlol Lodhi, the first Lodhi Sultan of Delhi, settled his fellow Pashtuns in Bhojpur and Rohtas region, to control the rebellious Bhar chieftains. The early settlers belonged mainly to the Suri and Sherwani tribes. Sher Shah Suri, the last Afghan ruler of India was born in the town of Sasaram, in Rohtas district. This region remains home to several Pathan settlements.[2]
They are now found throughout Bihar, especially in the districts Gaya, Nawada, Aurangabad, Patna, Munger, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Saran, Rohtas, Bhagalpur, Ranchi and Hazaribagh. In addition to the Pashtun, the term Pathan also covers a community of Rajput converts, known as the Diwani Pathans, who belong mainly to the Bisen, Bais and Ujainiya clans.[3]
The Pathan proper of Bihar belong to eleven sub-groups, the main ones being the Suri, Sherwani, Yousafzai, Bhatti, Durani, Bangash, Afridi, Khattak, Lodhi and Ghori, all of whom are well known Pashtun tribes. They now speak Urdu as well as local dialects such as Awadhi and Bhojpuri. Like other communities in the region, the Pathan are endogamous, and tend to marry close kin. They practice both parallel cousin and cross cousin marriages. Those who live in the larger cities, such as Patna have begun to marry other Bihari Muslims, and a process of assimilation into the wider Bihari Muslim community has begun.[4]
The Bihar Pathan are still largely a rural community, and many are still small to medium scale farmers. Like other agrarian communities in Bihar, they too have seen a noticeable decline in their standard of living, as agriculture has suffered a decline. The land reforms carried at start of Indian independence have also affected the Pathan, as some were large jagirdars. In rural areas, most villages with large Pathan population have the Khan biradari committees, which are informal caste associations, These act as elements of social control, dealing with disputes with in the community, but there is no statewide caste association. The urban Pathans have no such caste organizations. They belong to the Sunni sect, and have customs similar to other Bihari Muslims.[5]