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Caste system among South Asian Muslims refers to units of social stratification that have developed among Muslims in South Asia despite Islam's egalitarian tenets.

Origins

Sources indicate that the castes among Muslims developed as the result of close contact with Hindu culture and Hindu converts to Islam. Those who are referred to as Ashrafs are presumed to have a superior status derived from their foreign Arab ancestry, while the Ajlafs are assumed to be converts from Hinduism, and have a lower status.

Scholars such as Yoginder Sikand, have asserted that while the influence of Hindu social mores on the Muslims might partially explain the continued salience of caste among them it does not fully explain how the Muslims of the region came to be stratified on the basis of caste in the first place. He has said that the claim that Muslim castes were "entirely influenced by Hinduism" is "based on the untenable assumption of a once pure, radically egalitarian Muslim community in India later coming under the baneful impact of Hinduism"..

Castes in India and Bangladesh

In some parts of India, the Muslims are divided as Ashrafs and Ajlafs. Ashrafs claim a superior status derived from their foreign ancestry. The non-Ashrafs are assumed to be converts from Hinduism, and are therefore drawn from the indigenous population. They, in turn, are divided into a number of occupational castes.

Sections of the ulema (scholars of Islamic jurisprudence) provide religious legitimacy to caste with the help of the concept of kafa'a. A classical example of scholarly declaration of the Muslim caste system is the Fatawa-i Jahandari, written by the fourteenth century Turkish scholar, Ziauddin Barani, a member of the court of Muhammad bin Tughlaq, of the Tughlaq dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate. Barani was known for his intensely casteist views, and regarded the Ashraf Muslims as racially superior to the Ajlaf Muslims. He divided the Muslims into grades and sub-grades. In his scheme, all high positions and privileges were to be a monopoly of the high born Turks, not the Indian Muslims. Even in his interpretation of the Koranic verse "Indeed, the pious amongst you are most honored by Allah", he considered piety to be associated with noble birth. Barrani was specific in his recommendation that the "sons of Mohamed" "be given a higher social status than the low-born .His most significant contribution in the fatwa was his analysis of the castes with respect to Islam. His assertion was that castes would be mandated through state laws or "Zawabi" and would carry precedence over Sharia law whenever they were in conflict. In the Fatwa-i-Jahandari (advice XXI), he wrote about the "qualities of the high-born" as being "virtuous" and the "low-born" being the "custodian of vices". Every act which is "contaminated with meanness and based on ignominity, comes elegantly ". Barani had a clear disdain for the Ajlaf and strongly recommended that they be denied education, lest they usurp the Ashraf masters. He sought appropriate religious sanction to that effect. Barrani also developed an elaborate system of promotion and demotion of Imperial officers ("Wazirs") that was primarily on the basis of their caste.

In addition to the Ashraf/Ajlaf divide, there is also the Arzal caste among Muslims, who were regarded by anti-Caste activists like Babasaheb Ambedkar as the equivalent of untouchables. The term "Arzal" stands for "degraded" and the Arzal castes are further subdivided into Bhanar, Halalkhor, Hijra, Kasbi, Lalbegi, Maugta, Mehtar etc. The Arzal group was recorded in the 1901 census in India and are also called Dalit Muslims “with whom no other Muhammadan would associate, and who are forbidden to enter the mosque or to use the public burial ground”.They are relegated to "menial" professions such as scavenging and carrying night soil..

Some remote muslim tribes have been known to stratify their society according to Quoms. These Muslims practise a ritual-based system of social stratification. The Quoms who deal with human emissions are ranked the lowest. Studies of Bengali Muslims in India indicate that the concepts of purity and impurity exist among them and are applicable in inter-group relationships, as the notions of hygiene and cleanliness in a person are related to the person's social position and not to his/her economic status. Muslim Rajput is another caste distinction among Indian Muslims.

Some of the backward or lower-caste Muslim communities include Ansari, Kunjra, Churihara, Dhobi and Halalkhor. The upper caste Muslim communities include Syed, Sheikh, Pathan, Khan and Mallik. Genetic data has also supported this stratification.

The Sachar Committee's report commissioned by the government of India and released in 2006, documents the continued stratification in Muslim society.

Interaction and Mobility (India and Bangladesh)

Interactions between the oonchi zat (upper caste) and neechi zat (lower caste) are regulated by established patron-client relationships of the jajmani system, the upper castes being referred to as the 'Jajmans', and the lower caste as 'Kamin'. Upon contact with a low-caste Muslim, a Muslim of a higher zat can "purify" by taking a short bath, since there are no elaborate rituals for purification. In Bihar state of India, cases have been reported in which the higher caste Muslims have opposed the burials of lower caste Muslims in the same graveyard.

