The voting patterns of Muslims in Seemanchal
M.It is said that Muslim voters generally vote as a bloc. This assumption also applied to Seemanchal Muslims in Bihar, largely due to the surprising rise of Asaduddin Owaisi’s party, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), in 2020.
However, this is not quite the case. About 28% of Bihar’s 2.31 crore Muslim population lives in the Seemanchal district, which includes Kishanganj, Katihar, Araria and Purnia districts. Although almost all of them are from the Sunni sect of Islam, the community is not homogeneous.
Caste composition
Muslims in Seemanchal are broadly divided into three castes: Surjapuri, Shershahbadi and Kulhaiya castes. Although the differences between them may not be obvious to an outsider, these three caste groups differ culturally, rarely intermarry and speak different dialects. The dialects originate from a mixture of Maithili and Bangla diluted with words borrowed from Hindi and Urdu. The dialect spoken by Shershahbadis is closer to Bangla, while the Kulhaiya dialect is closer to Maithili. Surjapuri lies somewhere in the middle with heavy dilution of Urdu words.
But the biggest difference between caste groups depends on which Sunni Islamic movement they follow: Barelvi, Deobandi or Ahli Hadith. Surjapuris are divided between Barelvi and Deobandi, with a larger section leaning towards Barelvi. Kulhaiyas are predominantly Deobandi while Shershahbadis largely follow Ahli Hadith. Barelvi, Deobandi and Ahle Hadith are three Sunni Islamic movements in South Asia. Barelvis, Sufism, veneration of saints and the Prophet Muhammad. He adopts the celebration of Muhammad’s birthday. Deobandis are more reformist, discouraging excessive veneration of saints and innovation, while more strictly maintaining Sufi influence. By relying directly on the Quran and Hadith, adherents of Ahle Hadith oppose religious traditions not found in early Islamic texts.
Earlier, all three groups – Surjapuri, Shershahbadi and Kulhaiya – identified as Sheikh, one of the three castes categorized as upper caste Muslims, along with Pathan and Syed. However, due to the historical backwardness of the region and changes in political representation, the Shershahbadis and Kulhaiyas were included in the Extremely Backward Classes (EBC) list, while the Surjapuris remained in the Backward Caste category. Bihar caste Census 2023 identifies Surjapuris as the third largest Muslim caste group (after Sheikh and Ansari) with a population of around 24.5 lakh. Shersahbadis have around 13 lakh and Kulhaiyas have 12.5 lakh. There is also a fourth caste derived from Sheikh called Sekhra, with a population of around 2.5 lakh in Seemanchal. There are also Muslims from different castes who migrate to Seemanchal from different parts of Bihar for work purposes. They are collectively referred to by local people as: PachhimasIt means westerners or those who come from the west, especially around the Begusarai region.
Surjapuri Muslims mostly live in Kishanganj, Purnia and Katihar districts. Araria is dominated by Kulhaiya Muslims and a significant population also lives in Purnia. Shershahbadi Muslims live primarily in Katihar and there is also a significant presence in Kishanganj.
changing trends
Caste consciousness and voting along caste lines is a new phenomenon among Seemanchal Muslims. These political changes began around 2000, and by 2010 the change became visible.
Before 2000, there were Muslim MLAs from four prominent castes in Seemanchal. Mohammad Hussain Azad, Rafique Alam, Abdul Jalil Mastan (Amour), Abdus Subhan, Islamuddin, Najmuddin, Mohammad Suleman, Abdul Jalil (Kadwa) and Usman Ghani from the Surjapuri caste; Mohammad Taslimuddin, Hasibur Rahman, Motiur Rahman, Halimuddin Ahmed, Muzaffar Hussain and Beula Doza from Kulhaiyas; Mohammad Shakoor, Mubarak Hussain and Mansoor Alam from Shershahbadis; and Mohammad Azimuddin of Sekhra caste were elected MPs from different constituencies of Seemanchal. Many were elected from seats where their caste was not dominant.
But this well-distributed representation reflected the saying: Jiski jitni sankhya bhaari, Uski utni hissaari (the larger the number, the larger its share) It was not reflected at the Lok Sabha level. Kishanganj Lok Sabha constituency dominated by Surjapuri Muslims was represented either by Kulhaiya leaders like Mohammad Tahir, Jamilur Rahman, Halimuddin Ahmed and Mohammad Taslimuddin or upper caste Muslim leaders like Syed Shahabuddin, Syed Shahnawaz Hussain or parachute politicians like MJ. Akbar.
