Pasmanda, meaning ‘left behind” in Persian, is a term increasingly being used by Muslim associations in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and other parts of India, to describe themselves as historically and socially oppressed by caste
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, emphasising that the BJP should aspire to fulfil all sections of society, made special mention of the Pasmanda Muslims.
Sources told The Times of India, that Modi said the BJP should make efforts to win the support of the community comprising Dalit and backward Muslims, which recently got representation in Yogi Adityanath’s Council of Minister in Uttar Pradesh.
The prime minister’s urging came after the BJP appointed Danish Ansari, a Pasmanda Muslim and party leader from East Uttar Pradesh’s Ballia, as Minister of State for Minority Affairs in the Adityanath dispensation, as per the newspaper.
Ansari is the lone Muslim on the team.
But who are the Pasmanda Muslims? What do we know about them? Let’s take a closer look:
‘Left behind’
As per The Wire, Pasmanda, meaning “left behind” in Persian, is increasingly a term used by Muslim associations in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and other parts of India to define themselves as Muslim communities historically and socially oppressed by caste.
Caste is oft thought to affect only Hindus. But that’s not the case.
As per The Print, Indian Muslims, who are divided into three main classes and hundreds of biradaris, are also victims of caste.
Ashraf Muslims, who trace their origin either to western or central Asia (for instance Syed, Sheikh, Mughal, Pathan, etc or native upper caste converts like Rangad or Muslim Rajput, Taga or Tyagi Muslims, Garhe or Gaur Muslims, etc) sit at the top of the pyramid.
Syed biradari‘s status is nearly equal to Brahmins in Hinduism.
Savarna Muslims comprise only around 15 per cent of the entire Muslim population in India.
The rest 85 per cent are backward, Dalit and tribal Muslims.
Pasmanda identity and discourse
As per The Hindu, Pasmanda was adopted as an oppositional identity to that of the dominant Ashraf Muslims (forward castes) in 1998 by the Pasmanda Muslim Mahaz, a group which mainly worked in Bihar. However, it has found resonance elsewhere since then.
The Pasmanda discourse takes issue with the narrative that Islam is an egalitarian religion and that Indian Muslims on the whole, especially in the post-Sachar scenario, are a marginalised community.
So-called ‘minority politics’, which has been quite content in raising symbolic and emotional issues so far, is really the politics of dominant caste Muslims that secures their interests at the expense of Pasmanda Muslims, as per The Hindu.
A recurrent theme in Pasmanda narratives is that minority politics has singularly failed to address the bread-and-butter concerns of the Pasmanda Muslims.
As per The Print, the Pasmanda movement focuses on social identity rather than religious identity. The slogan Dalit-pichda ek saman, Hindu ho ya Musalman (All Dalit-backwards are alike, whether they be Hindu or Muslim)– emphasises unity of Bahujan communities across religions.
Backward, Dalit and tribal Muslim communities — Kunjre (Raeen), Julahe (Ansari), Dhunia (Mansuri), Kasai (Qureishi), Fakir (Alvi), Hajjam (Salmani), Mehtar (Halalkhor), Gwala (Ghosi), Dhobi (Hawari), Lohar-Badhai (Saifi), Manihar (Siddiqui), Darzi (Idrisi), Vangujjar, etc. — are now organising under the identity of Pasmanda, as per The Print.
Some Pasmanda Muslim scholars are also demanding counting of the community in a caste-based census.
Khalid Anis Ansari, scholar with the South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT), and active in the Pasmanda community advocacy space, told The Hindu any caste census adopted by the government should include counting of castes among Muslims.
At present, backward class Muslims can avail themselves of reservations only in the OBC category.
“We saw drafts of letters by political parties demanding a caste census where only Hindu Most Backward Castes (MBC) were being mentioned. When we raised the issue of Pasmanda Muslims, the letter to Prime Minister Modi from political parties in Bihar then dropped any mention of religion. As Pasmanda Muslims, we ourselves are not sure about the contours of the population in the community. The British census authorities in colonial India counted caste categories among Muslims too, but we have no further figures,” added Ansari.
‘Let’s fight together’
On 2 January, over 15 of these groups came together to demand rights for their community.
Amaan Akhtar, organiser of the event under the Pasmanda Adhikar Manch, and is also associated with the Congress Minority Cell in UP, said the groups have a shared interest, as per The Wire.
“It’s the same lathi which is caning weavers also, Nats also, Qureshi also, and Nanpuz also. So why should we fight separately, let’s fight together.”
“Our fight is not about Hindu vs Muslim. It’s a fight of social justice. Constitution gives equal rights in the name of religion. Article 341 says only Hindus can be included in SCs. My question is Why? When there are sweepers among Muslims, Mochis, Dhobi who wash clothes, the name is same, work is same, then why are you creating differences. Why are they being denied rights.”
Akhtar said that Pasmanda castes are getting it from both sides. “On one side, their rights are being denied because they are Muslims. They are politically marginalised, but also they have to face contempt because of their castes, from Muslims as well. They do not get respect. Traditional occupations are also dying because of non-recognition. Aligarh’s lock industry, Benares saree weaving – they are all occupations of occupational castes. If the communities are not recognised, they will wither. They need subsidies and support.”
“Pasmanda has now become an important word,” said Ali Anwar, former MP from Patna, and founder of the Pasmanda Muslim Mahaz in 1998, told The Wire. Anwar was one of the chief guests at the event along with Supreme Court advocates Arun Manjhi and Deepak Singh.
“People like Owaisi and the RSS are suddenly trying to talk about Pasmanda. We are meeting so that our people don’t come under the sway of either of them.”
With inputs from agencies
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