A recent survey on the socio-economic condition of Muslims in Bihar says that half of them live below the poverty line and that migration is high among Muslims than the general population of the state. There are 63 migrants for every 100 Muslim households in rural Bihar and 24 migrants for every 100 families in urban areas. The Muslim community is not free from caste-system. There are 43 castes in the community. They are divided into upper castes, middle castes and lower castes, the survey said.
The survey shows that Muslims are the poorest community in the state. The 14-year-long rule of Lalu Prasad Yadav failed in alleviating the sufferings of Muslims on whose electoral support he has been ruling the state.
The survey was conducted by Patna-based Asian Development Research Institute (ADRI) and sponsored by Bihar State Minorities Commission. The 273-page, yet-to-be released, report bares the fact that about 49.5 percent of rural Muslim families and 44.8 percent of the urban Muslim households fall below the poverty line, 19.9 percent among them are acutely poor, and 28.04 per cent Muslims in rural areas are landless labourers.
About 84.5 percent of Muslim population live in rural areas and 15. 5 percent in urban areas. Nearly 41.5 percent of Muslim families living in rural areas are debt-ridden and in the urban areas the percentage of indebtedness is 24.0 per cent.
There is much economic disparity between Muslims and the general public in urban areas in comparision to rural areas because of the combined effect of resource disadvantage and employment discrimination. Poor Muslim families are mainly engaged in low-paid occupations and they mostly belong to the lower castes. They depend on land and other properties for livelihood.
The report says that under the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) government’s much publicised Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) only 5.8 percent Muslim households were benefited. The reach of other poverty-alleviation programmes like Old Age Pension, Antodya Yojna and Annapurna Yojna was abysmally low among Muslim families. Under Indira Awaas Yojna (IAY) only 4.1 percent rural and 0.4 percent Muslim households were benefited. The remaining poverty-alleviation programmes were non-existent for the Muslims, both in rural and urban areas.
Even Minority Finance Commission (MFC) scheme, designed to help Muslims and other minorities proved to be a non-existent poverty alleviation programme for Muslims in Bihar, the report adds.
The high percentage of migration among Muslims is a result of the overall poor socio-economic conditions of Muslims. Two out of three Muslim households in rural Bihar send at least one of their working members away to earn. Most of the Muslim migrants are males aged 28.5 years in rural areas and 27.4 years in urban areas. As a result of high migration of men, 10.5 percent women head their families in rural areas and 10.5 percent in urban areas, the report says.
Migration is prticularly high among Muslims in Gaya, Aurangabad, Vaishali and Darbhanga districts. More than 40 per cent of Muslims in Siwan and Gopalganj districts go to Gulf countries to earn a living.
The average annual remittance by migrants from rural areas is about Rs 1,350 per month and from urban migrants it is Rs 1,840 per month.
The ADRI report identifies 43 castes in the state. Unlike Hindus, among whom the upper castes constitute a small part of the population, the upper castes among Muslims constitute about 40.4 percent of the Muslim population in rural areas and 41.1 percent in urban areas. In the Muslim community, upper castes include Syed, Shaikh, Pathan and Malik. The middle castes comprise Ansaris, and they account for the 25 percent of the Muslim population.
There are 38 “lower” castes among Muslims, accounting for 34 percent of the populace in rural areas and 34.4 percent in urban areas. They include the Bakkho, Bhatiara, Chik, Churihara, Dafali, Dhunia, Dhobi and Idrisi.
In Patna, Munger, Darbhanga and Madhepura districts, upper castes constitute over 60 percent of Muslim families. In Rohtas, Jamui, Gaya, Aurangabad and West Champaran, the middle caste Ansaris account for over 40 percent of Muslim households.
The report is based on the 1991 census report of the Muslim population in the state which stood at 10.119 million, around 15.7 per cent of the state’s total population. According to 2001 census, however, the Muslim population in Bihar is 13 million out of a total 83 million.
The National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) had conducted a survey of the general population recently. The NSSO found that 44.3 per cent of Bihar’s rural population and 32.4 percent of the urban population lived below the poverty line.
By: Mazharul Haque
Published in the 1-15 December 2004 print edition of The Milli Gazette New Delhi
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Caste in a Muslim Mould A Shortcut Road to Success
Islam does not recognise castes and stands for an egalitarian society. But, owing to the influence of Hindu society, certain castes-like formations have emerged in some States. SOROOR AHMED describes how playing of Backward-Forward caste politics in Bihar is harming the cause of entire Muslim community. He pleads for a fair policy based on justice and real concern for uplifting the downtrodden sections.
