Caste system among South Asian Muslims

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Muslim communities in South Asia have a system of social stratification[1] arising from concepts other than "pure" and "impure", which are integral to the caste system in India.[2][3] It developed as a result of relations among foreign conquerors, local upper-caste Hindus forced to convert to Islam (ashraf, also known as tabqa-i ashrafiyya[4]) and local lower-caste converts (ajlaf), as well as the continuation of the Indian caste system by converts.[5] Non-ashrafs are backward-caste converts.[6] The concept of "pasmanda" includes ajlaf and arzal Muslims; ajlaf status is defined by descent from converts to Islam and by pesha (profession).[7] These terms are not part of the sociological vocabulary in regions such as Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh, and say little about the functioning of Muslim society.[7]

The Biradari system is social stratification in Pakistan and, to an extent, India.[8] The South Asian Muslim caste system includes hierarchical classifications of khandan (dynasty, family, or lineage).[7]

History[edit]

Although Islam requires egalitarianism and does not recognize any castes (only socio-economic classes),[9] existing divisions in Persia and India were adopted by local Muslim societies. Evidence of social stratification exists in later Persian works such as Nizam al-Mulk's 11th-century Siyasatnama, Nasir al-Din al-Tusi's 13th-century Akhlaq-i Nasiri, and the 17th-century Jam-i-Mufidi.[10]

After Muhammad's death in the seventh century CE, tribes and families fought a war of succession.[7] After this, a determinant for social stratification in Arab society included being part of Muhammad's close family (ahl al-bayt).[7] This factor was present in ancient South Asia among Muslims since the eighth century.

This led to a further hierarchical determinant: Arabs versus non-Arabs.[7] Among non-Arabs, further divisions were made between Muslims who were converted in early Islamization campaigns (khadim-al islam) and those who converted more recently (jadid-al islam).[7] South Asian Muslims are divided by classifications that have resulted in Arab-origin higher castes (unch zat) and descendants of lower-caste converts (nich zat).[7] Mughal Empire sultans were high-caste.[7]

The Muslims who came to the subcontinent during the 12th century were already divided into vocation-based social "classes", including priests, nobles, and others, and racial segregation separated local Muslim converts from foreign-origin Muslims. The foreigners claimed superior status, since they were associated with the conquerors and considered themselves as sharif ("noble").[11] Indian Muslim society also split in accordance with the Hindu caste system.[11] According to M. N. Srinivas (1986) and R. K. Bhattacharya, Indian Hindu converts to Islam brought their caste system to the region's Muslim society.[12] Louis Dumont, however, believed that the Islamic conquerors adopted the Hindu caste system "as a compromise which they had to make in a predominantly Hindu environment."[13]

Ziauddin Barani, a 14th-century Indian political thinker in the Delhi Sultanate, suggested that the "sons of Mohamed" receive a higher social status than the low-born. His most significant contribution to the fatwa was his analysis of castes and Islam. Barani said that castes would be mandated through state laws (zawabi), which would take precedence over sharia in a conflict. According to Barani, every act "contaminated with meanness and based on ignominy, comes elegantly [from the Ajlaf]". He developed an elaborate system of promotion and demotion of imperial officers (wazirs), primarily based on caste.[14][15][16] Barani's opinions were not followed by his own sultanate. He accused the Tughlaq Sultans of appointing "low-born" people to high office; they included Sultan Muhammad Shah[17] and Sultan Firuz Shah, Barani's patron in Delhi, who appointed a former slave captured from Telangana and converted as his grand vizier.[18]

Muslims from the julaha (weaver) caste began to identify as "Ansaris", butchers as "Quereshis", and the sanitation and bhishti castes as "Sheikh".[19] The Muslim concept of hereditary kafa'ah, which the ulama use to support endogamy, justifies South Asian Muslim caste practices.[20][7]

Ashrafization[edit]

Ashrafization (or sharifization) includes adopting upper-caste Muslim practices to climb the social ladder.[21] The Sayyid dynasty of Khizr Khan of the Delhi Sultanate was founded by a Punjabi Muslim.[22][23]

The Sayyid brothers who were king-makers in the Mughal Empire, originated from a marginal Indian peasant community in Muzaffarnagar who claimed Sayyid ancestry. Mughal emperor Jahangir wrote, "Some people make remarks about their lineage, but their bravery is a convincing proof of their being Sayyids".[24] This indicated that the brothers had assumed Sayyid identity due to military service rather than descent.[24]

