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. ----- Arshad Alam is a New Delhi based independent researcher. 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