Muslims in India’s poll-bound Bihar battle ‘Bangladeshi infiltrator’ tag

Kishanganj/Katihar, India – More than a decennary ago, erstwhile Mukhtar Alam* studied astatine a authorities schoolhouse successful Kishanganj, the lone Muslim-majority territory successful eastbound India’s Bihar state, helium had Hindu friends.

Alam was particularly adjacent to 1 of them. The 2 would bash their studies and schoolhouse projects together. Alam would debar nutrient erstwhile they ate unneurotic truthful arsenic to not marque his vegetarian person uncomfortable.

But an incidental 2 years agone created a rift successful their friendship, which has not been bridged since.

Addressing a rally successful Kishanganj, Jitanram Manjhi, a erstwhile main curate of Bihar and a salient state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said the Shershahbadi assemblage of Muslims were “infiltrators” from Bangladesh, India’s neighbour successful the east, wherever much than 91 percent of the colonisation is Muslim and chiefly speaks Bangla.

The word Shershahbadi is derived from the humanities Shershahbad region, which includes areas successful the neighbouring West Bengal state. The sanction Shershahbad, successful turn, is believed to beryllium derived from Sher Shah Suri, an Afghan king who defeated the mighty Mughals and concisely ruled implicit the modern regions of Bihar and Bengal (including Bangladesh) successful the 16th century.

Shershahbadi Muslims clasp placards that work ‘Long unrecorded Shershahbadi unity’ and ‘Hindus-Muslims are brothers’ astatine a rally successful Kishanganj, Bihar [Shah Faisal/Al Jazeera]

Unlike Hindi and its dialects, arsenic good arsenic Urdu, spoken wide crossed Bihar, the Shershahbadi Muslims talk a dialect of Bangla mixed with Urdu and Hindi words. They are often referred to arsenic “Badia” (a apt abbreviated signifier of Shershahbadi) oregon “Bhatia”, which derives its root from the section dialect “Bhato”, meaning going against the river’s stream, since the Shershahbadi Muslims are said to person migrated upstream of the Ganges River from Malda to Murshidabad successful West Bengal state, and yet to the Seemanchal portion successful Bihar, India’s astir impoverished state.

“We felt threatened [by Manjhi’s speech],” Alam, a Shershahbadi Muslim and postgraduate successful concern administration, told Al Jazeera.

Refusing to enactment silent, helium posted his condemnation connected Facebook. Within minutes, a remark successful Hindi popped up nether his post: “You radical are Bangladeshi infiltrators.”

It was his champion friend.

“Reading that remark sent a shiver down my spine,” recalled the 30-year-old Alam, sitting nether the thatched extortion of a superior schoolhouse helium runs. “The remark created a rift betwixt us. We developed spot issues and mislaid our brotherhood, our friendship.”

Alam is 1 of 1.3 cardinal Shershahbadi Muslims successful Bihar, according to a “caste census” published by the authorities authorities successful 2023, and astir of them unrecorded successful Kishanganj and Katihar districts.

As Bihar, India’s 3rd astir populous state, heads towards important elections to its legislature that could interaction nationalist politics, it is these districts that person emerged arsenic the absorption of a high-pitched BJP run against expected “Bangladeshi infiltrators”.

Why Shershahbadi Muslims?

As India celebrated its Independence Day connected August 15 past month, Prime Minister Modi addressed the federation from the ramparts of the Mughal-era Red Fort successful New Delhi, successful which helium announced the enactment of a “high-powered demography mission” to find the infiltrators.

“No state tin manus itself implicit to infiltrators. No federation successful the satellite does truthful – however past tin we let India to bash so?” Modi said, without specifying who those infiltrators were. He added that done the mission, “the terrible situation present looming” implicit the state volition beryllium addressed successful a “deliberate and time-bound manner”. His authorities has not yet provided details connected the workings of the mission.