Caste associations[edit]

Another type of ashrafization is the establishment of caste associations to promote a community's interests and provide social support.[7] These anjuman ('forum', 'society') is commonly termed jama'at (جماعت ; 'congregation', 'group', 'community'), replacing the use of zat ('birth or origin group').[7] The Khoja caste, Ismaili Shias primarily in Karachi and Sindh, are an example.[7] Other significant Muslim caste associations are those of the Memons and the Bohras in Sindh and Gujarat.[7]

Research[edit]

See also: Varna (Hinduism)

Definitions of caste vary, and opinions differ on whether the term can be used to denote social stratification in non-Hindu communities. Ghaus Ansari uses the term "caste" to describe Muslim social groups with the following characteristics: endogamy within the group; hierarchical gradation of groups; determination of group membership by birth; and, in some cases, association by occupation with a social group.[25] Western Indologists began to catalogue Muslim castes during the 19th century in:

  • Henry Miers Elliot's Supplement to the glossary of Indian terms (1844), later amplified into Memoirs on the history, folk-lore, and distribution of the Races of the North Western Provinces of India
  • John Charles Williams's Report on the Census of Oudh (1869)
  • Denzil Ibbetson's Census Report of Punjab (1883), later adapted into Panjab Castes
  • John Nesfield's Brief View of the Caste System of the North-Western Provinces and Oudh (1885)
  • Herbert Hope Risley's Tribes and castes of Bengal (1893)
  • William Crooke's Tribes and Castes of the North-western Provinces and Oudh (1896)[25]

In 20th-century British India, several works included Muslim social groups in their descriptions of Indian castes. These included H. A. Rose's A Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North-West Frontier Province (1911).[26] Around 1915, Mirza Muhammad Hassan Qatil wrote about the four firqa (classes) of the ashraf.[27] He described how people in the following occupations were considered paji (contemptible): elephant caretaking, bread- and perfume-making, and dealing in bazaars.[27] Ghaus Ansari began an academic discussion in 1960 about the concept of a Muslim caste system, and Imtiaz Ahmed elaborated on the subject in Caste and Social Stratification among the Muslims (1973).[28]

Divisions[edit]

See also: List of Muslim Other Backward Classes communities in India

Ghaus Ansari (1960) identified the following four categories of Muslim social divisions in India:

Ashraf hierarchy is determined by the degree of nearness to Muhammad and country of origin; Syeds (who trace descent from Fatima, Muhammad's daughter) have the highest status.[29] Non-Ashrafs are categorized as ajlaf, with untouchable Hindu converts also categorized as arzal ("degraded").[30][31][better source needed] They are relegated to menial professions, such as scavenging and carrying night soil.[32][33]

In Pakistan, social groups known as quoms have a social stratification comparable to the Indian caste system. The quoms differ widely in power, privilege, and wealth. Ethnic affiliation (such as Pathan, Sindhi, Baloch, and Punjabi, etc.) and membership in a biraderi are components of social identity.[34] Within the bounds of endogamy, close consanguineous unions are preferred due to a unity of group- and individual factors. McKim Marriott said that a social stratification that is hierarchical, closed, endogamous, and hereditary is prevalent, particularly in western Pakistan.[35][36][37] Numerically- and socially-influential tribes in Pakistani Punjab include the agricultural tribes of Awan, Jat Muslim, Gujjar, and Rajput.[8][38]

In Nepal, Muslim caste rank differs.[39][40] In India, most ulemas (theologians or doctors of the law) are part of the Syed; many Ashrafs are businessmen, landowners, and traders.[7] A regional "marriage circle" can be formed, where marriage alliances occur.[7] A Syed's status is sometimes based more on male descendants and hypergamous marriage than ancestry.[7] Early Turks had subdivisions.[41]

In the Rasum-i Hind, a textbook compiled by Master Pyare Lal in 1862, four firqa (ashraf subdivisions) are explained and nasl (lineage) is described.[27] Ancestors of the Mughal caste are said to be descended from the Biblical Noah,[27] and ancestors of the Pathans are said to be Israelites from the time of Solomon.[27] In the Mughal Empire ruling class, Muslims were classified as native Hindustani, Afghan, Turani, and Irani.[27]

Pakistani Punjab[edit]

Zamindars, Kammis, and the Seyp system[edit]

