73% Muslims in Bihar ‘backward’ — state survey sparks debate on caste in Islam, BJP alleges ‘appeasement’

New Delhi: The Bihar caste survey released Monday shows that nearly 73 percent of the state’s Muslim population is classified as “backward classes”, or Pasmandas, making them eligible for the benefits of reservation. This has given fresh impetus to the ongoing debate on caste within Islam with former MP Ali Anwar saying it has “demolished the myth” that Muslim identity is a monolith.

Having done a strong Pasmanda outreach in the past, the BJP, in power at the Centre, is on the backfoot over the survey report and appears keen to project the proportion of Muslims getting the benefits of EBC (extremely backward classes) reservation in jobs and higher education in Bihar as evidence of “minority appeasement” by the successive Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Janata Dal (United) governments.

Muslims constitute 17.7 percent of Bihar’s population, including EBC and “upper-caste” Muslims. The Bihar caste survey report, released on 2 October, shows that at 27 percent, the share of forward castes in the state is significantly higher among Muslims compared to Hindus, where upper caste groups account for 10.6 percent.

According to experts, though, the share of Muslim forward castes appears a little inflated as some people from backward castes of the community conceal their real identity — a tendency seen among Hindus as well.

Bihar implements a layered model of reservation, under which it extends 18 percent quota to EBCs, 12 percent to OBCs, 16 percent to scheduled castes (SCs), 1 percent to scheduled tribes (STs) and 3 percent to OBC women.

The separate reservation for the poor among the backward castes was carved out by former Bihar chief minister Karpoori Thakur.

Speaking to ThePrint, Delhi University associate professor Tanvir Aeijaz said that whether or not the reservation policies have had an impact on the lives of the downtrodden among the Muslims will become clear once data sheds light on their socio-economic realities.

The second part of the Bihar caste survey pertaining to this is yet to be released.

“With this survey report, Muslim politics in Bihar will once again gain momentum. But the initial report offers more of a head count. The second part of the survey will shed light on the socio-economic conditions of the various groups. It will have insights on the impact of the distributive policies of the government as such benefits are often cornered by the dominant castes. It does not percolate down to every backward caste group,” Aeijaz said.

Correlating the available numbers with reports of the Periodic Labour Force Survey and the National Family Health Survey may also be useful in this regard, he suggested.

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‘Muslims have benefited in Bihar’

Anwar, among the pioneers of Pasmanda politics and who heads the Pasmanda Muslim Mahaz, an advocacy group for backward class Muslims, told ThePrint that the impact of a quota for backward class Muslims was already visible in the sphere of politics in Bihar.

He pointed out that just like the concept of “Sanskritisation” among Hindus, Islam has “Ashrafisation”, wherein members of some backward caste groups tend to bracket themselves as forward castes.

An academic who teaches at a reputed private university told ThePrint that the concept of caste in Islam was a reality that could not be ignored anymore.

“Ashrafs (Pathans, Sheikhs and Syeds) are considered forward castes as they are either the descendants of Muslim invaders, or upper-caste Hindu converts. The Ajlafs and Arzals are considered backward as they have mostly converted from Hindu backward caste groups. Among the Muslims, the Ashrafs have a domineering presence in politics, administration and other walks of life,” said the academic who wished to not be named.

Anwar explained that the Ajlafs and Arzals are considered Pasmandas, which is a Persian term for those “who are left out”.

Due to Bihar’s layered reservation policy, said Anwar, Muslims have benefited.

“There are certain Muslim groups in the central list of OBCs as well. But the central list has more dominant caste groups such as Yadavs and Kurmis as well, and backward class Muslims find it hard to compete with them. In Bihar, most backward class Muslims are not competing with these dominant OBC groups as they are in the separate EBC list,” he explained.

“They (Muslims) are thus in a far more comfortable position. Also, since there is reservation for EBCs even in local body polls, their representation in politics has also risen. We have been demanding that reservations for EBCs be carved out across the country,” Anwar said.

The BJP, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has in the recent past reached out to the Pasmanda communities, especially in Uttar Pradesh.

In multiple speeches, Modi spoke about the plight of the Pasmandas, which was then read as an attempt by the BJP to warm up to the backward class Muslims through the plank of welfarism.

“But the same BJP tells the Supreme Court that there is no untouchability and caste-based divisions in Islam. Isn’t this double speak?” Anwar asked.

“Left with no answers after the caste survey, they have now started inciting the backward class Hindus saying the Muslims are being allowed to eat into their quota share. The survey has convincingly broken the myth that Muslims are a monolith and a homogenous society,” he added.

Speaking to ThePrint, a BJP leader, who wished to not be named, said that the party may attempt to label the survey as a “political project like the Sachar committee under UPA-I (first United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre) to create divisions in Indian society”.

The Sachar committee, headed by former Delhi High Court Chief Justice Rajinder Sachar, was constituted by the Congress government to examine the socio-economic conditions of Muslims in India.

Ahead of the Karnataka assembly elections this year, the Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government had scrapped the 4 percent reservation for Muslims under the OBC quota in the state, saying it was principally against reservations based on faith. That share of quota was distributed equally between the Lingayat and Vokkaliga communities.

BJP’s Laxman, however, asserted that the party was not against the “genuinely backward classes of Muslims availing the benefits of reservation”.

But to ascertain which groups were in need of such policies, the Bihar government needs to release the findings of the socio-economic component of the survey, he added.

“Otherwise, it appears that this is nothing but appeasement politics. Even seemingly well-to-do Muslim groups have been classified as EBCs. All Muslims are not socially backward. If they are economically backward, some of them can be enlisted (as EBCs),” Laxman told ThePrint.

(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)

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