Hindu right-wing groups successful India often usage the word “Bangladeshi infiltrator” to people Bangla-speaking Muslims chiefly successful the states of Bihar, West Bengal and Assam. In Assam, wherever Modi’s BJP has been successful powerfulness since 2016, the authorities authorities has been moving a campaign against Bangla-speaking Muslims, labelling them “outsiders” and accusing them of trying to change the determination demography.

Nearly a 3rd of Assam’s colonisation is Muslim – the highest among Indian states. Only the federally-run territories of Indian-administered Kashmir successful the northbound and the Lakshadweep islands successful the Arabian Sea person a higher Muslim percent than Assam.

In Bihar, the Muslim colonisation stands astatine 17 million, oregon astir 17 percent of its full colonisation of 104 million, according to India’s past census conducted successful 2011. About 28.3 percent of those Muslims are concentrated successful what is commonly referred to arsenic Seemanchal (“frontier region” successful Hindi), comprising Kishanganj, Katihar, Araria and Purnia districts. Katihar, Kishanganj and Purnia stock their borders with West Bengal state, portion the Bangladesh borderline is conscionable a fewer kilometres from Seemanchal.

Bihar volition clasp its authorities assembly predetermination successful 2 phases connected November 6 and November 11, with the results to beryllium announced connected November 14.

The BJP has ne'er formed a authorities connected its ain successful the cardinal bluish state, ruling it for a bully portion of the past 20 years successful conjugation with a determination ally. Critics impeach it of present utilizing the “Bangladeshi infiltrator” transportation successful Seemanchal to polarise the region’s voters connected spiritual and linguistic lines.

In the past 2 years, Alam says his worries person accrued manifold arsenic Modi himself leads the BJP’s complaint against his community.

“Those indulging successful ballot slope authorities person turned Purnia and Seemanchal into a hub of amerciable infiltration, putting the information of this country astatine risk,” Modi had said past twelvemonth portion campaigning successful Purnia for the wide elections.

He repeated his stance successful the BJP’s predetermination rallies successful respective districts of Bihar this year.

“Today, a immense demographic situation has happened successful Seemanchal and crossed eastbound India due to the fact that of infiltrators,” Modi said successful Purnia past week, promising to “throw each azygous infiltrator out”.

That thrust is already nether mode successful different parts of India.

‘Demons person travel from Bangladesh’

Authorities successful respective BJP-ruled states person been cracking down connected allegedly “illegal” Bangladeshi nationals, with hundreds of Bengali-speaking radical deported from Assam, Gujarat, Maharashtra and New Delhi – contempt astir of them holding valid documents proving their Indian citizenship. Critics accidental the thrust targets Muslims.

Earlier this month, the BJP’s Assam portion posted an AI-generated video connected societal media, titled “Assam Without BJP”. The 30-second clip claims the Muslim colonisation successful the authorities volition soon beryllium 90 percent and they volition instrumentality implicit each nationalist spaces – beverage gardens, airports, stadiums, let “illegal” Muslim migrants to participate the authorities done barbed wire, and legalise eating beef. Many Hindus from the privileged castes are vegetarians, and the merchantability oregon depletion of beef is banned successful astir Indian states.

However, for the Muslims of Seemanchal, the bogey of a Bangladeshi “infiltrator” is simply a acquainted rhetoric, arsenic it feeds connected a precocious attraction of the assemblage successful the portion and its proximity with Bangladesh.

Seemanchal residents accidental the BJP has been trying for years to crook the portion into a “Hindutva laboratory” – a word often associated with Modi’s location authorities of Gujarat aft helium became its main curate successful December 2001. Hindutva, virtually meaning Hinduness, is simply a word utilized wide successful India to picture the BJP’s supremacist politics. Barely a mates of months aft Modi assumed charge, astir 2,000 Muslims were killed successful 1 of the worst massacres successful modern India.

“Whenever immoderate Hindu majoritarian person visits Seemanchal, we fearfulness astir the comments helium volition marque against america and the aftermath of it,” Alam told Al Jazeera.

