Bengalis in Pakistan – Wikipedia

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Ethnic Bengali citizens and nationals of Pakistan

Bengalis in Pakistan
পাকিস্তানেব় বাঙালি
پاکستان میں بنگالی

পাকিস্তানি বাঙালি
2,000,000 (2021)[1]
Mainly in Karachi
Bengali (native) · Sindhi (provincial/native), Urdu (national) · English (Pakistani English)
Predominantly Sunni Islam

Bengalis in Pakistan are ethnic Bengali people who had lived in either West Pakistan or East Pakistan prior to 1971 or live in present-day Pakistan.[2] Most Pakistani Bengalis, are bilingual speaking both Urdu and Bengali and are mainly settled in Karachi. Bengalis that arrived in Pakistan before 1971 have now assimilated with the Urdu-speaking people in Karachi.[citation needed]

On the 18th January 2022, Nadra issued CNICs card to Pakistani Bengalis as Pakistani citizens, making them legal Pakistanis.

History[edit]

Pre-1947[edit]

The founding members of the Pakistani Bengali community were early migrants from East Bengal who arrived in Sindh during the early 20th century. This community of early Bengali settlers assimilated into Pakistani culture and adopted Urdu or became bilingual Bengali speakers.

1947-1971[edit]

After Pakistan’s independence in 1947, a large influx of Bengalis arrived in Karachi from East Pakistan to West Pakistan. In 1971, some Bengalis opted to return to the newly independent Bangladesh while others opted to remain in Pakistan.

Post-1971[edit]

Thousands of East Pakistan Bengalis were living in West Pakistan before the 1971 war and Bangladeshi immigrants arrived in Pakistan right after their war against the same country. These people were Pakistan loving but they were not socially welcomed and still today they are not considered citizens of Pakistan.[3] By 1995, continuous migration of Bangladeshis crossed the 2,500,000 mark. During the administration of Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, some top advisers became concerned with the large Bangladeshi migrant population, afraid they could become the second largest group in Karachi after Urdu-speaking Muhajir people and disturb sensitive demographics. Accordingly, Bhutto ordered a crackdown and deportation of Bangladeshi immigrants. Benazir Bhutto’s action strained and created tensions in Bangladesh–Pakistan relations, with Khaleda Zia, who was in power in Dhaka during the time, refusing to accept the deportees and reportedly sending two planeloads back towards Pakistan and Muslim political parties in Pakistan criticizing Bhutto and dubbing the crackdown as anti-Islamic. She was ultimately forced to abandon the order.[4][5]

Demographics[edit]

According to Shaikh Muhammad Feroze, chairman of the Pakistani Bengali Action Committee, over 200 settlements of Bengali-speaking people exist in Pakistan (mainly in Sindh) of which 132 are in Karachi while other smaller communities exist in Thatta, Badin, Hyderabad, Tando Adam and Lahore.[6] There are numerous Bengali colonies in Karachi, often called “Mini Bangladesh” (or East Pakistan Colony in memorandum),[7] such as Machar Colony, Musa Colony and Chittagong Colony. Colorful Bengali signboards, Bhashani caps, lungis and kurtas are often seen in these areas of Karachi and remain unique.[7] The Chittagong Colony has a bazaar, which is famous throughout Pakistan as the center for Dhaka cloth.[8] In more recent times, the Bengali population has seen a decline as the perilous journey from Bangladesh has been fraught with danger and tense borders.[9][10] Furthermore, given the tense ethnic rivalries and lack of social welcome in Pakistan, Bengalis have now been traveling elsewhere.[10]

Notable people[edit]