Playing caste politics by non-Upper Caste Hindus often invites condemnation. The media goes wild the moment this five-letter word is uttered by anyone from the downtrodden section of society. They start invoking the ghost of Mandal as in their opinion this is the greatest crime ever committed. In their eyes the other two Cs – communalism and corruption – are just minor misdemeanours which can be pardoned.
In contrast it is now becoming much safer to play caste politics in the Muslim society. Get assured any one playing caste politics among the Muslim community would not be dubbed as communal. He or she would be termed as the hero of the community, who, wants to work for the uplift of the downtrodden. But the moment you expand your base and start talking about promoting the Muslim community as such – even if you are an arch secularist – there is inherent danger that you may be dubbed as communal by the media. There will be no dearth of people who would advise you to come to the mainstream and shun such type of communal politics.
Facing this awkward predicament several Muslims – in North India of course – have now resorted to the caste politics of their own brand. They have already seen how quickly the two Muslim leaders doing the caste politics were rewarded with berths in the Rajya Sabha by none else but the Bihar chief minister, Nitish Kumar, who in the last three years has mastered the art of dividing the Muslim society on the caste lines. Had these two gentlemen MPs – Ali Anwar and Dr Ejaz Ali – been raising the voice for the Muslims as a community they would have been dumped into the dustbin of history. But today they are honourable members of Parliament.
There is absolutely nothing wrong in uplifting the economically, socially and politically downtrodden sections of the Muslim society. It is commendable, because in North India at least, the so-called Muslim Upper Castes have denied their so-called Backward brethren their due. The younger generation should be educated about this bare fact. The absence of this awareness is creating social discord in the society.
One example suffices to understand this serious situation. It is sometimes observed that the Upper Caste Muslim students of medical, engineering or any other professional course do not feel very easy with the Backward Caste Muslim friends in their institution just because they think that the latter do not deserve this place. And if any Backward Caste Muslim friend gets selected in the MS, MD or M Tech course or gets a job before the Upper Caste student then the latter’s reaction would be: “Look this boy (or girl) was much less talented yet he/she got selected before me.” And the relation would get strained further. What they fail to understand is that 27 per cent reservation – whether it is good or bad is not the debate here––for the Backward Castes is here to stay (not to speak quota for SCs, STs). And if the Muslim Backward Caste friend is not selected then that seat would not be filled by the Upper Caste Muslim but by a Backward Caste Hindu. Yet they have no sense to understand this small reality and would instead go on to strain their relationship. Thus, in a way they just do not want to see the Backward Castes of their own community to come up. The Muslim Upper Castes are no doubt culprits in not driving home this point in the minds of their younger generation.
This is the bitter fact of society. But instead of putting these facts straight, both the so-called Upper and the so-called Backward Castes, started indulging in pure caste politics. Since the short-cut road to success lies in playing this card with perfection, many Upper Caste Muslims have adopted a unique strategy. As both Ali Anwar and Dr Ejaz Ali are from the Backward Castes there is now a race going on among Upper Caste Muslims to declare themselves as Backward.
Mallicks, arguably the most developed of all the Muslim castes of Bihar, surprisingly got themselves declared as the Backwards last summer. The Chairman of the Bihar State Religious and Linguistic Minority Commission, Naushad Ahmad, who comes from this caste, succeeded in his efforts. Mallicks are a very small, but influential caste of Muslims, spread in Nalanda, Gaya, Banka, Jehanabad, Patna, Nawada, Munger, Sheikhpura and Jamui districts of Bihar; Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh; Kolkata in West Bengal and have sprinkling of their population in some places in Jharkhand.
Yet against the view of the State Backward Caste Commission Mallicks were declared as Backward. This simply because they have good population in Nalanda district, the home turf of Nitish Kumar, who wants to expand his base among the Muslims. The moment Mallicks got themselves declared as the Backward the other Upper Castes too started raising similar demands thus vitiating the entire atmosphere. Since Mallicks, as mentioned, are a very small caste, they are very conscious of their identity. You can find Mallick Welfare Society in Kolkata, Mallick Bayah Society in Bihar and many such outfits at various places even in the United States, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, etc. The irony is that Mallicks always called themselves Syeds as they are the progeny of Arab general Syed Ibrahim Mallick Bayah, who conquered Nalanda district several centuries back. Many Mallicks would not accept Zakat on the plea that they are Syeds, yet for political convenience they have been made Backward. Perhaps about no other caste of Bihar so many books have been written as about Mallicks, their history and their roots.