Indian PM Narendra Modi with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary astatine a rally successful Gaya, Bihar connected August 22, 2025 [Santosh Kumar/Hindustan Times via Getty Images]

Last month, national Minister of Textiles and Bihar-based BJP person Giriraj Singh was besides successful Purnia, wherever helium said astatine a rally: “Many demons person travel from Bangladesh; we person to termination those demons.”

In October past year, Singh had organised a “Hindu Pride March” successful Seemanchal and the neighbouring Bhagalpur district, which besides has a sizeable Muslim population. During the march, helium repeatedly invoked Bangladeshi infiltration arsenic good arsenic different contentious topics targeting Muslims, including the contented of Rohingya refugees successful India, and “love jihad” – a conspiracy mentation propagated by Hindu right-wing groups that accuses Muslim men of luring Hindu women into relationships oregon marriages successful bid to person them to Islam.

“If these Badias [Shershahbadis], infiltrators, and Muslims slap america once, we volition unite and slap them a 1000 times,” Singh told his supporters during past year’s rally successful Kishanganj arsenic the assemblage cheered.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, BJP legislator Haribhushan Thakur defended his party’s run against the Shershahbadi Muslims successful Bihar.

“It has thing to bash with polarisation oregon elections. It is simply a information that the Muslim colonisation is rising successful Seemanchal owed to infiltration, truthful indispensable steps indispensable beryllium taken,” helium said. “If infiltration is not stopped, successful the coming 20-25 years, Seemanchal volition go Bangladesh.”

Pushpendra, a erstwhile prof of societal enactment astatine the Tata Institute of Social Studies successful Mumbai, who goes by a azygous name, believes the BJP’s polarisation maneuver volition person a constricted effect successful Seemanchal.

“The BJP had raked the [Bangladeshi] infiltrator contented successful the 2024 Jharkhand authorities assembly predetermination arsenic well, but it did not enactment arsenic the allegation had nary substance,” helium told Al Jazeera, referring to the tribal-dominated authorities neighbouring Bihar.

“The aforesaid happening volition hap successful Bihar due to the fact that Bangladeshi infiltration is not determination successful Seemanchal. And however volition it adjacent be? Seemanchal does not stock a borderline with Bangladesh.”

Decades-old campaign

In India, the thrust against Bangla-speaking Muslims, accusing them of being Bangladeshi infiltrators, archetypal began successful Assam successful the precocious 1970s, aft a section pupil radical deed the streets, calling for their removal. As a result, thousands of Muslims were either expelled from the state oregon declared “doubtful” citizens, putting their ineligible presumption successful suspension and making them susceptible to persecution.

It wasn’t agelong earlier the question reached Bihar, wherever the contented was archetypal raised by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the pupil helping of far-right Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Born successful 1925, the RSS successful its aboriginal days astatine times drew inspiration from European fascist parties, and is the BJP’s ideological mentor. Its stated purpose is to crook a constitutionally secular India into an taste Hindu state. The organisation runs thousands of chapters crossed India and counts Modi and different apical BJP leaders arsenic its lifelong members.

In the aboriginal 1980s, the ABVP claimed determination were 20,000 Bangladeshis successful Seemanchal, who got their names added to the section elector list. The RSS-led pupil radical asked the authorities to reappraisal the database – akin to an workout conducted successful Assam, location to millions of Bengali-speaking Muslims whose ancestors migrated from Bangladesh implicit the decades.

The Election Commission of India accepted the ABVP’s demands successful 1983, and astir 6,000 Muslims were served announcement by the electoral assemblage to beryllium their citizenship – each of them belonging to the Shershahbadi community.

“They were asked to nutrient their onshore ownership documents. We organised a camp, collected documents and took a delegation to the authorities capital, Patna,” recalled septuagenarian Jahangir Alam, past a young activistic who fought against the ABVP’s thrust by presenting the applicable documents of the accused to the authority. The counterdrive succeeded, and not a azygous citizenship was cancelled.

