14/10/2025
Bihar Election Series: 2Are Muslims in Seemanchal facing an identity crisis?
The allegation of Muslim infiltrators in Seemanchal. Truth or Propaganda
According to the 2011 census, the total population of Muslims in Bihar is 18 million. That is, Muslims constitute about 17% of the population of 104 million. 28.3% of the Muslim population in Bihar lives in the Seemanchal region of Bihar, which consists of Kishanganj, Katihar, Purnia and Araria. The borders of Katihar, Kishanganj and Purnia are with West Bengal. Seemanchal's borders do not directly connect with Bangladesh, but the Bangladesh border is a few kilometers away from here. There are three main Muslim communities in this region, including Kalhiya, Sheikh and Sher Shahabadi. Being a Muslim-majority area, this area has been a target of the BJP and the RSS. There have been attempts to declare the 1.3 million Muslims belonging to the Sher Shahabadi community as foreigners since independence. But with the passage of time, this has intensified. The question is, how true is the allegation of infiltration in the Seemanchal region? Is there a large number of Bangladeshi infiltrators living in this area. Or is it that political parties want to hide their failures by creating an identity crisis in the underdeveloped Seemanchal. Why is the development of the Muslims of Seemanchal not on the government's agenda? This has been examined in video number 2 of the Bihar series.
