THE CHARACTERISTICS OF CASTE IN
MUSLIM COMMUNITY
CASTE AMONGST THE MUSLIMS : ISLAM IS CLAIMED BY ITS BELIEVERS TO BE A RELIGIONS OF EQUALITY. WE FIND THAT THE QURAN RECOMMONDS THE EGALITARIAN PRINCIPLE BUT IN REALITY THERE ARE SOCIAL DIVISIONS AMONGST INDIAN MUSLIMS. THE MOST POPULARLY KNOWN DIVISION AMONG THE MUSLIMS ALL OVER THE WORLD IS THE DIVISION BETWEEN SHIAS AND SUNNIS. THEY HOLD DIVERGENT VIEWS AND INTERPRETATIONS OVER ISLAMIC TEXTS AND TRADITION. IN INDIA, A VAST MAJORITY OF MUSLIMS ARE SUNNI. APART FROM THESE KIND OF DIVISIONS THERE ARE ALSO OTHER KINDS OF SOCIAL GROUPINGS AMONG MUSLIMS IN INDIA, WHICH REFLECT THE INFLUENCE OF HINDU BELIEFS AND PRACTICES SPECIALLY THOSE RELATING TO CASTE SYSTEM.
MUSLIMS IN INDIAN ARE DIVIDED INTO TWO MAJOR SECTIONS (1) THOSE WHO CLAIM TO BE THE DESCENDANTS OF EARLY MUSLIM IMMIGRANTS AND (2) THOSE OF INDIGENOUS ORIGIN WHOSE ANCESTORS WERE CONVERTED TO ISLAM. THE FORMER SECTION HAS OFTEN BEEN CALLED ASHRAF OR SHURAFA (SINGULAR SHARIF, ARABIC WORD MEANING HONOURABLE), WHILE THE LATTER SECTION DOES NOT HAVE ANY SPECIFIC NAME. IN BENGAL, IT WAS DESIGNATED AS ASHRAF (FOR CLEAN OCCUPATIONAL CASTES) AND ARZAL (FOR UNCLEAN CASTES).
HIGHER CASTE (ASHRAF) CATEGORY OF MUSLIM : IN THE MUSLIM SOCIAL HEIRARCHY, THE DESCENDANTS OF IMMIGRANTS FROM PERSIA, AFGHANISTAN, ARABIA AND TURKISTAN ARE RECOGNIZED AS THE HIGHEST CATEGORY OF MUSLIMS IN INDIA. THE INDIAN MUSLIM CASTE, KNOWN AS SAYYED, SHEIKH, MUGHAL, PATHAN COMPRISE THIS CATEGORY.
SAYYEDS ARE CONSIDERED TO HAVE DESCENDED FROM FATIMA'S LINE. SHE WAS THE DAUGHTER OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMED. A DIRECT DESCENDANTS OF THE PROPHET, SAYYED ARE ACCORDED HIGHEST SOCIAL STATUS AMONG THE MUSLIMS.
IN THE SECOND RANK OF SOCIAL HIERARCHY COME THE SHEIKH. THEY ARE CONSIDERED TO BE THE DESCENDANTS OF EARLY MUSLIM MIGRANTS OF MECCA AND MADINA. THE MUGHAL AND PATHAN SUBDIVISIONS OF THE ASHRAF RANK THIRD IN THE SOCIAL HIERARCHY OF MUSLIMS. BOTH ARE ALMOST EQUAL IN SOCIAL STATUS. THOSE WHO CAME TO INDIA WITH THE MUGHAL ARMIES AND SUBSEQUENTLY SETTLED HERE, WERE KNOWN AS THE MUGHAL. THEIR MAIN SUBDIVISIONS, BASED ON DIFFERENT ETHNIC AND TRIBAL ORIGINS ARE CHAGTAI, UZBEK, TAJIK, TURKMANS AND QIZILBASH.
THE PATHANAS ARE DESCENDANTS OF THOSE WHO MIGRATED TO INDIAN FROM AFGHANISTAN OR FROM THE PASHTO SPEAKERS OF THE NORTH WESTERN FRONTIER PROVINCE OF PAKISTAN. AMONG THE ASHRAF GROUPS ARE ALSO INCLUDED THOSE PSEUDO - ASHRAFS WHO CLAIM DESCENT FROM ONE OF THE ASHRAF CASTE. GHAUS ANSARI A LEADING SOCIALIST HAS GIVEN SEVERAL THROUGH THEIR CLAIMS TO AHRAF DESCENT. ANSARI HAS GIVEN A LONG LIST OF CERTAIN CASTES, MENTIONED IN THE 1931 CENSUS REPORT OF UTTAR PRADESH. THESE MUSLIM CASTES HAVE TRIED TO RAISE THEIR SOCIAL STATUS BY CLAIMING NEW SURNAMES AND ALSO CORRESPONDING HIGHER STATUS.
