 Moorish Mosque ofKapurthala | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| c. 535,489[1] (~2% of the state population) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Malerkotla,Qadian,Ludhiana,Amritsar | |
| Religions | |
 Islam | |
| Languages | |
| Punjabi,Hindustani (Hindi-Urdu) |
Islam is a minority religion inPunjab, India followed by 535,489 people constituting about 1.93 percent of the state population out of 27.7 million population as of 2011 census report.[2]
Islam has a strong historical presence in Punjab with manymosques,mausoleums and shrines. According to the 1941 census,Punjabi Muslims constituted approximately 38.4 percent of the population in the region that comprises the contemporary state of Punjab, India.[a] With violence and religious cleansing accompanying thePartition of Punjab in 1947, the vast majority departed the regionen masse, migrating westward to theregion of Punjab that would fall on the western side of theRadcliffe Line, in the contemporary state ofPunjab, Pakistan.[4]
In the current era, much of the Muslim population of Punjab consists of migrants fromUttar Pradesh,Jammu and Kashmir,Rajasthan,Delhi andBihar etc.[5] The nativePunjabi Muslims predominantly resides inMalerkotla district andQadian town.[6]
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1881 | 2,440,888 | — |
| 1901 | 2,898,114 | +0.86% |
| 1911 | 2,515,774 | −1.40% |
| 1921 | 2,686,598 | +0.66% |
| 1931 | 3,072,619 | +1.35% |
| 1941 | 3,748,410 | +2.01% |
| 1947 | 90,172 | −46.27% |
| 1951 | 110,160 | +5.13% |
| 1961 | 181,234 | +5.10% |
| 1971 | 252,688 | +3.38% |
| 1981 | 321,287 | +2.43% |
| 1991 | 390,077 | +1.96% |
| 2001 | 382,045 | −0.21% |
| 2011 | 535,489 | +3.43% |
| Source:Census of India[b][c][d][e][f][a] | ||
Islam first arrived in the Punjab region following the conquest ofSindh byMuhammad bin Qasim in 712. The first permanent Muslim conquest of the Punjab was carried out byMahmud Ghaznavi who made the whole of the Punjab a province of his empire with the headquarters atLahore.
When theGhaznavid Empire began to decline, the region was conquered byMuhammad Ghori. The conquest by Muhammad Ghori inaugurated a period of Muslim rule which lasted until the 18th century. The Mughals made most of East Punjab a part of the governorate ofSirhind.
The founder of theAhmadiyya movement,Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, was born inQadian, East Punjab in 1835.
According to the 1941 census, Muslims constituted approximately 38.4 percent of the population in the region that comprises the contemporary state ofPunjab, India, numbering around 3.75 million persons.[a] Following thePartition of Punjab, the population declined to 90,000 or 0.5% due to ethnic cleansing and large-scale mass migration of 3.66 millionMuslims toPunjab, Pakistan in the violent events that have occurred duringPartition.[10][11]
Today, Muslims are scattered across East Punjab with small concentrations in the cities ofChandigarh,Hoshiarpur,Ludhiana,Malerkotla andQadian. Malerkotla is the only municipality in Indian Punjab that has a Muslim majority.[12] The migrantUttar Pradeshi Muslims andBihari Muslims labourers living in industrial city of Ludhiana, Patiala and Jalandhar forms a large proportion of the Muslim population in the state.[13]
| District orPrincely State | 1881[7][8][9] | 1901[14]: 34 | 1911[15]: 27 [16]: 27 | 1921[17]: 29 | 1931[18]: 277 | 1941[3]: 42 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | |
| Amritsar district | 413,207 | 46.26% | 474,976 | 46.39% | 408,882 | 46.43% | 423,724 | 45.59% | 524,676 | 46.97% | 657,695 | 46.52% |
| Jalandhar district | 358,601 | 45.42% | 421,011 | 45.88% | 357,051 | 44.52% | 366,586 | 44.57% | 419,556 | 44.46% | 509,804 | 45.23% |
| Patiala State | 321,354 | 21.9% | 357,334 | 22.38% | 307,384 | 21.84% | 330,341 | 22.03% | 363,920 | 22.39% | 436,539 | 22.55% |
| Firozpur district | 310,552 | 47.74% | 447,615 | 46.72% | 418,553 | 43.61% | 482,540 | 43.94% | 515,430 | 44.56% | 641,448 | 45.07% |
| Hoshiarpur district | 290,193 | 32.19% | 312,958 | 31.62% | 281,805 | 30.68% | 289,298 | 31.19% | 328,078 | 31.78% | 380,759 | 32.53% |
| Gurdaspur district[g] | 286,224 | 47.37% | 348,182 | 49.33% | 304,860 | 48.67% | 316,709 | 49.54% | 367,388 | 50.78% | 440,323 | 51.08% |
| Ludhiana district | 213,954 | 34.57% | 235,937 | 35.05% | 176,043 | 34.04% | 192,961 | 33.99% | 235,598 | 35.03% | 302,482 | 36.95% |
| Kapurthala State | 142,974 | 56.6% | 178,326 | 56.73% | 152,117 | 56.73% | 160,457 | 56.44% | 179,251 | 56.59% | 213,754 | 56.49% |
| Nabha State | 50,178 | 19.16% | 58,550 | 19.65% | 46,032 | 18.5% | 50,756 | 19.27% | 57,393 | 19.96% | 70,373 | 20.45% |
| Faridkot State | 29,035 | 29.92% | 35,996 | 28.82% | 37,105 | 28.48% | 44,813 | 29.74% | 49,912 | 30.37% | 61,352 | 30.79% |
| Malerkotla State | 24,616 | 34.65% | 27,229 | 35.13% | 25,942 | 36.46% | 28,413 | 35.37% | 31,417 | 37.82% | 33,881 | 38.45% |
| Total Muslims | 2,440,888 | 36.94% | 2,898,114 | 37.74% | 2,515,774 | 36.83% | 2,686,598 | 36.99% | 3,072,619 | 37.83% | 3,748,410 | 38.42% |
| Total Population | 6,607,699 | 100% | 7,679,645 | 100% | 6,830,507 | 100% | 7,262,881 | 100% | 8,123,076 | 100% | 9,757,161 | 100% |
| 1951[19] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Area | Muslim | Muslim % |
| Punjab A[h] | 229,080 | 1.85% |
| Punjab B[i] | 55,913 | 1.6% |
| Punjab C[j] | 15,253 | 1.37% |
| TotalEast Punjab | 300,246 | 1.77% |
| District | 1951[20] | 1961[21][22] | 1971[23] | 2011 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | |
| Barnala district | 41,673 | 7.76% | — | — | — | — | 13,100 | 2.2% |
| Gurdaspur district | 9,370 | 1.23% | 5,566 | 0.56% | 6,868 | 0.56% | 27,667 | 1.2% |
| Firozpur district | 4,805 | 0.37% | 3,369 | 0.21% | 6,340 | 0.33% | 6,844 | 0.34% |
| Amritsar district | 4,237 | 0.33% | 2,401 | 0.16% | 3,044 | 0.17% | 12,502 | 0.5% |
| Sangrur district | 3,741 | 0.58% | 55,738 | 3.91% | 64,448 | 5.62% | 179,116 | 10.82% |
| Ludhiana district | 3,360 | 0.42% | 4,686 | 0.46% | 5,620 | 0.4% | 77,713 | 2.22% |
| Patiala district | 2,893 | 0.55% | 11,714 | 1.12% | 13,644 | 1.12% | 40,043 | 2.11% |
| Jalandhar district | 2,569 | 0.25% | 3,184 | 0.26% | 3,362 | 0.23% | 30,233 | 1.38% |
| Fatehgarh Sahib district | 2,269 | 0.96% | — | — | — | — | 16,808 | 2.8% |
| Hoshiarpur district | 1,353 | 0.12% | 7,050 | 0.57% | 3,456 | 0.33% | 23,089 | 1.46% |
| Kapurthala district | 854 | 0.29% | 856 | 0.25% | 858 | 0.2% | 10,190 | 1.25% |
| Bathinda district | 416 | 0.06% | 3,340 | 0.32% | 3,829 | 0.29% | 16,299 | 1.17% |
| Rupnagar district | — | — | — | — | 2,978 | 0.55% | 14,492 | 2.12% |
| Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar district | — | — | — | — | — | — | 29,488 | 2.96% |
| Mansa district | — | — | — | — | — | — | 10,375 | 1.35% |
| Moga district | — | — | — | — | — | — | 9,388 | 0.94% |
| Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6,829 | 1.12% |
| Sri Muktsar Sahib district | — | — | — | — | — | — | 4,333 | 0.48% |
| Tarn Taran district | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3,855 | 0.34% |
| Faridkot district | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3,125 | 0.51% |
| Total Muslims | 77,540 | 0.85% | 97,904 | 0.85% | 114,447 | 0.84% | 535,489 | 1.93% |
| Total Population | 9,144,716 | 100% | 11,497,826 | 100% | 13,551,060 | 100% | 27,743,338 | 100% |
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| Languages | Percent | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Urdu/Hindi | 58.57% | |||
| Punjabi | 41.43% | |||
Out of 5.35 lakhMuslim population in the state as of 2011 census, only 2.21 lakhMuslims are native and speaksPunjabi as their mother tongue and rest 3.13 lakh speaksHindustani language mainlyUrdu.[25]
Sufism has also played a major role in the history ofPunjab.[26] Many prominentSufi saints were born in Punjab, includingFariduddin Ganjshakar,Waris Shah andBulleh Shah.[27][28]
Punjabi Muslims had a major contribution in the development ofPunjabi language.Fariduddin Ganjshakar (1179–1266) is recognised as the first major poet of the Punjabi language.[29] Roughly from the 12th century to the 19th century, many great Sufi saints and poets preached in the Punjabi language, the most prominent beingBulleh Shah. Punjabi Sufi poetry also developed underShah Hussain (1538–1599),Sultan Bahu (1630–1691),Shah Sharaf (1640–1724), Ali Haider (1690–1785),Waris Shah (1722–1798),Saleh Muhammad Safoori (1747–1826),Mian Muhammad Baksh (1830–1907) andKhwaja Ghulam Farid (1845–1901).
The Punjabi language is famous for its rich literature ofqisse, most of which are about love, passion, betrayal, sacrifice, social values and a common man's revolt against a larger system. The qissa ofHeer Ranjha byWaris Shah (1706–1798) is among the most popular of Punjabi qissas. Other popular stories includeSohni Mahiwal by Fazal Shah,Mirza Sahiban by Hafiz Barkhudar (1658–1707),Sassui Punnhun by Hashim Shah (c. 1735–c. 1843), andQissa Puran Bhagat byQadaryar (1802–1892). In contrast to Persian poets, who had preferred theghazal for poetic expression, Punjabi Sufi poets tended to compose in theKafi.[30]
Punjabi music is used by western musicians in many ways, such as mixing with other compositions.Sufi music andQawali, commonly practiced inPunjab, Pakistan; are other important genres in the Punjab region.[31][32]
Folk music of Punjab is the traditional music of Punjab produced using traditional musical instruments likeTumba,Algoza,Dhadd,Sarangi,Chimta and more. There is a wide range offolk songs for every occasion from birth to death including marriage, festivals, fairs and religious ceremonies.
Decadal percentage of Muslims inPunjab, India[33][34][35][36]
| Year | Percent | Increase |
|---|---|---|
| 1901[c] | 37.74% | N/A |
| 1911[d] | 36.83% | -0.91% |
| 1921[e] | 36.99% | +0.16% |
| 1931[f] | 37.83% | +0.84% |
| 1941[a] | 38.42% | +0.59% |
| 1947 | 0.5% | -37.92% |
| 1951 | 0.63% | +0.13% |
| 1961 | 0.82% | +0.19% |
| 1971 | 0.93% | +0.11% |
| 1981 | 1% | +0.07% |
| 1991 | 1.18% | +0.18% |
| 2001 | 1.57% | +0.39% |
| 2011 | 1.93% | +0.36% |
The Muslim percentage as total population have declined drastically from 38.38% in 1941 to 0.5% in 1947. But after Independence, Muslims have grown slightly from 0.63% in 1951 to 1.93% in 2011 census.[37]