Zamindars (a landowning class) and Kammis, service-providing castes, are hierarchical groups in Pakistani Punjabi villages[42] which are based on parental occupation.[42] In the Seyp system (contract labour), the Kammis provide work and services and receive favours, food, money, crops, and grains.[43] Zamindars are considered a dominant caste and tend to be village and town leaders.[43] Urban social, political, and economic affairs are dominated by Zamindars, and land is controlled by them;[43] Kammis are socially marginalized.[44] Kammis and Zamindars intermarry.[45] Ancestral land ownership and agriculture are ascribed to Zamindars.[46][47] Other castes are higher than the Kammis and below the Zamindars.[48]

Caste endogamy exists in Pakistan, with members of a quom tending to marry within it.[49] In rural areas of Pakistani Punjab, endogamy is vital to the caste system.[49] Kammis include artisans, labourers, and service providers such as barbers, cobblers, and carpenters.[50] Most are labourers or perform low-ranking tasks.[51] According to a Kammi woman,

Even if a Kammi acquires 100 acres of land, he remains Kammi, and Zamindars will always consider him lower. A Zamindar who owns one acre of land would think, "If a Kammi has bought 2 acres, so what? After all, he remains a Kammi". They do not accept us as equals.[52]

Quoms influence marriage practices.[50] Different Zamindar quoms sometimes intermarry, however, and may constitute a Biradari.[53] A study in a Pakistani Punjabi village found that in a seyp (contract) between Zamindar and Kammi families, Kammi families give goods to and perform services for the Zamindars, who provide the Kammis with grain. Kammi families also perform customary and ritual tasks, for example, a barber cooks in the Zamindar's house for special events and performs circumcisions.[54]

People also exhibit loyalty to their Quoms in elections.[50] In Pakistani Punjab, Biradaris are the sole criteria in local bodies' elections.[55] There are more Zamindars than Kammis in Pakistani Punjab.[53] Including because of the high financial costs of running in an election, Kammis do not generally run in elections.[56]

Bengal[edit]

Although class distinctions based on wealth and occupation exist, hereditary castes don't exist in mainstream Bangladeshis/Bengali Muslims, unlike Bangladeshi Hindus.[57] [circular reference][better source needed] There might be around 35 Muslim castes in West Bengal.[58] Muslim society might have been historically divided into three large groupings in Bengal, with the Sharif/Ashraf at the top, followed by the Atraf (low-born), and with the Arzal or Ajlaf at the bottom.[58]

Other Muslim castes historically did not associate with Arzal castes.[59] Lower castes historically are not allowed to enter mosques or be buried in the public burial ground.[59]

Sharifism[edit]

Sharifism refers to the special status given to claimants of prophetic nasab (also qarabah), which means "closeness", or being descended from Muhammad, Muhammad's Quraysh tribe, or Muhammad's family.[60]

Discrimination[edit]

Representation[edit]

In 20th century India, the upper-class (Ashraf) Muslims dominated the government jobs and parliamentary representation. As a result, there have been campaigns to include lower social classes among the groups eligible for affirmative action in India under SC and STs provision act.[61]

Burial[edit]

In India's Bihar state, Forward caste Muslims have opposed backward caste Muslims being buried in the same graveyard.[62][63]

Cooking[edit]

A study in a Pakistani village found that a caste-like hierarchy exists in the Muslim community of the village. The sweeper group is ranked the lowest. The other Muslim communities do not allow the sweepers to touch the cooking vessels of the upper ranking groups of Muslims.[64]

Racial and historical[edit]

Barani also explained at one point how Turkish sultans discriminated against Muslims of local descent.[41] He explains how Iltutmish discriminated against low-birth Muslims by letting go of 33 of them from the government.[41] Additionally, Iltutmish appointed Jamal Marzuq to the post of Mutassarif of Kanauj; Aziz Bahruz disagreed due to low birth status, which resulted in Marzuq no longer being the Mutassarif.[41] Low-born people were not allowed to be in the mudabbiri or khwajgi post and could not be eligible for an iqta recommendation.[41]

Balban prevented low-birth people from being in important offices, and he also criticized how Kamal Mohiyar was selected for mutassarif of Amroaha.[41] A letter by Sayyid Ashraf Jahangiri explains how Balban thoroughly researched the ancestry of every single one of his government servants and officers; he had genealogists met in Delhi to ascertain these ancestries.[41]

Tughlaq had a policy of giving "preference to foreign-born Muslims in administration and government" and "systematically ignored the claims of Indian Muslims".[41] Sayyid Ashraf Jahangiri explains how:[41]