MUSLIM CONVERTS OF INDIAN ORIGIN : THE MUSLIM CONVERTS OF INDIAN ORIGIN ARE GENERALLY KNOWN BY THEIR CASTE NAMES, IN THIS GROUP ARE PLACED THREE DISTINCT GROUPS, NAMELY, CONVERTS FROM HIGH CASTE OF THE HINDUS, CONVERTS FROM CLEAN OCCUPATIONAL CASTES AND CONVERTS FROM UNCLEAN OCCUPATIONAL CASTES, SUCH AS, SCAVENGERS AND PEOPLE WORKING WITH LEATHER (TANNERS). IN THE SOCIAL HIRARCHY OF THE MUSLIMS IN INDIA, CONVERTS FROM HIGH CASTES OF THE HINDUS ARE PLACED BELOW THE RANK OF ASHRAF. MANY OF OTHER RAJPUT SECTS (I.E, BRACHES OF A FAMILY) IN NORTH INDIA HAVE MUSLIM BRANCHES, E.G, THE BAIS, BHATTI, BISEN, CHANDEL, BARGUJAR, CHAUHAN, PAWAR, RATHORE, TOMAR. SOMETIMES THESE GROUPS INTER MIX WITH HIGHER RANKING GROUPS OF MUSLIMS.
BY AND LARGE THESE CONVERTS STILL FOLLOW SOME OF THE HINDU PRACTICE, E.G, THEY DO NOT MARRY FIRST COUSINS, EITHER CROSS OR PARALLEL. ISLAMIC LAW ALLOWS THE MARRIAGE OF NEAR KIN WHEREAS AMONG THE HINDUS OF NORTH INDIA, PROHIBITION REGARDING MARRIAGE EXTENDS TO DISTANT DEGREES OF KINSHIP RELATIONS BOTH ON THE FATHER'S SIDE, AS WELL AS MOTHER'S.
UNCLEAN ARE THOSE WHICH OCCUPY THE BOTTOM PLACE IN THE MUSLIM SOCIAL HIRERCHY. THEY ARE THE UNTOUCHABLE CASTES OF HINDUS WHO CONVERTED TO ISLAM AND HAVE RETAINED THEIR LOW STATUS AND POVERTY ALONG WITH THEIR OCCUPATION. THESE PEOPLE DO THE MENIAL TASKS, INCLUDING SCAVENGING AND SWEEPING.
CASTES AMONG THE MUSLIMS ALSO REFLECT THE ESSENTIAL FEATURES OF CASTE SYSTEM AMONGST THE HINDUS. THESE CULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS BEING:
1. ENDOGAMY
2. OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALIZATION
3. HIERARCHICAL ORDERING
4. RESTRICTIONS ON SOCIAL INTERCOURSE AND COMMENSALITY.
MUSLIMS IN INDIA USE THE TERM ZAT (EQUIVALENT OF CASTE) TO EXPRESS THE PURITY OF DESCENT. THUS, ZAT IS PRIMARILY AN ENDOGAMOUS UNIT OF SOCIETY. THE HOUSEHOLDS BELONGING TO EACH ZAT IN THE VILLAGE CONCIEVE OF THEMSELVES AS A COLLECTIVITY AND DESIGNATE THEMSELVES AS BHAIBAND OR BIRADARI (LITERALLY CASTE BROTHERHOOD). THIS SOLIDARITY AMONG THE MEMBERS IS NOT MERELY A FICTIONAL MOTION, BUT REST ON DEMONSTRABLE KINSHIP LINKAGE.
THE BIRADARI RESEMBLES CASTE IN THE FEATURES OF ITS INNER STRUCTURE, E.G. MEMBERSHIP IS DETERMINED BY BIRTH AND THE GROUP BOUNDARIES ARE MAINTAINED THROUGH ENDOGAMY. AMONG THE ASHRAFS, THE CASTE BROTHERHOODS ARE SUBDIVIDED AGAIN INTO MARRIAGE CIRCLES TO PROVIDE A RESTRICTED CIRCLE IN WHICH TO CHOOSE A WIFE, WHEREAS THE BIRADARI GENERALLY FUCNTIONS FOR ALL CEREMONIAL INTERCOURSE, THE MARRIAGE CIRCLES WITHIN THE BIRADARI IS RESTRICTED TO THE CHOOSING OF WIVES. THE MUSLIM RAJPUTS ARE VERY ENDOGAMOUS BUT DO NOT MARRY FIRST COUSINS AS ASHRAF DO. OCCUPATIONAL CASTES LIKE QASAB (BUTCHER), MANIHAR (BANGLE MAKER) ARE ALMOST STRICTLY ENDOGAMOUS AND GENERALLY DO NOT MARRY OUTSIDE THEIR CASTE. THESE VARIOUS CASTES HAVE A DEFINITE PLACE IN THEIR LOCAL MARRIAGE AND IS RESTRICTED WITHIN THEIR OWN GROUPS. HOWEVER, THERE ARE NO RESTRICTIONS ON INTERDINING OR CONCEPT OF PURITY AND POLLUTION.
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