Muhajir people
| 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 during the Independence of India and Pakistan from British rule in 1947. 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 or Urdudaan (Urdu: اردودان).
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. A large portion of these migrants came from East Punjab, and settled in Punjab, Pakistan. Sharing a common culture and with tribal linkages, many assimilated within a generation. Another significant percentage are of Gujarati ethnicity. In the aftermath of partition, a huge population exchange occurred between the two newly formed states. According to the 1951 Census in both India and Pakistan, about 14.5 million people crossed the borders, including 7,226,000 Muslims who came to Pakistan from India while 4,700,000 Hindus and Sikhs moved to India from West Pakistan and 2,600,000 Hindus and Sikhs moved to India from East Pakistan. Of the 6.5 million Muslims that came to West Pakistan (now Pakistan), about 5.3 million settled in Punjab, Pakistan and around 1.2 million settled in Sindh. The other 0.7 million Muslims went to East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).
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