The truth is that declaring Mallicks as Backward is injustice to the real Backward Caste Muslims, as all the present and past records prove that among Muslims they are the most developed caste. A few examples would be enough to understand it. Of the last four chairmen of the Minority Commission two were Mallicks; of the four Muslim IAS officers in Bihar, one is Mallick; the only Muslim chairman of the Bihar State Electricity Board was a Mallick, the first chief minister of Bihar before independence (Barrister Yunus) was a Mallick, the President of the Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (just before independence) was a Mallick (Abdul Bari), the pro-Vice Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University before the partition, A B A Haleem, was a Mallick (he later became the vice chancellor of Karachi University). In Pakistan, where a few thousands of Mallicks migrated from Bihar (do not confuse it with the Maliks of Punjab), one ended up becoming the top bureaucrat of that country as he was an ICS, and another a renowned scholar and author of international repute. In Uttar Pradesh, where their population is just a few hundreds in Mirzapur district, Aziz Imam, became the Congress MP twice in 1970s. One Mallick Muslim family from Patna produced 22 barristers in the pre-independence era.
There is no doubt that some Mallicks are poor yet nobody can deny the fact that, notwithstanding a very small population, this caste has the largest percentage of Zamindars – of course in proportion to their population. Just make a random survey of the caste and you would find that percentage-wise among the Muslims they form the largest chunk in the Middle Eastern and other countries.
So far the Backward Caste resurgence among Muslims in Bihar is concerned, it started in 1993 just a few months after the demolition of Babri Masjid with Dr Ejaz Ali coming up with the Backward Muslim Morcha. The timing is extremely significant. He got full backing from the media. A couple of years later he organized a seminar in Patna “Babri or Barabri”. He is of the view that Muslims should trade off Babri Masjid with the Article 341, that is, give up the struggle for the demolished mosque in Ayodhya and demand Dalit status for the Backward Muslims.
Since he was from Raiyan caste and challenged the decades old leadership of Ansaris among the Backward Caste Muslims, Ali Anwar, a Left-leaning Hindi journalist, floated his organization, ‘Pasmanda Muslim Mahaz’. These two gentlemen did not get rewarded during the time of Lalu-Rabri regime as the RJD was not in favour of dividing its Muslim vote-bank. The moment Nitish came to power he started playing the Muslim caste politics in Bihar.
As the caste atmosphere vitiated in Bihar a couple of youths from Uttar Pradesh travelled down to Bihar to play their own cards. A gentleman belonging to Mallick caste living in Aligarh for many years got reminded of his caste identity. He took the road back to Bihar with the sole purpose of organizing the Mallicks in the name of development. The irony is that this gentleman is a Falahi and gives a typical Islamic interpretation to what he is doing.
Another gentleman, originally from Lucknow in UP, and hailing from the Ansari caste, made Patna his home for the sake of playing his politics. Like Ali Anwar he has Left-leanings. Another young Hindi journalist coming from Ansari caste, floated his own outfit. This notwithstanding the fact that he did his journalism course from England and still writes for Hindi dailies and websites as a free lancer.
Playing caste politics among Muslims has become a career of a sort for many in Bihar. Yet those who matter in the society have adopted the ostrich-like approach and doing absolutely nothing to neutralise this dangerous trend. The tragedy is that everyone is clamouring to become Backward in Bihar when the truth is that in the last three years of the Nitish Kumar rule the number of Muslim students selected in the government medical, engineering, veterinary, and other professional colleges has come down by half, and in some cases even more. For example in 2005, that is, a few months before the coming to power of the NDA government, 16 out of 30 students selected in M Sc Bio-Chemistry in Patna University were Muslims. The following year the figure came down to seven and in 2007 just two Muslims got selected.
http://www.radianceweekly.com/146/3351/DAVOS-MISSES-THE-BUS/2009-02-15/Muslim-Affairs/Story-Detail/Caste-in-a-Muslim-MouldA-Shortcut-Road-to-Success.html
Playing caste politics by non-Upper Caste Hindus often invites condemnation. The media goes wild the moment this five-letter word is uttered by anyone from the downtrodden section of society. They start invoking the ghost of Mandal as in their opinion this is the greatest crime ever committed. In their eyes the other two Cs – communalism and corruption – are just minor misdemeanours which can be pardoned.