  • Khwaja Hassan Askari, the last Nawab of Dhaka.
  • Muhammad Mahmood Alam, Ace Pilot (flying ace) of Pakistan Air Force most famous for his service and numerous kills in Indo-Pak Wars.
  • Sarfaraz Ahmed Rafiqui, Pakistani fighter pilot
  • Khwaja Khairuddin, a Pakistani Politician.
  • Khwaja Shahabuddin, a Pakistani Politician & diplomat.
  • Muhammad Ali Bogra, Pakistani Politician who served as Pakistan’s third Prime Minister (1953-55) and also as foreign minister (1954-55 and 1962-63).
  • Alamgir, a popular Pakistani pop singer in the 1970s and 80s, known as founder of pop in Pakistan.
  • Hassan Jahangir, famous Pakistani popstar and singer of Hawa Hawa. Born in Karachi to Bengali parents.
  • Robin Ghosh, Pakistani music composer and playback singer.[11]
  • Shabnam, one of Pakistan’s most popular actresses.[12]
  • Rahman, one of Pakistan’s most popular actors, famously paired with Shabnam.
  • Runa Laila, singer who later moved back to Bangladesh.
  • Shahnaz Rahmatullah, singer who sang Pakistan’s two most popular patriotic songs Jeevay Jeevay Pakistan and Sohni Dharti. Later moved back to Bangladesh.
  • Munni Begum, a Pakistani ghazal singer.
  • Nurul Amin, a jurist who served as Prime Minister of Pakistan.
  • A. K. Fazlul Huq, Pakistani lawyer and politician who was Chief Minister of East Bengal 1954, Interior Minister 1955-56, Governor of East Pakistan 1956-58
  • Habibullah Bahar Chowdhury, a politician, journalist and sportsman.
  • Hamidul Huq Choudhury, Pakistani politician, lawyer, and newspaper proprietor
  • Roopa Farooki – British writer (half Pakistani, half Bangladeshi)
  • Tariq Fatemi, a Pakistani diplomat who serves as the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister of Pakistan on Foreign Affairs, and previously served as Pakistan Ambassador to the United States and to the European Union.
  • Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah, feminist writer.
  • Altaf Husain, a Pakistan Movement activist and founding editor and the first editor-in-chief of Dawn.
  • Shaista Suhrawardy Ikramullah, a prominent Pakistani female politician, diplomat and author.
  • Shahida Jamil, is a Pakistani lawyer and politician.
  • Begum Akhtar Riazuddin, feminist activist.
  • Iskander Mirza, a politician who served as the first President of Pakistan.
  • Indu Mitha, is a Pakistani exponent of Bharatnatyam and faculty member at the National College of Arts
  • Deebo Bhattacharya, musician, painter, and singer
  • Satya Prakash Singha, Pakistani politician.
  • Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin, a conservative Pakistani politician and statesman who served as the 2nd Prime Minister of Pakistan
  • Sir Abdur Rahim, jurist and Islamic author who participated in the Pakistan Movement
  • Jalaludin Abdur Rahim, Nietzschean philosopher and one of the founders of the influential Pakistan People’s Party
  • Hamoodur Rahman, a jurist who served as the Chief Justice of Pakistan.
  • Hameedur Rahman, a senior judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
  • Abdus Salam Chatgami, Islamic Scholar and former Grand Mufti of Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia
  • Abdul Monem Khan, governor of East Pakistan 1962-69.
  • Ghulam Azam, politician and Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami East Pakistan
  • Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin, former Pakistani journalist and British Muslim leader
  • Najma Sadeque, journalist, author, and women’s rights activist.
  • Ikram Sehgal, Defence analyst.
  • Abul Hassan Isphani, Pakistani politician and diplomat
  • Farahnaz Ispahani, Pakistani-American writer and politician.
  • Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, a politician who served as Prime Minister of Pakistan.
  • Hasan Shaheed Suhrawardy, polyglot scholar and diplomat, brother of the former.
  • Begum Akhtar Sulaiman, Pakistani social worker, political activist and the daughter of Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy.
  • Mahmud Ali, Pakistani politician
  • Abdul Matin Chaudhary, Pakistani politician and journalist
  • Mahbub Jamal Zahedi, Pakistani journalist and philatelist.
  • Mohammad Sajjad Alam, Pakistani-American physicist
  • Mohammad Shahid Alam, economist, academic, and social scientist
  • Nighat Seema, Pakistani singer.
  • Ahsan Ali Taj, Pakistani musician, songwriter, and singer.
  • Muslehuddin, Pakistani composer.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ “Stateless and helpless: The plight of ethnic Bengalis in Pakistan – Al Jazeera”. 29 September 2021. Ethnic Bengalis in Pakistan – an estimated two million – are the most discriminated ethnic community
  2. ^ Karim, Naimul (6 July 2018). “The struggle to return home”. The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 10 July 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021. It’s difficult to state exactly how many Bengalis reside in Pakistan. Various reports however suggest that the figure can vary from around 7 to 20 lakhs, with most of them living in Karachi. Many of these Bangladeshis had found their way into Pakistan in the mid-80s looking for work.
  3. ^ “Bangladeshi immigrants in Pakistan find it hard to go home”. Nikkei Asian Review.
  4. ^ Rahman, B. (4 February 2003). “Indo-Bangladesh Standoff”. South Asia Analysis Group. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012.
  5. ^ “Five million illegal immigrants residing in Pakistan”. The Express Tribune. 16 January 2012. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  6. ^ “Fringe Pakistan: Bengali-speaking Pakistanis demand right to vote”. The Express Tribune. 10 March 2012. Retrieved 26 December 2016. Shaikh Muhammad Feroze, the chairman of the committee, said during a press conference on Friday that political parties and the government should acknowledge the sacrifices of their ancestors. ‘We live in Sindh and feel proud to be called Sindhis rather than Bengalis. We appeal to Sindhi nationalists and Sindhis to help us in our struggle,’ he added. He said that Bengali-speaking people were not given educational rights as they did not possess national identity cards. ‘Our children can’t get an education after matriculation because colleges ask for the identity cards but the National Database Registration Authority has never accepted us as Pakistani citizens.’ Shaikh said that over three million Bengalis and Biharis were grateful to the government for accepting them as Pakistani citizens. ‘We postponed a hunger strike planned for 25 March after the government made decisions,’ he added. ‘We can go on a hunger strike, if our rights are not given.’ He claimed that there were 200 settlements of Bengali-speaking people across the country, including 132 in Karachi. They populate different parts of Pakistan, including Thatta, Badin, Hyderabad, Tando Adam and Lahore.
  7. ^ a b Tohid, Owais; Mahmud, Arshad (29 November 1995). “Homeless in Karachi”. Outlook. Retrieved 2 March 2010.
  8. ^ Naqvi, Abbas (17 December 2006). “Falling back”. Daily Times. Archived from the original on 9 October 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
  9. ^ Bloch, Hannah (25 September 2000). “You Can’t Get There From Here”. Time Asia.
  10. ^ a b Refugee Review Tribunal, Australia. “RRT Research Response” (PDF). Refworld.org.
  11. ^ “Renowned music composer Robin Ghosh passes away”.
  12. ^ “Shabnam biography, complete biography of Actresses Shabnam”. pak101.com.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]


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