Abstract
This book is a welcome addition to increasing body of literature on Muslims that challenges the present trend of portraying the community as homogenous entity. After India Social Development Report: Minorities at the Margins (edited by Zoya Hasan and Mushirul Hasan), Azra Khanam’s book is another valuable contribution which brings forth culturally diverse, caste-ridden and class divided-nature of Muslim community in India. However, the work under review does not break an altogether new ground—the research studies on the subject can be traced back to Gaus Ansari’s efforts in 1960s, carried forward by Imtiaz Ahmad during last three decades or so. These developments in literature were also reflective of democratisation within the Muslim community, assertion of initially ‘backward’ Muslims and later ‘Dalit’ Muslims for autonomous political space. Undoubtedly, Sachar Committee Report gave a further boost to these kinds of studies.
Another context that makes Khanam’s work relevant is the excessive focus on identity issues. In recent years, social science research on Muslims has mainly focused on identity issues. It has often reinforced prevailing stereotypical notions about Muslims in Indian society. This lopsidededness has neglected enquiry into an entire gamut of critical issues including many social, political, economic and developmental questions. For instance, most of the articles on Muslims appearing in social science journals in early 2000s discussed madarsa education. In fact, much of the academic attention has been paid to ethnic and sectarian issues. Right wing Hindutva forces have been constantly raising the question of fertility behaviour among Muslims. No denying the fact that all these aspects have been of relevance to the lives of Muslims and society at large but the point of concern is why the deliberations on this community should be focused on these identity issues only. This cognitive blackout of social science research denies them their identity as labour, peasant, entrepreneur, middle class and so on. Khanam’s work is a welcome departure from this academia’s bee-in-the bonnet approach.
This book appears to be structured in a typical doctoral thesis style starting with introduction, followed by review of literature, origin of backward classes, Muslim backwardness in India, stratification among Muslims, sociological dimensions among Muslim Other Backward Classes (OBCs), internal dynamics of Muslim OBCs, Millennium Development Goals and Muslim OBCs and conclusion. As the titles of many of these chapters also suggest, some of them overlap with each other and absence of proper focus leaves them repetitive.
In a thorough review of literature, author often refers to writings of Imtiaz Ahamad and also cites A. R. Momin, Sushila Jain, M. M. Siddiqui, Zarina Bhatty, T. N. Madan, Asghar Ali Engineer, A. G. Noorani, Rafeeq Zakarai, Iqbal Ansari, Mohammad Mozammil, among others. Instead of engaging with literature, the author prefers descriptive way of dealing with literature. She traces origin of backward Muslims to the era of pre-conversion ‘Shudra’ Hindus and claims that the OBC category constitutes converted Muslims who brought pre-conversion customs and rituals with them. In a number of places she reminds her readers that Hindu caste system is reflected among Muslims also who are divided into various groups having own occupational groups and endogamy. These occupations are hierarchically arranged, so are the occupational groups.
The third chapter of this book ‘Origin of Backward Classes’ traces origin of term ‘backward’ and how it was conceptualised during different periods. According to the author, the expression ‘backward classes’ first appeared in Madras Presidency. Post-Independence, the term OBC came into existence, which refers to backward social groups other than SCs and STs. The Constitution of India provides for ‘backward classes’ in Articles 15 (4) and 16 (4) but unlike SC and ST, ‘backward classes’ remained ambiguous. Several Commissions and Committees have defined ‘backwardness’ but a comprehensive definition of backwardness remains a contested space. Instead of listing out criterion laid down by Mandal Commission and National Commission for Backward Classes, a reader of such book expects from the author to engage with such criterion on the basis of her field work and interrogate inferential perspectives that emerge from it. For instance, both Mandal Commission and NCBC included ‘caste and communities, the women of which, as a general practice, are, for their family’s livelihood, engaged in agricultural and/or other manual labour, with wage’ as one of the criterion. The author goes without commenting on such propositions. The most distinguishing aspect of Mandal Commission Report that it did not consider ‘religion’ as one of the criterion while defining ‘backwardness’ and included communities irrespective of their religious affiliations, should have been highlighted properly, especially in a book on backward Muslims.
The fourth chapter, ‘Muslim Backwardness in India’, discusses the question of ‘minorities’ and initiatives taken by the state to ameliorate their condition of minorities at length. The author aptly notes that the Muslim community in India has experienced extensive marginalisation and disempowerment since Independence, which is manifested in the disproportionate representation of the community in the Parliament and state legislatures, in Central Government, in police and paramilitary forces, in judiciary and bureaucracy, in public and private sector, in higher professions and in institutions of higher learning. While going into the roots of such backwardness and marginalisation, the author cites the revolt of 1857 and partition of India in 1947 as two major incidents that had consequences for Indian Muslims.
In the fifth chapter, ‘Stratification among Muslims in India: A Caste, Class Debate’, the author refers to debate on caste among Muslims. Classic sociologists such as Max Weber considered caste as exclusively Hindu phenomenon while others stalwarts like M. N. Srinivas were of the opinion that Hindus who converted to Islam continued to regard themselves as caste. Louis Dumont was of the view that caste was consciously adopted by foreign, conquering groups of Muslims such as Arabs and Pathans, as a compromise which they had to make in a predominantly Hindu environment. The author also describes composition of three stratums among Muslims viz. Ashraf, Ajlaf and Arzal.
It is only in the sixth and seventh chapter titled, ‘Sociological Dimensions among Muslim OBCs’ and ‘Internal Dynamics among Muslim OBCs’ respectively, that the author has presented her primary data. In the absence of a comparative analysis, either comparing OBC Muslims with non-OBC Muslims or with non-Muslim OBCs, this data is not much helpful. Still, it captures some trends such as increasing practice of dowry among Muslims. Observations regarding inheritance of property to women and observance of purdah (veil) throw up interesting questions about dynamics of patriarchy and religion. At one level, women are denied inheritance rights legitimised by Islam and at another level they are coerced into purdah in the name of religion.
In the concluding chapter, the author reiterates that Muslim community is not homogenous and social stratification system among Muslims in India has deep resonance of Hindu caste system with certain marked characteristics such as hierarchy and endogamy. She also refers to gender disparity, patriarchal authority and denial of rights to women.
Despite the few shortcoming flagged above, this book is might prove useful not just for researchers but also policy planners.