In contrast it is now becoming much safer to play caste politics in the Muslim society. Get assured any one playing caste politics among the Muslim community would not be dubbed as communal. He or she would be termed as the hero of the community, who, wants to work for the uplift of the downtrodden. But the moment you expand your base and start talking about promoting the Muslim community as such – even if you are an arch secularist – there is inherent danger that you may be dubbed as communal by the media. There will be no dearth of people who would advise you to come to the mainstream and shun such type of communal politics.
Facing this awkward predicament several Muslims – in North India of course – have now resorted to the caste politics of their own brand. They have already seen how quickly the two Muslim leaders doing the caste politics were rewarded with berths in the Rajya Sabha by none else but the Bihar chief minister, Nitish Kumar, who in the last three years has mastered the art of dividing the Muslim society on the caste lines. Had these two gentlemen MPs – Ali Anwar and Dr Ejaz Ali – been raising the voice for the Muslims as a community they would have been dumped into the dustbin of history. But today they are honourable members of Parliament.
There is absolutely nothing wrong in uplifting the economically, socially and politically downtrodden sections of the Muslim society. It is commendable, because in North India at least, the so-called Muslim Upper Castes have denied their so-called Backward brethren their due. The younger generation should be educated about this bare fact. The absence of this awareness is creating social discord in the society.
One example suffices to understand this serious situation. It is sometimes observed that the Upper Caste Muslim students of medical, engineering or any other professional course do not feel very easy with the Backward Caste Muslim friends in their institution just because they think that the latter do not deserve this place. And if any Backward Caste Muslim friend gets selected in the MS, MD or M Tech course or gets a job before the Upper Caste student then the latter’s reaction would be: “Look this boy (or girl) was much less talented yet he/she got selected before me.” And the relation would get strained further. What they fail to understand is that 27 per cent reservation – whether it is good or bad is not the debate here––for the Backward Castes is here to stay (not to speak quota for SCs, STs). And if the Muslim Backward Caste friend is not selected then that seat would not be filled by the Upper Caste Muslim but by a Backward Caste Hindu. Yet they have no sense to understand this small reality and would instead go on to strain their relationship. Thus, in a way they just do not want to see the Backward Castes of their own community to come up. The Muslim Upper Castes are no doubt culprits in not driving home this point in the minds of their younger generation.
This is the bitter fact of society. But instead of putting these facts straight, both the so-called Upper and the so-called Backward Castes, started indulging in pure caste politics. Since the short-cut road to success lies in playing this card with perfection, many Upper Caste Muslims have adopted a unique strategy. As both Ali Anwar and Dr Ejaz Ali are from the Backward Castes there is now a race going on among Upper Caste Muslims to declare themselves as Backward.
Mallicks, arguably the most developed of all the Muslim castes of Bihar, surprisingly got themselves declared as the Backwards last summer. The Chairman of the Bihar State Religious and Linguistic Minority Commission, Naushad Ahmad, who comes from this caste, succeeded in his efforts. Mallicks are a very small, but influential caste of Muslims, spread in Nalanda, Gaya, Banka, Jehanabad, Patna, Nawada, Munger, Sheikhpura and Jamui districts of Bihar; Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh; Kolkata in West Bengal and have sprinkling of their population in some places in Jharkhand.
Yet against the view of the State Backward Caste Commission Mallicks were declared as Backward. This simply because they have good population in Nalanda district, the home turf of Nitish Kumar, who wants to expand his base among the Muslims. The moment Mallicks got themselves declared as the Backward the other Upper Castes too started raising similar demands thus vitiating the entire atmosphere. Since Mallicks, as mentioned, are a very small caste, they are very conscious of their identity. You can find Mallick Welfare Society in Kolkata, Mallick Bayah Society in Bihar and many such outfits at various places even in the United States, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, etc. The irony is that Mallicks always called themselves Syeds as they are the progeny of Arab general Syed Ibrahim Mallick Bayah, who conquered Nalanda district several centuries back. Many Mallicks would not accept Zakat on the plea that they are Syeds, yet for political convenience they have been made Backward. Perhaps about no other caste of Bihar so many books have been written as about Mallicks, their history and their roots.
