Caste In Islam, Christianity: Why SC Is Pushing Centre To Decide On Reservations For Dalit Muslims, Christians

Amid growing calls for affirmative action by certain section, the Supreme Court last month gave the Centre three weeks to decide whether reservation benefits enjoyed by Scheduled Castes can be extended to Dalit members of Christianity and Islam.

As of now, only Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs can avail the scheduled castes status under the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950. However, a bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, AS Oka and Vikram Nath said that the “day has come when we have to take a call on this.”

The observation came during the hearing of a petition file by an NGO Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) which had flagged the issue for consideration by the court in 2004. In the 18 years that have passed since, the Centre has failed to file any response in the matter.

Reservation for Dalit Christians and Muslims

Appearing for CPIL, advocate Prashant Bhushan said that the issues revolves around the question of whether the 1950 Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order discriminated against Dalit Muslims and Christians. 

The matter has been raised time and again by several religious as well rights organisations from both Muslim and Christian communities. 

The matter was in news In 2007 when a panel headed by former SC judge, Justice Ranganath Misra to deliberate on the issue recommended that the 1050 Order was discriminatory. The NDA government at the Centre rejected the panel’s report.

Yet again, in 2008,  a study by the National Commission for Minorities recommended granting reservations among religions other than Hindu, Buddhist or Sikh. This report was also rejected by the Cenrre. 

Castes in Christian community have existed in India for years. The Malabar Syrian Christians, for instance, to which Booker winning author Arundhati Roy belongs, are considered one of the highest castes in Indian Christian community. According to reports, the centre’s primary concern regarding granting reservation rights is the fear that Dalit Christians, who have wider access to education and other benefits, may get the upper hand in placements.

The matter raises also raises a familiar debate within Islam, many of whose proponents have long claimed that there is no caste system in Islam - a claim that has been contested by members of Pasmanda Muslim communities of South Asia. 

Islam and Caste

Syedism, which perpetuates a system of inequality, is found across South Asian Muslim communities. The concept of ‘Zat’ and “Biradari’ also exists in certain countries like Pakistan.

In 1960, Ghaus Ansari had named four distinct categories to broadly summarise division of Muslims in India: The Ashrafs who claim descent from foreign origin - these include the Sayyids, the Abbasids, the Mughals and are at the top of the social hierarchy. Then come upper caste converts such as Butts, Rajput Muslims or Jat Muslims. Members of other Indian tribes that have converted to Islam formed another run which included communities like the Darzis, Dhobis, Faqirs, Julahas, Kumhars and others. The last run of the social ladder inlcluded the converts from lower castes that were considered “untouchable”, such as Bhangis. 

Today, upper caste Hindus who converted to Islam are broadly considered be Ashraf. The neologism Pasmandas (meaning those who were left behind) is used to refer to Ajlaf and Arzal Muslims, considered lower in the social heirarchy by the Ashrafs, who have historically dominated the social, political and economic sphere. Ajlafs' statuses are defined by them being descendants of converts to Islam and are also defined by their pesha (profession). Marriages between Ashrafs and Pasmandas are still looked down upon in several places.

In the Bengal region (including both Bangladesh and West Bengal, a 2009 paper titled “Caste-based Discrimination in South Asia: A Study of Bangladesh" by Iftekhar Uddin Chowdhury noted that there were as many as 35 Muslim castes in Bengal. Largely, the Muslim society in West Bengal has been divided into three hierarchical categories: Sharif/Ashraf at the top, followed by the Atraf (low-born), and with the Arzal or Ajlaf at the bottom. Lower castes historically are not allowed to enter mosques or be buried in the public burial ground. 

In the paper titled Dalits and Tribes of India, J Cyril Kanmony noted that that Medieval Ashraf scholars had mentioned that Muslims of Afghan, Iranian, Arab, and Central Asian origin were superior while local converts were inferior. 

Anis Ansari retired as the Additional Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh and the chairman of UP Congress’s Ex-Officer’s Organisation has been a vocal advocate for the Pasmanda Muslim community’s rights. In a previous interview with Outlook, Ansari had noted that “Muslims also have a graded inequality” and that “the Ashrafs have severely damaged the backward Muslims”. 

He also noted that “marriages between the Ashrafs and the Ajlafs are rare”, and that “most poor Muslims don’t understand the term Pasmanda, but they have a fair idea that they belong to backward communities or the Mandal groups and face discrimination”. 

(With inputs from PTI)