“The full occurrence was orchestrated by the ABVP,” Jahangir told Al Jazeera.

The aforesaid run has seen a revival successful Seemanchal, with respective BJP leaders demanding an Assam-like National Register of Citizens (NRC) thrust successful Seemanchal. The NRC is simply a database designed to see the names of each Indian citizens. Its main nonsubjective is to place and region undocumented oregon “illegal” migrants.

In Assam, the NRC process was completed successful 2019 with the work of a database that excluded astir 2 cardinal people, labelling them arsenic non-citizens. Modi’s authorities has repeatedly said it wants a nationwide rollout of the NRC.

“The full demography successful Katihar, Kishanganj, Araria, Purnia and Bhagalpur has changed owed to Bangladeshi infiltrators,” BJP parliamentarian Nishikant Dubey said during a code successful parliament successful 2023.

“I petition the authorities to instrumentality NRC to thrust each Bangladeshis out,” helium added.

Akbar Imam*, a nonmigratory of Katihar’s Shershahbadi-dominated Jangla Tal village, told Al Jazeera the Hindus successful his colony were already discussing the prospects of grabbing the properties of Muslims recovered to beryllium alleged Bangladeshi infiltrators.

“When NRC came up successful Assam, determination were murmurs among Hindus astir who volition drawback which Muslim’s location and different properties erstwhile we are thrown out,” said Imam, a 46-year-old farmer, astatine a beverage stall implicit the embankment of the Ganges River successful Katihar’s Amdabad. “We person to beryllium acceptable for everything, but it would beryllium hard to stitchery aged onshore documents to beryllium our citizenship.”

‘Normalisation of communal segregation’

Recently, the Election Commission of India conducted a arguable revision of the elector database successful Bihar, giving the BJP a caller salvo to onslaught Muslims successful Seemanchal. Called the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the exercise, affecting astir 80 cardinal voters successful the state, progressive strict documentation requirements from citizens to beryllium included arsenic a voter. The determination triggered disapproval that it was a authorities ploy to exclude Muslims and different susceptible groups from the elector database successful a authorities the BJP desperately wants to win.

“Kishanganj saw a 10-fold summation successful the exertion of residential certificates successful lone the archetypal 7 days [of the SIR exercise]. This means Bangladeshis mightiness beryllium trying to infiltrate,” Bihar’s Deputy Chief Minister Choudhary told reporters successful July erstwhile the workout was on.

Shershahbadi women rotation ‘bidis’ (hand-rolled cigarettes) successful Kishanganj, Bihar [Shah Faisal/Al Jazeera]

The Election Commission of India published Bihar’s last electoral rotation connected September 30, removing astir 6 percent of 80 cardinal voters crossed Bihar. Kishanganj, the territory with astir 70 percent Muslims, saw the second-highest deletion complaint astatine 9.7 percent, portion the full removal of voters crossed Seemanchal was astir 7.4 percent. Gopalganj, the location territory of Lalu Prasad Yadav, Bihar’s erstwhile main curate and laminitis of the BJP’s main rival enactment successful the state, saw the largest fig of elector deletions.

In 2 quality conferences connected Sunday and Monday, India’s Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar was repeatedly asked astir the fig of “foreign voters” detected and removed from the electoral rolls – the ploy down the SIR exercise.

“The main reasons for deleting names were [that] immoderate were dead, immoderate did not suffice arsenic citizens of India, immoderate were enrolled aggregate times, and immoderate had shifted from Bihar,” helium said. The canvass sheet aboriginal said that if immoderate governmental enactment oregon idiosyncratic feels that an eligible voter’s sanction has been near out, they tin record a assertion oregon objection.

Akbar, a Shershahbadi Muslim successful Kishanganj, has made it to the list. He told Al Jazeera helium was not frightened of the SIR process, since helium had the required documents. “Thankfully, we person each the proof. Those who are targeted often hole a beardown defence,” helium said.

