Does Untouchability Exist Among Muslims?
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INSIGHT Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, Does Untouchability Exist 1950, popularly known as the Presiden- tial Order (1950), lists the castes eligible among Muslims? for affi rmative action. Its previous incar- nation prepared in 1936 had identifi ed Evidence from Uttar Pradesh castes that face ritual untouchability in terms of the binary of pure/impure. The Presidential Order, 1950 initially included Prashant K Trivedi, Srinivas Goli, Fahimuddin, Surinder Kumar only Hindus; later, Buddhists and Sikhs were also included in it. Among the Untouchability forms a crucial ne issue has cropped up time and major religious communities in India, criterion for inclusion in the list of again in social science literature Muslims and Christians remain exclud- Scheduled Castes. It is rarely Oand political discourse: is there ed from the schedule. a group of people among Muslims com- discussed with reference to parable to those included in the list of The Practice of Untouchability Muslims. A household survey was Scheduled Castes (SCs) in terms of their In a comprehensive study of untoucha- conducted in 14 districts of Uttar socio-economic conditions, social status, bility, Shah et al (2006: 19) defi ne un- Pradesh to examine contradictory and experience of untouchability? In the touchability as a “distinct Indian social absence of any reliable data and studies, institution that legitimises and enforces claims about the practice of this issue is rather diffi cult to explore. practices of discrimination against people untouchability by non-Dalit It is especially so because no castes, born into particular castes and legitimises Muslims and Hindus towards other than those that follow Hinduism, practices that are humiliating, exclusion- Dalit Muslims in Uttar Pradesh. Sikhism and Buddhism, are included in ary and exploitative.” It covers all s p h e r e s the schedule, and government agencies of life, including social, cultural and A section of Dalit Muslim follow offi cial classifi cation while col- economic, and derives its strength from respondents report existence of lecting data. the concept of purity, one of the impor- untouchability in dining relations, While the practice of untouchability tant aspects of the caste system. In its habitation, social interaction and among Hindus is a widely documented classical form, the caste system considers phenomenon, its existence amongst “untouchables” impure enough to keep access to religious places. Mu s lims and Christians in India is rarely them outside the four-tier system. The Surprisingly, a higher proportion discussed. One of the most extensive and practice takes such a vicious form that of non-Dalit Muslims corroborate systematic documentation of the in c idence mere touch or a shadow of an “untouch- these claims. and sites of practice of unt o u c hability in able” falling on someone else pollutes contemporary India, by Gha nshyam Shah them. Shah et al (2006: 21) further elab- et al (2006), focused only on castes in- orate that the term “‘untouchability’ refers cluded in the schedule, thereby ignoring not just to the avoidance or prohibition Muslim and Christian communities. One of physical contact but to a much broader of the reasons that researchers on such set of social sanctions.” important subjects do not go beyond the After a long period of blackout, in the The authors are thankful to the Indian Council offi cial SC list is the unavailability of last decade social science has taken a of Social Science Research, New Delhi for data. As offi cial agenci e s, including the welcome turn and these taboo themes fi nancial support given to this project. Thanks are also due to Imtiaz Ahmad, Nadeem Offi ce of the Registrar General & Census have also started fi guring in research, Hasnain, Anis Ansari, R B Bhagat and Rajesh Commissioner and the National Sample though at a much slower pace. These Chauhan for their suggestions during the Survey Offi ce, collect data only accord- studies have revealed concrete forms of course of this study. However, the authors are ing to offi cial categorisation, researchers the practice of untouchability among solely responsible for any lacuna. fi nd it convenient to toe the line of Muslims; they have pushed the matter Prashant K Trivedi ([email protected]) prescribed norms. into social science debates. It has also is at the Giri Institute of Development Studies, A study of the practice of untouch- posed a challenge for the “communal Lucknow; Srinivas Goli (sirispeaks2u@ ability is not just important because it analysis of caste,” which conceives the gmail.com) teaches at the Centre for the Study of Regional Development, Jawaharlal is the worst form of oppression and practice as a matter for the Hindu religion Nehru University, New Delhi; Fahimuddin the state has vowed to eradicate it only. The communal view of caste believes ([email protected]) is former through legal and penal measures, but that the caste system, being legitimised professor at GIDS; and Surinder Kumar also because it forms crucial criteria by the Hindu religion only, cannot exist ([email protected]) is Director, GIDS. for inclusion in the schedule. The outside its periphery (Webster 1999). 