Muhajir (Pakistan)
| مہاجر | |
|---|---|
| Total population | |
| Reported: 9,939,656 (1998) Estimates: 20 million |
|
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Karachi, Hyderabad, Lahore, across Sindh, across Punjab | |
| Languages | |
| Urdu and Punjabi languages | |
| Religion | |
| Islam (Mostly Sunni, Minority Shia) |
Muhajir (also spelled Mahajir and Mohajir) (Urdu: مہاجر, Arabic: مهاجر) is an Arabic-origin term used in Pakistan to describe Muslim immigrants and their descendants of multi-ethnic origin who migrated from different regions of India after the Partition of India to settle in the newly formed state of Pakistan. Although some of them speak different languages at the native level, they are primarily identified as native Urdu speakers and hence also called Urdu speaking people.
The Urdu term muhājir (Urdu: مہاجر) comes from the Arabic muhājir (Arabic: مهاجر), meaning an "immigrant", and the term is associated in early Islamic history to the migration of Muslims from Makkah to Madinah. After the independence of Pakistan, a significant number of Muslims emigrated or were out-migrated from territory that remained India. In the aftermath of partition, a huge population exchange occurred between the two newly formed states. In the riots which preceded the partition in the Punjab region, between 200,000 and 2 000,000 people were killed in the retributive genocide.UNHCR estimates 14 million Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims were displaced during the partition; it was the largest mass migration in human history.
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