Caste system among South Asian Muslims

Caste system among South Asian Muslims refers to units of social stratification that have developed among Muslims in South Asia.^[1][2]

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Religious, historical and socio-cultural factors have helped define the bounds of endogamous groups for Muslims in South Asia. There is a preference for endogamous marriages based on the clan-oriented nature of the society, which values and actively seeks similarities in social group identity based on several factors, including religious, sectarian, ethnic, and tribal/clan affiliation. Religious affiliation is itself multi-layered and includes religious considerations other than being Muslim, such as sectarian identity (e.g. Shia or Sunni, etc.) and religious orientation within the sect (Isnashari, Ismaili, Ahmedi, etc.). Both ethnic affiliation (e.g. Sindhi, Baloch, Punjabi, etc.) and membership of specific biraderis or Jat/quoms (see Jatis underCaste)are additional integral components of social identity. Within the bounds of endogamy defined by the above parameters, close consanguineous unions are preferred due to a congruence of key features of group- and individual-level background factors as well as affinities.

Origins

Sources indicate that the castes among Muslims developed as the result of close contact with Hindu culture and Hindu converts to Islam.^[1][2][3][4] Religious scholar Yoginder Sikand elaborates that the caste system among Muslims was not due to the "influence of Hinduism among a previously 'pure', 'uncontaminated' Muslim community," but rather to "the continued impact of Hindu beliefs and customs on the converts who still remained within a largely Hindu cultural universe and retained many of its associated beliefs and practices".^[4]

Stratification

In some parts of South Asia, the Muslims are divided as Ashrafs and Ajlafs.^[5] Ashrafs claim a superior status derived from their foreign ancestry.^[6][7] 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.^[7]

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" [i.e. Ashrafs] "be given a higher social status than the low-born [i.e. Ajlaf].^[8] His most significant contribution in the fatwa was his analysis of the castes with respect to Islam.^[8] 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.^[8] 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 [from the Ajlaf]".^[8] 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.^[4] Barrani also developed an elaborate system of promotion and demotion of Imperial officers ("Wazirs") that was primarily on the basis of their caste.^[8]

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.^[9][10] The term "Arzal" stands for "degraded" and the Arzal castes are further subdivided into Bhanar, Halalkhor, Hijra, Kasbi, Lalbegi, Maugta, Mehtar etc.^[9][10][11] 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.^[12]

Some South Asian Muslims have been known to stratify their society according to Quoms.^[13] 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.^[7] 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, Mirza, and Mallik.^[14] Genetic data has also supported this stratification.^[15]

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

Main article: Jajmani system

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.^[7] 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.^[14]

Some data indicates that the castes among Muslims have never been as rigid as that among Hindus.^[16] The rate of endogamous marriage, for example, is less than two thirds.^[16] 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."^[17] However, other scholars, such as Ambedkar, disagreed with this thesis (see criticism below).

Castes in Pakistan

The social stratification among Muslims in the "Swat" area of 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.^[13] These Muslims practice a ritual-based system of social stratification. The Quoms who deal with human emissions are ranked the lowest.^[13]

Stephen M. Lyon of University of Kent has written about what he calls "Gujarism", the act of Gujjars in Pakistan seeking out other Gujjars to form associations, and consolidate ties with them, based strictly on caste affiliation.^[18]

Criticism

Some Muslim scholars have termed the caste-like features in Indian Muslim society as a "flagrant violation of the Qur'anic worldview." Other 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 Qur'an and Sharia to justify casteism.^[19]

While some scholars theorize that the Muslim Castes are not as acute in their discrimination as that among Hindus,^[4][16] Dr B.R.Ambedkar argued otherwise, writing that the social evils in Muslim society were "worse than those seen in Hindu society".^[9][10]

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 but worse in numerous ways". 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 decried against the approval of Shariah to Muslim casteism. It was based on superiority of foreign elements in society which would ultimately lead to downfall of local Dalits. This tragedy would be much more harsher than Hindus who are ethnically related to and supportive of Dalits. This Arabian supremacy in Indian Muslims accounted for its equal disapproval by high and low caste Hindus during 1300 years of Islamic presence in India. 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.^[9][10]

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. As for Hinduism, the hierarchical principles of the Brahmanical social order have always been contested from within Hindu society, suggesting that equality has been and continues to be both valued and practiced in Hinduism."^[20]