32 april 9, 2016 vol lI no 15 EPW Economic & Political Weekly INSIGHT The same view is shared by those to bury their dead in the pathans graveyard” untouchability towards them. This data who claim that caste does not exist (Ahmad 2003: 4887). is critical because, offi cially, the OBC is a among Muslims. Surprisingly, this view Comparing the socio-economic and recognised category, which also includes has persisted for long, despite evidence “ritual” status of Dalit Muslims with that castes that have been gro uped together to the contrary presented by Ghaus of communities included in the schedule, as “Dalit Muslim” for this study. Ansari (1960) and Imtiaz Ahmad (1973), Ali Anwar (2005: 2) argues that These castes were identifi ed using a among others. two-pronged approach. First, it identi- our journey started more or less with the The emergence of this new stream has same social, educational and economic sta- fi ed occupational groups whose corre- pushed the discourse beyond the absence tus. We washed clothes like them. We too sponding Hindu castes are already in- of religious sanctions for caste practices were called dhobi (washerman) like them. cluded in the SCs. Additionally, castes in Islamic texts. Scholars working on The only difference was that they had a identifi ed by previous studies have also issues relating to Dalit Muslims differen- Hindu name while we had a Muslim name. been included for empirical verifi cation. They too cleaned dirt like us. Again the only tiate between “textual Islam” and “lived difference was, they were called dom and This way “Dalit Muslims” includes castes Islam.” They underline persisting socio- bhangi and we were addressed as maistar such as Bhatiyara, Faquir, Shah, Dafali, economic inequalities between Dalit and khakrob or, halalkhor. Likewise lalbegi, Nat, Halalkhor, Lalbegi, Banjara, Dhobi, Muslims and other social groups, and halalkhor, nachi, pasi, bhant, bhatiyara, Ranki, Rangrez, Jogi, Mochi, Mukeri, document sites and instances of untouch- pamaria, nat, bakkho, dafali, nalband, dhobi, Bakho and Bhishti. This list may not be saiin, etc and other numerous castes, who ability being practised (Alam 2014). exhaustive. follow different religions (Hindu/ Muslim) They argue that the “false pride about but their professions, social, economic and Accordingly, this study uses primary there being no discrimination in the educational status are similar are termed as data collected by the Giri Institute of Muslim society on the grounds of caste asprishya (untouchable) in Hindu society, Development Studies (GIDS) under the and there being no untouchability, pre- while in Muslim society they are called arzal project “Social and Educational Status of vented efforts at the community or the (inferior). OBC/Dalit Muslims in Uttar Pradesh” to non-governmental level to improve the These studies, no doubt, underline assess the practice of untouchability by conditions of Dalit Muslims” (Anwar crucial issues and bring new insights, non-Dalit Muslims and Hindus towards 2005: 1). but they are based either on experiences Dalit Muslims in Uttar Pradesh. The These studies claim that the “concepts or on small-scale surveys. This may be survey was conducted from October of purity and impurity; clean and one reason that governments have not 2014 to April 2015. It was administered unclean castes do exist among these considered these issues seriously. The to a state representative sample of 7,195 Muslim groups. Dalit Muslims are seen present study intends to fi ll this space households located across 14 districts in as unclean and impure by Ashraf by empirically testing claims regarding four regions of Uttar Pradesh.1 Muslims” (Alam 2014: 9). In a study of the practice of untouchability among A survey that attempts the identifi ca- Dalit Muslims, Aftab Alam (2014) fi nds Musl i m s. tion of Dalit Muslims in a state with varied forms of untouchability among numerous castes and sub-castes faces Muslims, including the refusal by Ashrafs The Study: Data and Method serious practical challenges compared to to drink water from the same glass/ The Mandal Commission report (1980) other surveys. After careful consideration vessel as a Dalit Muslim, not allowing and the Sachar Committee report (2006) of these issues, it was decided to adopt a Dalit Muslims to touch the water source have used existing secondary informa- multistage stratifi ed systematic random and giving them leftovers to eat, and tion to assess the social and educational sampling design for the selection of living segregated in separate hamlets. status of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) households. Considering the focus of Dalit Muslims were discriminated against and Muslims in India, respectively. The this study, wherever required, an over- in the mosque as well, and, in some assessment under the Post Sachar Evalu- sampling of households belonging to cases, they were asked to sit in the last ation Committee report (2014) also used three Muslim groups was done to be able row.