The truth is that declaring Mallicks as Backward is injustice to the real Backward Caste Muslims, as all the present and past records prove that among Muslims they are the most developed caste. A few examples would be enough to understand it. Of the last four chairmen of the Minority Commission two were Mallicks; of the four Muslim IAS officers in Bihar, one is Mallick; the only Muslim chairman of the Bihar State Electricity Board was a Mallick, the first chief minister of Bihar before independence (Barrister Yunus) was a Mallick, the President of the Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (just before independence) was a Mallick (Abdul Bari), the pro-Vice Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University before the partition, A B A Haleem, was a Mallick (he later became the vice chancellor of Karachi University). In Pakistan, where a few thousands of Mallicks migrated from Bihar (do not confuse it with the Maliks of Punjab), one ended up becoming the top bureaucrat of that country as he was an ICS, and another a renowned scholar and author of international repute. In Uttar Pradesh, where their population is just a few hundreds in Mirzapur district, Aziz Imam, became the Congress MP twice in 1970s. One Mallick Muslim family from Patna produced 22 barristers in the pre-independence era.
There is no doubt that some Mallicks are poor yet nobody can deny the fact that, notwithstanding a very small population, this caste has the largest percentage of Zamindars – of course in proportion to their population. Just make a random survey of the caste and you would find that percentage-wise among the Muslims they form the largest chunk in the Middle Eastern and other countries.
So far the Backward Caste resurgence among Muslims in Bihar is concerned, it started in 1993 just a few months after the demolition of Babri Masjid with Dr Ejaz Ali coming up with the Backward Muslim Morcha. The timing is extremely significant. He got full backing from the media. A couple of years later he organized a seminar in Patna “Babri or Barabri”. He is of the view that Muslims should trade off Babri Masjid with the Article 341, that is, give up the struggle for the demolished mosque in Ayodhya and demand Dalit status for the Backward Muslims.
Since he was from Raiyan caste and challenged the decades old leadership of Ansaris among the Backward Caste Muslims, Ali Anwar, a Left-leaning Hindi journalist, floated his organization, ‘Pasmanda Muslim Mahaz’. These two gentlemen did not get rewarded during the time of Lalu-Rabri regime as the RJD was not in favour of dividing its Muslim vote-bank. The moment Nitish came to power he started playing the Muslim caste politics in Bihar.
As the caste atmosphere vitiated in Bihar a couple of youths from Uttar Pradesh travelled down to Bihar to play their own cards. A gentleman belonging to Mallick caste living in Aligarh for many years got reminded of his caste identity. He took the road back to Bihar with the sole purpose of organizing the Mallicks in the name of development. The irony is that this gentleman is a Falahi and gives a typical Islamic interpretation to what he is doing.
Another gentleman, originally from Lucknow in UP, and hailing from the Ansari caste, made Patna his home for the sake of playing his politics. Like Ali Anwar he has Left-leanings. Another young Hindi journalist coming from Ansari caste, floated his own outfit. This notwithstanding the fact that he did his journalism course from England and still writes for Hindi dailies and websites as a free lancer.
Playing caste politics among Muslims has become a career of a sort for many in Bihar. Yet those who matter in the society have adopted the ostrich-like approach and doing absolutely nothing to neutralise this dangerous trend. The tragedy is that everyone is clamouring to become Backward in Bihar when the truth is that in the last three years of the Nitish Kumar rule the number of Muslim students selected in the government medical, engineering, veterinary, and other professional colleges has come down by half, and in some cases even more. For example in 2005, that is, a few months before the coming to power of the NDA government, 16 out of 30 students selected in M Sc Bio-Chemistry in Patna University were Muslims. The following year the figure came down to seven and in 2007 just two Muslims got selected.
http://www.radianceweekly.com/146/3351/DAVOS-MISSES-THE-BUS/2009-02-15/Muslim-Affairs/Story-Detail/Caste-in-a-Muslim-MouldA-Shortcut-Road-to-Success.html
Dalit Muslims in Bihar protest declaration of upper caste as backward
July 7th, 2008
Dalit muslims in Bihar, protesting the decision to declare powerful upper caste Mallick muslims as backward, threatened Monday a statewide agitation and a legal challenge to the government decision. Dalit muslim leader Daud Rayeen, also president of the newly-formed Federation for Minorities Rights, said: “It was a historical wrong by the state government to declare Mallicks as a backward caste”.