Academic Pushpendra said the BJP’s thrust to overgarment Shershahbadi Muslims arsenic Bangladeshi infiltrators is intended for electoral gains beyond the Seemanchal region.

“BJP’s vilification of Shershahabadi Muslims is not to summation lone successful Seemanchal. They cognize it volition not payment them overmuch successful Seemanchal [given the precocious Muslim population]. Through the demonisation of Seemanchal Muslims, they are trying to polarise Hindus successful the remainder of Bihar truthful arsenic to triumph much seats successful the election,” helium told Al Jazeera.

‘State of anxiousness and uncertainty’

Meanwhile, the BJP’s run against Shershahbadi Muslims has besides had its societal effect. Educational institutions tally by Muslims successful Kishanganj, for example, are seeing a simplification successful the enrolment of Hindu students.

“Today, hardly immoderate Hindu household sends their children to Muslim-managed schools,” Tafheem Rahman, who has been moving a backstage schoolhouse successful Kishanganj for a decade, told Al Jazeera.

Rahman said erstwhile helium started his schoolhouse a decennary ago, astir 16 percent of the students were Hindus. Now, it’s conscionable 2 percent.

“In fact, adjacent affluent Muslim families are opting out. This quiescent exodus from shared acquisition spaces reflects a much unsafe displacement – a normalisation of communal segregation successful mundane life, shaped and deepened by electoral politics,” helium added.

People thrust boats successful Bihar’s Katihar district, which faces the monsoon fury each twelvemonth [Shah Faisal/Al Jazeera]

A akin inclination is being seen successful the region’s wellness sector.

“Hindu patients are hesitant to sojourn a infirmary tally by Muslims, particularly Shershahbadis,” says Azad Alam, a Shershahbadi Muslim who owns a backstage infirmary successful Kishanganj. “Even aesculapian associations seldom basal for Muslim doctors erstwhile they request support.”

Yet, galore Hindus Al Jazeera talked to successful the Seemanchal portion accidental they bash not judge successful specified segregation on spiritual lines.

“If a Hindu successful Kishanganj thinks helium should not spell to a Muslim doc oregon a Muslim-owned school, it is wrong. Kishanganj is simply a Muslim-majority district; it would beryllium intolerable for Hindu businesses to past without Muslims. Ninety percent of my customers are Muslims. And if I request a doctor, I look for a bully doc first, not the doctor’s religion,” said Ajay Kumar Choudhary, a 49-year-old washerman.

But Amrinder Baghi, a 62-year-old lawyer successful Katihar who has been associated with the BJP for decades, said helium believes “illegal” Muslims person entered the country, and that the authorities should enactment connected it.

“I judge that if idiosyncratic enters a state illegally, it is the implicit work of the government. For example, if idiosyncratic enters my house, it means either I americium anemic and being overpowered, oregon I americium beardown but asleep,” Baghi told Al Jazeera.

Such a polarised situation demoralises the community, says Adil Hossain, a prof of sociology astatine the Azim Premji University successful the confederate metropolis of Bengaluru.

“Seemanchal has a improvement problem, but determination is simply a concerted effort to framework it arsenic a information contented by raising the bogey of amerciable infiltration. This is pushing radical into a authorities of anxiousness and uncertainty, which is the biggest hindrance to them realising their imaginable arsenic citizens,” Hossain told Al Jazeera.

Back successful Kishanganj, Alam is preoccupied with the thoughts of the BJP run against Muslims successful the run-up to the important polls.

“Every clip politicians marque comments connected Shershahbadi Muslims, we indispensable springiness clarification that we are not infiltrators. An ambiance of fearfulness is being created successful our community,” helium says successful a trembling voice, arsenic his eyes rotation towards the cloudy sky.

“Being a Shershahbadi Muslim, those comments support playing connected my caput similar a disease… similar a ghost.”