Will the Government Grant SC Status to Muslim Communities?
By Arshad Alam, New Age Islam
23 November 2022
Most Probably No; But The Community Too
Has No Real Data To Prove Its Point
Main Points:
1.
The
government has constituted a committee to look into the inclusion of Muslims
and Christians as Scheduled Castes
2.
Muslim
elite have argued that they are not included because there is active
discrimination against them
3.
However,
they have been the ones who have proclaimed from the pulpit that there is no
caste or untouchability among Muslims
4.
If
they are really serious about helping Dalit Muslims, they should use their
organizations to collect nation-wide data on the plight of these communities
5.
There
is a very real fear of conversion of Hindu Dalits; Muslim and Christian groups
need to think how they are going to allay this fear
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Should Dalit Muslims then give up on
their hopes to be included within the SC list? Probably yes, because it is not
going to happen anytime soon. Some of these communities are already within the
OBC list but many such groups do not even know that they can avail of OBC
reservations. It would be better if the community’s efforts are directed
towards their inclusion within the OBC list and making this category more
sensitive to their needs.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In October 2021, the Union government
formed an inquiry committee to examine the claims of Muslims and Christians
Dalits to be classified as Scheduled Castes. The committee is yet to submit its
report and it will be too early to speculate on its findings. It must be made
clear that the Indian government initially only granted SC status to Hindu
Dalits, who had faced the scourge of untouchability. Eventually the ambit was
extended to include Dalit Sikhs and neo-Buddhists. The 1950 presidential
ordinance clearly states that Christians and Muslim Dalits are debarred from
being categorized as SCs. It must be noted that conferring SC status on a
community means that it benefits from various policies of the state, mainly
those in education, jobs and political representation.
But should SC status be extended to Muslims
and Christians? The Rangnath Misra Committee, which looked into the status of
Muslims, categorically stated that the SC quota be made religion-neutral. Thus,
the report made it very clear that Muslim Dalits should be included within the
SC quota. But the then UPA government did not pay any heed to the report and
the matter was simply buried. Recently, the government of India has made its
position very clear on the issue by opposing the inclusion of Muslims and
Christians in the SC list. They have argued before the highest court that since
Islam and Christianity do not have caste system, and since untouchability is a
product of caste, hence these communities cannot be classified as SCs. This
argument is weak though. Even Sikhism and Buddhism scripturally do not follow
the caste system, then why were they included within the SC list? So, what is
the reason for this huge reluctance to include Muslims within the SC category?
Is it the foreign origins of these religions? In that case, we will have to ask
the really tough question whether India has been a truly secular state since
the 1950s? After all, how fair is it to discriminate on the basis of religion,
when the constitution expressly prohibits it? Is there a consensus within the
ruling elite that this should not be done? Are they fearful of something? And
where does this fear come from?
--------------------------------------------
Also Read:
A Case for Dalit
Muslims
--------------------------------------------
Absence Of Reliable Data
One can certainly argue that the Islamic
scripture does not sanction untouchability but then the ethnographic and
sociological reality is very different. We have castes within the Muslim
community which have faced untouchability, though studies and documentation
about such practices is very nearly absent. Even the Ranganath Misra Commission
Report was not accepted by the government of the time owing to lack of
nation-wide data. It is therefore incumbent on Muslim organizations that they
collect data relating to untouchability within their community. This can be a
nation-wide exercise and given the strength of some religious organizations,
this should not be too much of a problem. However, we need to ask whether
Muslim organizations really have the will to undertake such a task. Most of
their energy is spent on organizing religious conclaves; millions of Muslims
congregate for Tablighi conferences but when it comes to real issues
confronting the community, these organizations have nothing substantial to
contribute. Simply blaming the government will not do. Moreover, the strength
of the community should not be directed at exposing the ‘anti-Muslim’ nature of
the government. In the absence of reliable data, this accusation does not
stick. The community should do ground work by collecting empirical data and
then corner the government over its stance of denial of untouchability within
Muslims.
Muslim Elite And Casteism
There is an added problem to Muslim
documentation on caste and untouchability. For decades, they have denied the
presence of caste within Muslims. They have consistently argued that Islam is
an egalitarian religion and hence Muslims do not practice the caste system. The
stance of both the religious as well as the secular leadership have led to the
very obliteration of casteism amongst Muslims from the national discourse.
Given such a history, how will they make an about turn and start telling the
Indian state that they have been lying all this while? Moreover, there is a
very deep psychology within the Muslim elite that fosters an active distinction
from the Hindu society. Caste is something associated with the Hindus and
because Muslims are necessarily superior, hence, the reasoning goes, they
cannot have caste or practice untouchability. It does not matter that the same
religious elite had justified the casteism amongst Muslims. Distinguished Alim
like Ashraf Ali Thanwi gave fatwas that Ansaris could not marry Syeds as it
contravenes the principle of Kufu (equality) in Islam. Ahmad Raza Barelwi
similarly argued that an educated Ansari is necessarily inferior to an
illiterate Syed.
If today Muslims are demanding SC status
for some of their fellow religionists, then are they ready to accept the
presence of casteism within their society? Are they ready to accept that upper
caste Muslims have mistreated and discriminated against lower caste Muslims? It
is a given fact that most Muslim organizations are by default manned by upper
caste. Are they now willing to make amends and make lower caste representation
in their organizations a priority? Are they ready to own up and publicly
condemn the Ulama who justified casteism in their writings? Till the time this
happens, why should the Indian state sit up and take notice about the issue of
casteism within Muslims?
------------------------------------------------------------------
Also Read:
Dalits Demand
Reservation for Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims
------------------------------------------------------------------
Fear Of Conversion
But even when this public acknowledgment
happens, will the state be ready to grant SC status to Dalit Muslims? Probably
not. And that is because there is palpable fear of conversion of Dalit castes
to Islam and Christianity. Both these religions proselytize and converting
people is one of the important cornerstones of their faith. In a situation of
electoral democracy, this might upset the number game. And no one is willing
take that risk despite the fact that the Indian constitution allows for
conversion. Despite the political differences between various political parties,
they perhaps have this deeper consensus which restricts the inclusion of
Muslims and Christians within the SC category. If one looks at this issue from
the perspective of the majority community, perhaps such a fear is not
unfounded. And it is the majority which makes the nation state in its own
image. The fear of the majority translates into a similar fear that is
expressed by the nation state.
One possible way to address this fear is a
public proclamation by Islamic and Christian groups that they are no longer
interested in conversion. But that is too much to expect, especially given the
fact that it is part and parcel of their religious calling. Without the
invitation of conversion, neither Islam nor Christianity is complete.
Should Dalit Muslims then give up on their
hopes to be included within the SC list? Probably yes, because it is not going
to happen anytime soon. Some of these communities are already within the OBC
list but many such groups do not even know that they can avail of OBC reservations.
It would be better if the community’s efforts are directed towards their
inclusion within the OBC list and making this category more sensitive to their
needs.
-----
A regular contributor to NewAgeIslam.com, Arshad Alam is a New Delhi based independent researcher and writer on Islam and Muslims in South Asia.
URL:
https://newageislam.com/islam-politics/sc-status-muslim-communities/d/128466
New Age
Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in
Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In
Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women
in West, Islam Women and Feminism