Rayeen blamed “some influential Muslims close to the power centre in the state” for misinforming the government in this regard. “It was manipulated and managed by using false facts….”
Several hundred dalit muslims staged a daylong protest here against the government decision and demanded that the Mallicks be withdrawn from the backward caste list. The protesters belonged to various dalit muslim groups.
Federation vice president Irshadul Haque told IANS that the federation plans to file a Public Interest Litigation in Patna High Court to challenge the government decision. “We will seek the court intervention for justice to protect the rights of dalit muslims,” he said.
“It will cost (Bihar chief minister) Nitish Kumar heavily during elections because the numbers of dalit muslims are much more than Mallicks… this decision has already angered dalit muslims,” said Firoz Mansuri, a dalit muslim leader.
Mallicks are regarded as the most developed caste among Muslims in Bihar. They are educationally, economically and socially second to none including other upper caste Muslims like Syed, Khan, and Shaikh.
Mallicks are mostly spread in about 50-odd village of the districts of Patna, Jehanabad, Gaya, Nawada, Jamui, Munger and Nalanda, which is chief minister Nitish Kumar’s home district. In urban centres of these districts, too, they have a sizeable population.
More at : Dalit Muslims in Bihar protest declaration of upper caste as backward http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/politics/dalit-muslims-in-bihar-protest-declaration-of-upper-caste-as-backward_10068685.html#ixzz0e7wbYByC
Dalit muslims in Bihar, protesting the decision to declare powerful upper caste Mallick muslims as backward, threatened Monday a statewide agitation and a legal challenge to the government decision. Dalit muslim leader Daud Rayeen, also president of the newly-formed Federation for Minorities Rights, said: “It was a historical wrong by the state government to declare Mallicks as a backward caste”.
Rayeen blamed “some influential Muslims close to the power centre in the state” for misinforming the government in this regard. “It was manipulated and managed by using false facts….”
Several hundred dalit muslims staged a daylong protest here against the government decision and demanded that the Mallicks be withdrawn from the backward caste list. The protesters belonged to various dalit muslim groups.
Federation vice president Irshadul Haque told IANS that the federation plans to file a Public Interest Litigation in Patna High Court to challenge the government decision. “We will seek the court intervention for justice to protect the rights of dalit muslims,” he said.
“It will cost (Bihar chief minister) Nitish Kumar heavily during elections because the numbers of dalit muslims are much more than Mallicks… this decision has already angered dalit muslims,” said Firoz Mansuri, a dalit muslim leader.
Mallicks are regarded as the most developed caste among Muslims in Bihar. They are educationally, economically and socially second to none including other upper caste Muslims like Syed, Khan, and Shaikh.
Mallicks are mostly spread in about 50-odd village of the districts of Patna, Jehanabad, Gaya, Nawada, Jamui, Munger and Nalanda, which is chief minister Nitish Kumar’s home district. In urban centres of these districts, too, they have a sizeable population.
More at : Dalit Muslims in Bihar protest declaration of upper caste as backward http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/politics/dalit-muslims-in-bihar-protest-declaration-of-upper-caste-as-backward_10068685.html#ixzz0e7wbYByC
Dalit Muslims oppose Mallick Muslims in backwards list
July 17th, 2008 - 8:33 pm ICT by IANS Tell a Friend -
Dalit Muslims in Bihar have demanded that Mallick Muslims should be withdrawn from the backward caste list of the state government. A delegation of Dalit Muslim leaders comprising the newly-formed Federation for Minorities Rights, Mahatma Phule Samta Parishad and All India Backward Class-Scheduled Castes-Minority Federation met the chairman of the Bihar State Backward Class Commission here Thursday to protest the government decision to declare upper caste Mallick Muslims as a backward caste.
Dalit Muslim leaders made it clear to the commission that the state government’s decision was against the reservation policy and the constitution.
“We have expressed our protest against declaration of Mallick Muslims as backwards and demanded that this caste should be withdrawn from the backward castes list of the government,” said Irshadul Haque, federation vice-president.
Earlier in July, hundreds of Dalit Muslims from various groups protested the decision to declare upper caste Mallick Muslims as backwards and threatened a state-wide agitation and challenge the government decision in a court of law.