It took 24 years for the tall Surjapuri leader Maulana Asrarul Haque Qasmi, a prominent Islamic scholar who served as the general secretary of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, to be elected from Kishanganj. He first contested in the by-elections in 1985 but could only win in the 2009 general elections when Surjapuri Muslims came together en masse behind him against the incumbent Muhammad Taslimuddin of Kulhaiya. Thereafter, in 2014, Mr Taslimuddin shifted his base to neighboring Araria, a Kulhaiya-dominated constituency.
In subsequent elections, Surjapuri Muslims continued to dominate the Kishanganj seat, reaching its peak in the last Lok Sabha elections, which saw a triangular contest between three Surjapuri Muslim candidates – Mohammad Jawaid of the Congress, Mujahid Alam of the Janata Dal (United) and Akhtarul Iman of the AIMIM. Meanwhile, Mr Taslimuddin’s family has maintained its grip on Araria, winning or losing in close battles since 2014. Katihar’s long wait for local Muslim representation in Parliament continues as Tariq Anwar, a Sayyid from Arwal, has dominated the parliament for 50 years.
Current scenario
Since 2000, the number of Surjapuri MLAs in the Bihar assembly has varied between five and seven, Kulhaiya between one and two, Sekhra between zero and one, while MLAs in the most maligned Shershahbadi community have fallen from two to zero.
11 out of 24 Assembly constituencies in Seemanchal were won by Muslim MLAs in 2020. Six of them are Surjapuri, two Kulhaiya, one Sekhra and two upper caste Muslims. The number of Muslim MLAs in the district was the same in 2015 but then there were seven Surjapuri MLAs and only one upper caste Muslim MLA. Purnia’s Baisi seat is currently represented by Syed Ruknuddin Ahmad, an upper-caste Muslim whose family runs a local dargah, a shrine traditionally revered by Barelvi Muslims. Senior Congress leader Shakeel Ahmad Khan, also an upper-caste Muslim, won consecutively from Katihar’s Kadwa seat.
Just like the Kishanganj Lok Sabha seat, the caste equation in many seats has now stabilized. All four Assembly seats in Kishanganj district (Kochadhaman, Bahadurganj, Kishanganj and Thakurganj) along with Katihar’s Balrampur are dominated by Surjapuri Muslims. Jokihat and Araria of Araria district are traditional Kulhaiya seats. Amour and Baisi of Purnia are largely dominated by Surjapuris but have a significant Kulhaiya population. Katihar’s Pranpur has a mix of Surjapuri and Shershahbadi populations, while Kadwa has a large Surjapuri population. Katihar’s Barari, Manihari and Korha and Kishanganj’s Thakurganj and Kishanganj seats have a sizeable Shershahbadi population.
Sekhra Muslims are numerically significant in the Araria assembly seat, but the only Sekhra MLA present represents the Kasba of Purnia, which has a significant Kulhaiya and Shershahbadi presence.
It is now almost impossible for a non-Surjapuri Muslim candidate to win from Kochadhaman, Bahadurganj, Kishanganj, Thakurganj and Balrampur. Similarly, a non-Kulhaiya Muslim cannot hope to win from Jokihat and the Araria assembly seat is also difficult for a non-Kulhaiya Muslim candidate. Amour and Baisi, although dominated by Surjapuri, often see strong Kulhaiya candidates. Pranpur is the only place where a prominent Shershahbadi Muslim candidate has emerged in the last few elections. Manihari is divided into Scheduled Tribes and Korha is divided into Scheduled Castes; None of the major alliances now field Muslim candidates in Barari.
Mahagathbandhan This time too, the Opposition alliance comprising Rashtriya Janata Dal, Congress, Left parties and others in Bihar (grand alliance) will respect caste dominance in ticket distribution. AIMIM, which achieved success in five seats in Seemanchal by combining Surjapuri-Kulahaiya votes, is making the same attempt in these elections. AIMIM Bihar chief Akhtarul Iman is a prominent Surjapuri leader and the incumbent MLA of Amour. However, in an attempt to consolidate Surjapuri-Kulhaiya votes in the region, the party announced a Kulhaiya candidate in the neighboring Baisi seat and the party’s candidate in the neighboring seat Jokihat will be Kulhaiya.
Tanzil Asif is the founder of Seemanchal-based news platform Main Media.
