In civil war hit Myanmar, there is a ‘little India’, 2 lakh Hindus from Bihar have unique connection with Myanmar, know the untold story here

Bihar and Myanmar connection of the Hindus.

Naypyidaw: Myanmar has been battling civil war for a long time. Fighting between rebel factions and junta forces has turned large parts of the country into a battleground. This is affecting a major chunk of the country’s population.

Among those affected by this war is the Hindu population of about two lakhs in the Jeyawadi area. On New Year’s Eve, a temple was damaged and seven people were killed in a gun battle between the army and rebel groups in the area. The incident has brought the town of Hindus of Myanmar with Indian roots into the limelight.

The ancestors of the people living in the Jeyawadi area came from Bihar in the late 1880s. The Jeyawadi region is 215 kilometers north of Myanmar’s capital. People from Bihar have been living in this area continuously since the 1880s. Their ancestors had come here mainly with the promise of getting land from Bihar. In the last 140 years, these people have gradually established a ‘little India’, as per a report by yeshiseli.substack.com.

How did people from Bihar reach Myanmar?

The story of these people from Bihar settling in Myanmar is interesting. Bahadur Harihar Prasad Singh (son of the Diwan of Dumraon State of Bihar) took a few hundred Bihari people with him to Myanmar. Actually, the British government gave them a land in this area. In the 1880s, he arrived here with Bihari people. At that time, they had got the job of clearing and cultivating 18340 acres of land, which was surrounded by dense forests, according to a report by Yeshi Seli on yeshiseli.substack.com.

When the forest land was cleared, Indian migrants were stopped here to grow sugarcane and paddy. In such a situation, one of their settlements was built here. A sugarcane mill was set up in the area, which became the largest sugarcane mill in Myanmar. This increased the opportunities and Indians got a sizeable population here. The number of Hindus in the Jeyawadi region is currently around two lakh. They constitute 1.7 per cent of the Hindu population of the whole of Myanmar, making Hinduism the fourth largest religion in Myanmar.

There are more than 100 villages in the Phiu area where there is a sizeable Hindu settlement. These people have been sensitive about their culture and religion. Hindi is taught in schools here. Along with Burmese, Hindi and Bhojpuri are also spoken in these areas. These people celebrate all festivals like Holi, Diwali, Dussehra, and Navratri. However, as things stand, the Hindus of Jeyawadi are worried about their safety.

Story Credit: Yeshi Seli (exclusive coverage).