Odia Muslims

Odia Muslims are a community of people hailing from the Indian state of Odisha who follow Islam. They mostly descend from indigenous converts to Islam along with a small proportion that has migrated from northern India. They are marked by their distinctive religious practices, food habits and language.

It is impossible to state with any certainty when Islam first made inroads into Odisha. It is believed that the first significant Islamic presence dates from the invasion of the Bengali general, Kalapahad. Commanding the army of Sultan Sulaiman Kirrani, the Sultan of Bengal, Kalapahad defeated Raja Mukund Deva of Cuttack in 1568 CE.

Kirrani brought with him Muslim soldiers who settled down in Odisha, however their number was very few. Some early Odia Muslims were converts. However, the number of these Muslims, almost all converts from Hinduism, was statistically insignificant and though they were Muslims by faith, they continued subscribing to the local customs and traditions and retained Odia as their native tongue, as opposed to Persian or Urdu, the then lingua franca of most Indian Muslims. The descendants of these Muslims are still found in the districts of Puri, Khurda and Cuttack.

Later migration continued under Mughal as well as the Nawab of Bengal's rule. The majority of these were traders or clergy, sent to preside over the courts, both secular and Islamic. Post independence, a number of Muslims from other parts of India have made their way to the cities of Rourkela and Bhubaneswar.

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