Several recent reports have shown that demography is changing rapidly along India’s border with Nepal. The number of mosques and madarsas is constantly increasing. From August 20 to 27, 2022, an OpIndia team visited several areas in Nepal bordering India to observe the ground situation. What follows here is the second episode of the series of reports documenting the facts noticed by the OpIndia team.
Uttar Pradesh shares a 599.3-km-long open border with Nepal, touching seven districts – Pilibhit, Lakhimpur Kheri, Bahraich, Sravasti, Balrampur, Sidhharthnagar and Maharajganj. The distance between Barhni in Uttar Pradesh’s Siddharthnagar district to Nepal’s Kapilvastu is 53 Km by road. To enter the Kapilvastu district in Nepal one must cross the Barhni city in Siddharthnagar. It is one of the busiest stretches of the Indo-Nepal open border.
Kapilvastu is among the Nepali districts with the highest concentration of Muslims. Muslim residents make up about 18% of the district’s overall population, according to the 2011 census. Several mosques and madrasas can also be seen here along the international border.
Several mosques and madarsas are spotted on the entry to Nepal, domes visible even from the Indian border
The Kapilvastu district’s Krishnanagar area begins as soon as you cross into Nepal from the Barhni border. Right adjacent to the border is a huge market. Numerous businesses, including Dr Saeed Ahmed’s clinic, Faisal Printing, and Imran Mobile, are located on the market’s ground level. On the second floor, there is Al Halal Public Secondary School. It is an English-medium school, says the board. The last storey houses a mosque, whose dome can be seen clearly even from India’s border.
Adjacent to this mosque is a three-story madarsa. The madarsa is called Darul Salaam. Locals claimed that there are Talibs (students) in the madrassa from various regions of Nepal. Aside from this, students from West Bangel and Kashmir have also come here to receive Deni Taleem (religious education).
All the shops in the market belong to local Muslims
While we walked past the madarsa, we reached a street which led us straight to the primary market in Krishnanagar. What we noticed here was that the majority of shops in the market were owned by the local Muslims. Burqa-clad women roaming around the marketplace were a common sight. The majority of the males there were also dressed in ways that indicated the area’s considerable Islamic influence. Furthermore, numerous residences in the area were displaying flags with Islamic symbols, further demonstrating how Islam had spread in the region.
Indo-Nepal border: Mosque similar to that in Saudi Arabia
A little over a kilometre ahead of the Krishnanagar market, there was another sizable mosque with a madrasa right next to it. The mosque’s upper section resembled the Masjid Al Nawabi in Saudi Arabia. Madeena Masjid is the name of this mosque. Muslims in the area estimate that this mosque is roughly 70 years old.
The area in and around the Krishnanagar market housed innumerable mosques and madarsas. In fact, there was another big madarsa right in front of the Madeena Masjid. The name of this madrasa is ‘Jamia Umme Salma’. Locals told us that hundreds of boys from India migrated here to pursue their studies. According to an elderly Muslim who owns a grocery store, the Madeena Masjid belongs to the Islamic organisation Sunni Jamaat, while the mosque on the border belongs to the people of Ahl-e Hadith, which is a religious movement that emerged in northern India in the mid-nineteenth century.
The old temple-like structure next to the madarsa in Kapilvastu, Nepal
Right adjacent to the madarsa was saw a dilapidated dwelling. The structure resembled an ancient temple. However, the locals were unable to provide us with any information regarding the place. Near the madarsa, there was a clod during shop owned by one Arif Khan, who called himself the area’s potential MLA.
All Political parties in Nepal are dominated by Muslim leaders
In Krishnanagar, the OpIndia team saw posters for numerous political parties. The posters show that Muslims are well represented in all major parties. On the posters, names like Intkhab Ahmed Khan, Mirza Rashid Baig, and Akram Pathan were written.
Muslim shops even on the main highway
A highway connects India’s Barhni border with Nepal’s capital Kathmandu. There are numerous Muslim-owned businesses on both sides of this stretch. The route is dotted with shops with Muslim names, whether it is Farooq’s Chicken Shop or Chand’s Garage. Deependra, a political activist in Krishnanagar, told us that Muslim people predominate in numerous areas of the Kapilvastu district, including Chapurwa, Laxminagar, Bhilmi, Bargadi, Kudarbetwa, and Javabhari.
The first report in this series can be read here in Hindi: कभी था हिंदू बहुल गाँव, अब स्वस्तिक चिह्न वाले घर पर 786 का निशान: भारत के उस पार भी डेमोग्राफी चेंज, नेपाल में घुसते ही मस्जिद, मदरसा और इस्लाम – OpIndia Ground Report
The same report can be read here in English: Demographic change hits other side of the border too, Mosques and Madarasas mushroom in former Hindu dominated areas in Nepal: Ground report
