Bihari people

The Biharis (Bihari: बिहारी, بِہاری ) are an ethnic group originating from the state of Bihar Eastern UP and surrounding areas in India with a history going back three millennia. Biharis speak Bihari languages such as Magahi, Bhojpuri, Maithili, amongst other local dialects, as well as Hindi or Urdu. In addition, the ethnic group shows some admixture with the early Munda inhabitants of the region as well as with other Indo-Aryan and to a lesser extent, Iranic peoples who migrated to the region.

Besides the state of Bihar, Biharis can be found throughout North India, West Bengal, Maharashtra and also in the neighbouring countries of Pakistan and Bangladesh. A large number of Biharis traveled to various parts of the world in the 19th century to serve as indentured labour on sugarcane and rubber plantations in Guyana, Surinam, Trinidad and Tobago, Fiji, Mauritius and Natal-South Africa. During partition of India in 1947, many Biharis of the Islamic faith migrated to East Bengal (later East Pakistan and subsequently Bangladesh). Bihari people are also well represented in Pakistan's (formerly West Pakistan) Muhajir population as a result of the partition of India, as well as the recent repatriation of some Bihari refugees from Bangladesh to...
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