The Election Commission of India is preparing to conduct state assembly elections in Bihar, set to be held later this year. Ahead of the elections, the ECI is undertaking a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in the state. Documents are being sought from all the voters so that their names can be included in the voter list again. As soon as the SIR process started, the number of applications for residence certificate in Kishanganj, a Muslim-dominated district of Bihar, increased 5-6 times. This increase in Kishanganj has again raised the questions of infiltration and demographic change in the district.
Applications for residence certificates increased 5 times in Kishanganj: Deputy CM Samrat Chaudhary
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary has said that on average, 26 thousand to 28 thousand applications were coming to Kishanganj for a residence certificate every month from January to May in 2025. He said that as soon as the process of the Election Commission started, this number increased rapidly.
Chaudhary said that in just 6 days of July, more than 1.28 lakh applications for a residence certificate were received in Kishanganj. He said that this shows that infiltrators are present in large numbers in Kishanganj.
The deputy CM added that documents like PAN card, Aadhar card, and passport take time and proof, while a residence certificate is easily made. Chaudhary has linked this matter to national security. The minister’s remarks have sparked a debate over this issue.
Their concerns are justified because Kishanganj is the only district in Bihar where the Muslim population is more than 60% and the demographic change here has been rapid. Infiltration has also taken place on a large scale in Kishanganj.
Why are Bihar Deputy CM Samrat Chaudhary’s concerns justified?
Samrat Choudhary is not talking about the sudden increase in infiltrators and applications without any reason. Kishanganj has a history behind this. Kishanganj is the only district in Bihar where about 70% of the population is Muslim. This is recorded on paper.
At the time of independence, Kishanganj was a Hindu majority area. But in the last few decades, the demography here has changed very rapidly. Now, the Hindus here are not even one-third. Hindus have become a minority here in the last few decades. The biggest reason for this change is considered to be the illegal influx of Bangladeshi and Rohingya infiltrators.
This district is situated on the border of West Bengal. Bangladeshi infiltrators and Rohingyas have been arrested continuously from here. Last month only, 9 Bangladeshis were arrested here. These infiltrators have been caught here on different occasions. The border of Kishanganj is adjacent to Nepal.
In Kishanganj itself, people forging fake documents like Aadhaar and PAN have been caught. This essentially means that people helping Bangladeshis and Rohingyas are also present here. Besides, there are a large number of Bengali speakers here, which allows these infiltrators to mix with the native population.
The population growth rate of this district has been the fastest in the country. The population of this district has increased at a rate of 3% between 2001 and 2011, which is much higher than the national average. Not only this, but children are also being born in Kishanganj at a faster rate than the national average.
The TFR in Kishanganj is 2.5 times the national average. According to a Reuters report, Kishanganj’s TFR is around 4.9 while the national average is 2.0. The number of children a woman aged 15-49 gives birth to during these years is called her TFR.
If the average TFR of a country is 2.1, then the population remains the same, whereas if it is less than this, then the population decreases. The population is now decreasing in the whole country, whereas in Kishanganj it is increasing twice as fast.
Muslim population increased by 16% in Seemanchal
Kishanganj is a part of the Seemanchal region of Bihar. A report by Dainik Jagran shows that between 1951 and 2011, the share of the Muslim population in the country’s total population increased by 4%, but in these Seemanchal districts, this share has increased by 16% and which is the average of all districts. Not only Kishanganj, but the Muslim population has increased abnormally in adjoining districts like Purnia, Khagaria, Araria and Katihar. Its effect is also visible on the social structure.
Widespread opposition to CAA-NRC in Muslim-dominated Kishanganj
Unsurprisingly, the Muslim-dominated Kishanganj saw vehement opposition to the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens in 2019-2020. Not to forget, the Islamo-leftist cabal ran a ‘Kaagaz nahi dikhayenge’ campaign during anti-CAA-NRC protests. It is worth noting that the Election Commission is also asking for some documents for verification. Opposition parties like the RJD and Congress are again engaged in instigating Muslims in this matter. The Election Commission’s process is called CAA-NRC. On 9th July 2025, Bihar Bandh was even organised in this matter.
