Caste system among South Asian Muslims Totally Explained

Everything about Caste System Among South Asian Muslims totally explained

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.
   When Hindus converted to Islam, they often didn't adhere completely to Islamic principles, retaining many Hindu practices with them. One of these Hindu characteristics was the caste. 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..His most significant contribution in the fatwa was his analysis of the castes with respect to Islam. 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 South Asian Muslims 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. 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. In January 2008, an organization called Akhil Maharashtra Muslim Khatik Samaj filed a Public Interest Litigation, demanding caste-based reservations for Muslims in India, based on the recommendations of the Sachar Committee.

Interaction and Mobility

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. There is also data that 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..
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.

Criticism

Many Muslim scholars have termed the caste-like features in South Asian 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.
Babasaheb Ambedkar 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.

Votebank

The Muslim caste system is used as a votebank in Indian 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"

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