Some data indicates that the castes among Muslims have never been as rigid as that among Hindus. The rate of endogamous marriage, for example, is less than two thirds. An old saying also goes "Last year I was a Julaha (weaver); this year a Shaikh; and next year if the harvest be good, I shall be a Sayyid.". However, other scholars, such as Ambedkar, disagreed with this thesis (see criticism below).

Castes in Pakistan

A pseudo-caste system is practiced by very few tribes in Pakistan, although with variability since the concept of caste is not recognized in Islam nor among majority of Pakistanis. Also, caste system is illegal according to the constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Those who take part in it do so either voluntairly or because help to them is not available - usually in the rural areas of Pakistan.

The social stratification among some tribes in the "Swat" area of extreme North Pakistan has been meaningfully compared to the Caste system in India. The society is rigidly divided into subgroups where each Quom is assigned a profession. Different Quoms are not permitted to intermarry or live in the same community.

These people practice a ritual-based system of social stratification. The Quoms who deal with human emissions are ranked the lowest.

The Caste system in Pakistan sometimes leads to sectarian divides and strong issues, although to much lesser extent than in India. Lower castes are often severely persecuted by the upper castes. Lower castes are denied privileges in their local communities and violence is sometimes committed against them. A particularly infamous example of such incidents is that of Mukhtaran Mai in Pakistan, a low caste woman who was gang raped by upper caste men.

In addition, educated Pakistani women from the lower castes are at times (depending on the family) persecuted by the higher castes for attempting to break the shackles of the restrictive system (that traditionally denied education to the lower castes, particularly the women). A recent example of this is the case of Ghazala Shaheen, a low caste Muslim woman in Pakistan who, in addition to getting a higher education, had an uncle who eloped with a woman of a high caste family. She was accosted and gang-raped by the upper-caste family. The chances of any legal action are low due to the Pakistani Government's inability to repeal the Hudood ordinance against women in Pakistan,.

In 2006, Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf proposed laws against Hudood making rape (an already punishable offence in Pakistan) a more severe offense and giving women more of a standing during trials, which were ratified by the Pakistani senate. The law met considerable opposition from the Islamist parties in Pakistan, who insisted that amending the laws to make them more civilized towards women without proper controls will not really help the Pakistani women and would allow for blackmail and revenge to occur. Islamic parties also claim that loose control of such laws will cause illegal activities such as prostitution to become more common and difficult to stop . However, up until now, no major cases of abusing this new amendment has occured.

Despite all, one must note that in majority of cases, in urban areas of Pakistan, the caste system is in reality almost always defined based on economic standing. Unlike elsewhere where castes are permanent and non-changable, and often religious or ethnically based, in Pakistan it is possible for any citizen to move upwards in the society usually through education and accumulation of wealth and/or religious knowledge. This is exactly the same 'caste system' in countries such as USA, Canada, etc. where citizens are divided into classes based on their economic status. However in the rural areas, powerful personalities and families try to control the weaker masses through blackmail and torture leading to the caste system defined in this section. Many do flee from rural areas of Pakistan to urban centres of Pakistan for better quality of living and more tolerance.

Criticism

Many Muslim scholars have termed the caste-like features in Indian Muslim society as a "flagrant violation of the Qur'anic worldview.". However, a few Muslim scholars tried to reconcile and resolve the "disjunction between Qur'anic egalitarianism and Indian Muslim social practice" through theorizing it in different ways and interpreting the Quran and Sharia to justify casteism.

While some scholars have asserted that the Muslim Castes are not as acute in their discrimination as that among Hindus, Ambedkar argued otherwise, writing that the social evils in Muslim society were "worse than those seen in Hindu society".

Babasaheb Ambedkar was an illustrious figure in Indian politics and the chief architect of the Indian Constitution. He was extremely critical of the Muslim Caste System and their practices, quoting that "Within these groups there are castes with social precedence of exactly the same nature as one finds among the Hindus". He was critical of how the Ashrafs regarded the Ajlaf and Arzal as "worthless" and the fact that Muslims tried to sugarcoat the sectarian divisions by using euphemisms like "brotherhood" to describe them. He was also critical of the precept of literalism of scripture among Indian Muslims that led them to keep the Muslim Caste system rigid and discriminatory. He condemned the Indian Muslim Community of being unable to reform like Muslims in other countries like Turkey did during the early decades of the twentieth century..

Pakistani-American sociologist Ayesha Jalal writes, in her book, "Democracy and Authoritarianism in South Asia",that "Despite its egalitarian principles, Islam in South Asia historically has been unable to avoid the impact of class and caste inequalities."