The Sultan went to the extent of offering the most responsible and distinguished offices of the kingdom – for instance, those of a Wazir, a Dabir, a military commander, a judge, a professor of theology, or a Shaikhul-Islam – to almost any foreigner of some learning. Foreigners coming to India were collectively known as 'the Honourables' (A'izza)

Historians and Urdu writers (including Masood Alam Falahi) have explained how discrimination of Ashraf Muslims towards lower caste Muslims and Dalit Muslims was often disguised under claims of class and "khandaani" (family line) values among Uttar Pradesh Muslims.[19]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ Pratik Patnaik (December 2, 2020). "Caste Among Indian Muslims Is a Real Issue. So Why Deny Them Reservation?". The Wire.
  2. ^ Azra Khanam 2013, pp. 120–121.
  3. ^ Webner, Pnina (2007). The Migration Process: Capital, Gifts and Offerings among British Pakistanis. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. ISBN 9781472518477. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  4. ^ Julien Levesque 2020, p. 4.
  5. ^ Gautier, Laurence; Levesque, Julien (July 2020). "Introduction: Historicizing Sayyid-ness: Social Status and Muslim Identity in South Asia". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. 30 (3): 383–393. doi:10.1017/S1356186320000139. ISSN 1356-1863.
  6. ^ "Ashraf: Islamic Caste Group". Britannica. 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Remy Delage 2014.
  8. ^ a b Mughees Ahmed (2009), "Local-bodies or local "biradari" system: An analysis of the role of burglaries in the local bodies system of Punjab" (PDF), Pakistan Journal of History and Culture, 30 (1): 81–92
  9. ^ Ghaus Ansari 1960, p. 27.
  10. ^ Ghaus Ansari 1960, p. 29.
  11. ^ a b Ghaus Ansari 1960, p. 30.
  12. ^ Azra Khanam 2013, pp. 116.
  13. ^ Azra Khanam 2013, pp. 115–116.
  14. ^ Arbind Das · (1996). Arthashastra of Kautilya and Fatawa-i-Jahandari of Ziauddin Barani. Pratibha Prakashan. p. 144. ISBN 9788185268453. Barani never called himself Turk for one intention that he wanted to be an Indian than anything else
  15. ^ Das, Arbind, Arthashastra of Kautilya and Fatwa-i-Jahandari of Ziauddin Barrani: an analysis, Pratibha Publications, Delhi 1996, ISBN 81-85268-45-2 pp. 124-143
  16. ^ Sikand, Yoginder (2003), Sacred Spaces: Exploring Traditions of Shared Faith in India, Penguin Books India, pp. 7–, ISBN 978-0-14-302931-1
  17. ^ Satish Chandra (2004). Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals-Delhi Sultanat (1206–1526) – Part One. Har-Anand Publications. p. 99. ISBN 9788124110645.
  18. ^ Jonathan Bloom; Sheila Blair; Sheila S. Blair, eds. (2009). Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art & Architecture. Oup USA. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-19-530991-1. Three-volume set.
  19. ^ a b Umar, Sanober (14 February 2020). "The Identity of Language and the Language of Erasure: Urdu and the Racialized-Decastification of the "Backward Musalmaan" in India". Caste: A Global Journal on Social Exclusion. 1 (1). Brandeis University: 187. doi:10.26812/caste.v1i1.29.
  20. ^ Julien Levesque 2020, p. 14.
  21. ^ Ali, Syed (December 2002). "Collective and Elective Ethnicity: Caste among Urban Muslims in India". Sociological Forum. 17 (4). Springer: 602. doi:10.1023/A:1021077323866. JSTOR 3070361. S2CID 146701489.
  22. ^ The Cambridge History of India. The claim of Khizr Khān , who founded the dynasty known as the Sayyids , to descent from the prophet of Arabia was dubious, and rested chiefly on its causal recognition by the famous saint Sayyid Jalāl – ud – dīn of Bukhārā .: S. Chand. 1958.
