Muhajir

Muhajir is an Arabic term designating a person who has gone on a hajj (the pilgrimage to Mecca, which is mandatory for all Muslims at least once in their lifetime).This term also gained a political overtone when it was applied to the millions of Muslim migrants who crossed the border into Pakistan from India in 1947. The British created Pakistan in 1947 as a homeland for Indian Muslims by separating parts of the Punjab and the Sind from India. This led to much bloodshed on both sides as Hindus and Muslims clashed in communal riots.

These migrants, or muhajirs, have faced constant discrimination from those who are native to the region and did not need to migrate. This ill will has led to frequent violent outbursts between mujahirs and non-muhajirs, with outright rioting in Sind Province in 1986–1987, when the muhajir political party, the MQM (Muhajir Qawmi Mahaz, the Muhajir's People Movement), gained political prominence. The MQM, under its leader Altaf Hussain, sought equal employment opportunities for people of muhajir descent. The political weight of the MQM was felt in the 1988 elections when it became the third-largest party in the Pakistani Assembly. The tensions continued until 1992, when the army moved to crush the MQM. The result was that the entire muhajir community bore the brunt of this violence because it was deemed guilty by association. From 1985 onward, the muhajir identity was politicized.

Jamal, Rashid. (1998) Muhajirs of Pakistan: Plight and Struggle for Survival. Karachi, Pakistan: Loh-e-Abad Publication.

Verkaaik, Oskar. (1994) A People of Migrants: Ethnicity, State, and Religion in Karachi. Amsterdam: VU University Press.