Votebank

The Muslim caste system is used as a votebank in states with large Muslim minorities such as Uttar Pradesh, where the INC government figure Arjun Singh noted "Muslims should get reservation under the backward category (OBCs) besides a separate quota for Dalit Muslims"

References

1. ^ "Islamic caste." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2006. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 18 Oct. 2006
2. ^ Burton-Page, J. "Hindū." Encyclopaedia of Islam. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzeland W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2006. Brill Online.
3. Muslim Caste in Uttar Pradesh (A Study of Culture Contact), Ghaus Ansari, Lucknow, 1960, Page 66
4. ^ Singh Sikand, Yoginder. "Caste in Indian Muslim Society". Hamdard University. Retrieved 2006-10-18.
5. ^ Aggarwal, Patrap (1978). Caste and Social Stratification Among Muslims in India. Manohar.
6. Bhatty, Zarina (1996). "Social Stratification Among Muslims in India". In M N Srinivas (ed.). Caste: Its Twentieth Century Avatar. Viking, Penguin Books India. pp. 249–253. ISBN 0140257608. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)
7. Asghar Ali Engineer. "On reservation for Muslims". The Milli Gazette. Pharos Media & Publishing Pvt Ltd,. Retrieved 2004-09-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
8. ^ Social Stratification Among Muslims in India by Zarina Bhatty
9. ^ Das, Arbind, Arthashastra of Kautilya and Fatwa-i-Jahandari of Ziauddin Barrani: an analysis, Pratibha Publications, Delhi 1996, ISBN 81-85268-45-2 pgs 124-143
10. ^ Ambedkar, Bhimrao. Pakistan or the Partition of India. Thackers Publishers.
11. ^ Web resource for Pakistan or the Partition of India
12. Gitte Dyrhagen and Mazharul Islam (2006-10-18). "Consultative Meeting on the situation of Dalits in Bangladesh" (PDF). International Dalit Solidarity Network. Retrieved 2007-06-12.
13. Dereserve these myths by Tanweer Fazal,Indian express
14. Barth, Fredrik. "The System Of Social Stratification In Swat, North Pakistan". In E. R. Leach (ed.). Aspects of Caste in South India, Ceylon, and North-West Pakistan. Cambridge University Press. p. 113. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)
15. ^ Anand Mohan Sahay. "Backward Muslims protest denial of burial". Rediff.com. Retrieved 2003-03-06.
16. Gene Diversity in Some Muslim Populations of North India Human Biology - Volume 77, Number 3, June 2005, pp. 343-353 - Wayne State University Press
17. ^ Madan, T.N. (1976). Muslim communities of South Asia : culture and society. Vkas Publishing House. p. 114. ISBN 978-0706904628.
18. Ikram, S. M. "The Interaction of Islam and Hinduism". Muslim Civilization in India. New York: Columbia University Press. Retrieved 2007-06-12. {{cite book}}: External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)
19. Leach, Edmund Ronald (November 24, 1971). Aspects of Caste in South India, Ceylon and North-West Pakistan (Pg 113). Cambridge University Press. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
20. Leach, Edmund Ronald (November 24, 1971). Aspects of Caste in South India, Ceylon and North-West Pakistan (Pg 113). Cambridge University Press. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
21. http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/south/08/31/pakistan.gang.rape/
22. Pakistani graduate raped to punish her low-caste family The Sunday Times - September 24, 2006
23. Pakistan senate backs rape bill,BBC
24. Strong feelings over Pakistan rape laws,BBC
25. Yoginder Singh Sikand, Caste in Indian Muslim Society
26. A. Jalal,Democracy and Authoritarianism in South Asia: A Comparative and Historical Perspective (Contemporary South Asia), Cambridge University Press (May 26, 1995), ISBN 0521478626
27. Congress pushes for Dalit Muslim quota Press Trust of India - March 15, 2007

Further reading

• Ahmad, Imtiaz (1978). Caste and social stratification among Muslims in India. New Delhi: Manohar. OCLC 5147249.
• Ali, A.F. Imam (1993). Changing Social Stratification in Rural Bangladesh. South Asia Books. ISBN 978-8171692675. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
• Sikand, Yoginder (2004). Islam, Caste and Dalit Muslim Relations in India. Global Media Publications. ISBN 8188869066.
• Ali, Syed (2002). "Collective and Elective Ethnicity: Caste Among Urban Muslims in India". Sociological Forum. 17 (4): 593–620. doi:10.1023/A:1021077323866. ISSN 0884-8971. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
• Ahmad, S. Shamim (1981). "Some regional characteristics of Muslim caste systems in India". GeoJournal. 5 (1): 55–60. doi:10.1007/BF00185243. ISSN 0343-2521. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
• Berreman, Gerald D. (1972). "Social Categories and Social Interaction in Urban India". American Anthropologist. 74 (3): 567–586. ISSN 0002-7294. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

External links

• Salil Kader. Social Stratification Among Muslims In India. June 15, 2004.
• Yoginder Singh Sikand. Islam And Caste Inequality Among Indian Muslims.
• Andhra fatwa draws flak The telegraph, Calcutta - June 22, 2007

• Misplaced Pages neutral point of view disputes from May 2007
• Indian caste system
• Islam in India
• Islam in Pakistan
• Pakistani caste system