  23. ^ Richard M. Eaton (2019). India in the Persianate Age: 1000–1765. University of California Press. p. 117. ISBN 978-0520325128. The career of Khizr Khan, a Punjabi chieftain belonging to the Khokar clan...
  24. ^ a b Dirk H. A. Kolff (2002). Naukar, Rajput, and Sepoy: The Ethnohistory of the Military Labour Market of Hindustan, 1450–1850. Cambridge University Press. p. 18. ISBN 9780521523059.
  25. ^ a b Ghaus Ansari 1960, p. 22.
  26. ^ Ghaus Ansari 1960, p. 2.
  27. ^ a b c d e f David Lelyveld 2005.
  28. ^ Azra Khanam 2013, p. 115.
  29. ^ Imtiaz Ahmed 1967, p. 887.
  30. ^ Ambedkar, Bhimrao. Pakistan or the Partition of India. Thackers Publishers.
  31. ^ Web resource for Pakistan or the Partition of India
  32. ^ "Dereserve these myths – Indian Express". archive.indianexpress.com. Retrieved 2017-09-30.
  33. ^ Falahi, Masood. "Caste and caste-based discrimination s Among Indian Muslims'" (PDF). SAS. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  34. ^ Barth, Fredrik (1962). E. R. Leach (ed.). The System Of Social Stratification In Swat, North Pakistan (Aspects of Caste in South India, Ceylon, and North-West Pakistan). Cambridge University Press. p. 113. Archived from the original on 2012-04-06. Retrieved 2017-08-25.
  35. ^ Fredrick Barth (December 1956). "Ecologic Relationships of Ethnic Groups in Swat, North Pakistan". American Anthropologist. 58 (6): 1079–1089. doi:10.1525/aa.1956.58.6.02a00080.
  36. ^ Zeyauddin Ahmad 2011.
  37. ^ McKim Marriott (1960). Caste ranking and community structure in five regions of India and Pakistan. Deccan College Postgraduate and Research Institute. OCLC 186146571.
  38. ^ "Punjab Province, Pakistan". Encyclopædia Britannica. 483579. Retrieved 22 March 2022.h
  39. ^ Nagendra Kr Singh, Abdul Mabud Khan (2001). Encyclopaedia of the World Muslims: Tribes, Castes and Communities, Volume 1. Global Vision Pub House. p. 1124. ISBN 9788187746072.
  40. ^ Marmaduke William Pickthall, Muhammad Asad (1978). Islamic Culture - Volume 52. p. 207.
  41. ^ a b c d e f g h i Imtiaz Ahmed 1967, p. 889.
  42. ^ a b Ahmed Usman 2011, p. ii.
  43. ^ a b c Ahmed Usman 2011, p. 5.
  44. ^ Ahmed Usman 2011, p. 8.
  45. ^ Ahmed Usman 2011, p. 4.
  46. ^ Ahmed Usman 2011, p. 10.
  47. ^ Ahmed Usman 2011, p. 6.
  48. ^ Ahmed Usman 2011, p. 74.
  49. ^ a b Ahmed Usman 2011, p. 17.
  50. ^ a b c Ahmed Usman 2011, p. 18.
  51. ^ Ahmed Usman 2011, p. 140.
  52. ^ Ahmed Usman 2011, p. 136.
  53. ^ a b Ahmed Usman 2011, p. 139.
  54. ^ Julien Levesque 2020, p. 10.
  55. ^ Ahmed Usman 2011, p. 160.
  56. ^ Ahmed Usman 2011, p. 161.
  57. ^ BANGLADESH SOCIETY: CLASSES, CASTES, NEIGHBORHOODS, MIDDLE CLASS AND BEGGARS
  58. ^ a b Chowdhury 2009, p. 8.
  59. ^ a b Chowdhury 2009, p. 10.
  60. ^ Islamic and Comparative Religious Studies: Selected Writings. Ashgate Publisher, Ltd. 2010. p. 30.
  61. ^ Asghar Ali Engineer. "On reservation for Muslims". The Milli Gazette. Pharos. Retrieved 2004-09-01.
  62. ^ Anand Mohan Sahay. "Backward Muslims protest denial of burial". Rediff.com. Retrieved 2003-03-06.
  63. ^ Ahmad, I., 2010. "Can There Be a Category Called Dalit Muslims?". Studies in Inequality and Social Justice, p.79
  64. ^ Hastings Donnan (1988). Marriage Among Muslims: Preference and Choice in Northern Pakistan. BRILL. pp. 51–56. ISBN 978-90-04-08416-2.

Bibliography[edit]

Notes[edit]

A.^ This source gets the quotation from the following source: E A Gait, 'Census of India' 1901: Bengal Report 6 (1), Bengal Secretariat Press. 1902, p 439; the description in 'Imperial Gazetteer of India', v. 2, pp 329

Further reading[edit]

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