See also

	Islam portal
	South Asia portal

• Pasmanda Muslim Mahaz
• Islam in India
• List of Muslim Other Backward Classes communities
• Caste system among Indian Christians
• Indian caste system

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Islamic caste." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2006. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 18 Oct. 2006
2. ^ ^{a b} 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. ^ ^{a b c d} Singh Sikand, Yoginder. "Caste in Indian Muslim Society". Hamdard University. http://stateless.freehosting.net/Caste%20in%20Indian%20Muslim%20Society.htm. Retrieved 2006-10-18. 
5. ^ Asghar Ali Engineer. "On reservation for Muslims". The Milli Gazette. Pharos Media & Publishing Pvt Ltd,. http://www.milligazette.com/Archives/2004/01-15Sep04-Print-Edition/011509200449.htm. Retrieved 2004-09-01. 
6. ^ Aggarwal, Patrap (1978). Caste and Social Stratification Among Muslims in India. Manohar. 
7. ^ ^{a b c d} Social Stratification Among Muslims in India by Zarina Bhatty
8. ^ ^{a b c d e} 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
9. ^ ^{a b c d} Ambedkar, Bhimrao. Pakistan or the Partition of India. Thackers Publishers. 
10. ^ ^{a b c d} Web resource for Pakistan or the Partition of India
11. ^ Gitte Dyrhagen and Mazharul Islam (2006-10-18). "Consultative Meeting on the situation of Dalits in Bangladesh". International Dalit Solidarity Network. Archived from the original on 2007-08-03. http://web.archive.org/web/20070803023637/http://www.idsn.org/Documents/asia/pdf/Bangladesh_full_report.pdf. Retrieved 2007-06-12. 
12. ^ Dereserve these myths by Tanweer Fazal,Indian express
13. ^ ^{a b c} Barth, Fredrik (1962). "The System Of Social Stratification In Swat, North Pakistan". In E. R. Leach. Aspects of Caste in South India, Ceylon, and North-West Pakistan. Cambridge University Press. p. 113. http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=2995517. Retrieved 2007-06-12. 
14. ^ ^{a b} Anand Mohan Sahay. "Backward Muslims protest denial of burial". Rediff.com. http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/mar/06bihar.htm. Retrieved 2003-03-06. 
15. ^ Gene Diversity in Some Muslim Populations of North India Human Biology - Volume 77, Number 3, June 2005, pp. 343-353 - Wayne State University Press
16. ^ ^{a b c} Madan, T.N. (1976). Muslim communities of South Asia : culture and society. Vkas Publishing House. p. 114. ISBN 978-0706904628. 
17. ^ Ikram, S. M. (1964). "The Interaction of Islam and Hinduism". Muslim Civilization in India. New York: Columbia University Press. http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00islamlinks/ikram/part1_09.html. Retrieved 2007-06-12. 
18. ^ Stephen M. Lyon. "Gujars and Gujarism: simple quaum versus network activism". University of Kent at Canterbury. http://sapir.ukc.ac.uk/SLyon/Reports/gujarism.html. Retrieved 2007-05-31. 
19. ^ Yoginder Singh Sikand, Caste in Indian Muslim Society
20. ^ A. Jalal,Democracy and Authoritarianism in South Asia: A Comparative and Historical Perspective (Contemporary South Asia), Cambridge University Press (May 26, 1995), ISBN 0521478626

Further reading

• Ahmad, Imtiaz (1978). Caste and social stratification among Muslims in India. New Delhi: Manohar. OCLC 5147249. 
• Ali, A.F. Imam (September 1993). Changing Social Stratification in Rural Bangladesh. South Asia Books. ISBN 978-8171692675. 
• Sikand, Yoginder (2004). Islam, Caste and Dalit Muslim Relations in India. Global Media Publications. ISBN 8188869066. 
• Ali, Syed (December 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. 
• Ahmad, S. Shamim; A. K. Chakravarti (January 1981). "Some regional characteristics of Muslim caste systems in India". GeoJournal 5 (1): 55–60. doi:10.1007/BF00185243. ISSN 0343-2521. 
• Berreman, Gerald D. (June 1972). "Social Categories and Social Interaction in Urban India". American Anthropologist 74 (3): 567–586. doi:10.1525/aa.1972.74.3.02a00220. ISSN 0002-7294. 

External links

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