Muslim Bhumihars
Muslim Bhumihars constitute a small yet noticeable minority within the larger Bhumihar community. Most are concentrated in the greater Gaya Division of Bihar and in and around Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh.
The Babhan clans that constitute these Muslims are primarily Sonbhadaria Babhans, Sarwey Babhans, Chaiyar Babhans, Domtikar/Domkatar Babhans and Panchobhe Babhans in Bihar and Kinwars in Uttar Pradesh.
Although there are many villages of Muslim Bhumihars, but some prominent ones with remarkable population are Bantara, Piro (Sonbhadaria Clan) in Aurangabad Bihar and Bara (Kinwar) in Ghazipur, UP. Most Muslim conversions of Babhans took place during the reign of Lodi, then Sher Shah Suri and later accelerated under the rule of Aurangzeb when the region of Bihar had become a hotbed of Islamic proselytisation.
In Uttar Pradesh, Muslim Bhumihars are found primarily in the following districts, in descending order of their population:
- Ghazipur
- Azamgarh
- Mau
In Bihar, they are found mainly in the following districts, also in descending order:
- Aurangabad
- Gaya
- Nawada
- Patna
- Nalanda
- Sheikhpura
- Buxar
Bhumihars became Muslim in Ghazipur
Wilton Oldham in 1870 observed that many Bhumihars had become Muslim in Ghazipur and highlighted this in his book North-Western Provinces, Historical And Statistical Memoir Of The Ghazeepoor District Part 1. The Bhumihars who embraced Islam in Ghazipur became the Muslim landowning tribe of the region.[1]
Bhumihars became Muslim in Gaya
L. S. S. O'Malley in 1906 noted that many Babhans (Bhumihars) had embraced Islam in parts of the Gaya district during the reign of Aurangzeb.[2]
Muslim Bhumihars of Mohammadabad and Zamania
In the Ghazipur Gazetteer (1909), British Civil Services Officer H. R. Nevill recorded that many Bhumihars of the Muhammadabad and Zamania tahsils had embraced Islam and become Muslim.[3]
Muslim Kinwar Bhumihars of Bara
British Civil Services Officer H. R. Nevill in 1909 observed that the town of Bara was the home of Muslim Kinwar Bhumihars who originally belonged to the village of Birpur on the opposite side of the Ganges River. They held those lands for centuries.[4]
Muslim Babhans of Bihar
The Census of India, 1901 recorded that many Pathans of Bihar (then part of the Bengal Presidency) were converts from the higher Hindu castes, particularly Babhans, who must have converted to Islam in considerable numbers.[5]