More at : Dalit Muslims oppose Mallick Muslims in backwards list http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/politics/dalit-muslims-oppose-mallick-muslims-in-backwards-list_10072756.html#ixzz0e7vL3JHO
Dalit Muslims in Bihar have demanded that Mallick Muslims should be withdrawn from the backward caste list of the state government. A delegation of Dalit Muslim leaders comprising the newly-formed Federation for Minorities Rights, Mahatma Phule Samta Parishad and All India Backward Class-Scheduled Castes-Minority Federation met the chairman of the Bihar State Backward Class Commission here Thursday to protest the government decision to declare upper caste Mallick Muslims as a backward caste.
Dalit Muslim leaders made it clear to the commission that the state government’s decision was against the reservation policy and the constitution.
“We have expressed our protest against declaration of Mallick Muslims as backwards and demanded that this caste should be withdrawn from the backward castes list of the government,” said Irshadul Haque, federation vice-president.
Earlier in July, hundreds of Dalit Muslims from various groups protested the decision to declare upper caste Mallick Muslims as backwards and threatened a state-wide agitation and challenge the government decision in a court of law.
More at : Dalit Muslims oppose Mallick Muslims in backwards list http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/politics/dalit-muslims-oppose-mallick-muslims-in-backwards-list_10072756.html#ixzz0e7vL3JHO
Withdraw Mallick Muslims from Bihar’s backward caste list’
November 8th, 2008 - 9:30 pm ICT by IANS Tell a Friend -
An organisation of Dalit Muslims in Bihar has warned the state government to withdraw upper caste Mallick Muslims from the backward caste list, otherwise they will be “forced to take a stand against Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) in the coming elections”, an official said Saturday.The All India Pasmandsa Muslim Mahaz, an influential backward and Dalit Muslim body, Saturday threatened to launch a campaign to “expose Bihar government’s double standard vis-a-vis Dalit Muslims”.
“We had warned the state government to withdraw Mallicks from the backward caste list and not to ignore our demand,” said Mahaz’s newly elected president Saleem Perwez.
Mahaz’s spokesperson Irshadul Haque said that Dalit Muslims will not tolerate a decision that goes against their empowerment.
“Dalit Muslims will be forced to take a stand against Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) in coming elections that will prove costly for him,” Haque said at a Mahaz function attended by hundreds of Dalit Muslims from across the state.
In 2005 Bihar assembly elections, Dalit Muslims reportedly voted against Railways Minister Lalu Prasad’s Rashtriya Janata Dal and in favour of Nitish Kumar’s JD(U).
Mahaz, which celebrated its 10th anniversary here Saturday, declared to fight against communal forces and continue to awaken Dalit Muslims for their rights and empowerment.
Most of the leaders of Mahaz protested the decision to declare Mallick Muslims as backward. They threatened a state-wide agitation and a legal challenge to the government’s decision.
“We have passed 12 resolutions. The first resolution was opposed to inclusion of Mallicks in the backward caste list by the state government and demanded to withdraw it immediately,” Haque said.
Dalit Muslim leaders described it as a historical wrong by the state government to declare Mallicks as a backward caste.
According to officials, Mallicks are educationally, economically and socially second to none including upper caste Muslims like Syed, Khan, and Shaikh.
Mallicks are mostly spread in about 50-odd villages of the districts of Patna, Jehanabad, Gaya, Nawada, Jamui, Munger and Nalanda, which is Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s home district. In urban centres of these districts, too, they have a sizeable population.
More at : ‘Withdraw Mallick Muslims from Bihar’s backward caste list’ http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/withdraw-mallick-muslims-from-bihars-backward-caste-list_100116708.html#ixzz0e7s9aOGL
An organisation of Dalit Muslims in Bihar has warned the state government to withdraw upper caste Mallick Muslims from the backward caste list, otherwise they will be “forced to take a stand against Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) in the coming elections”, an official said Saturday.The All India Pasmandsa Muslim Mahaz, an influential backward and Dalit Muslim body, Saturday threatened to launch a campaign to “expose Bihar government’s double standard vis-a-vis Dalit Muslims”.
“We had warned the state government to withdraw Mallicks from the backward caste list and not to ignore our demand,” said Mahaz’s newly elected president Saleem Perwez.
Mahaz’s spokesperson Irshadul Haque said that Dalit Muslims will not tolerate a decision that goes against their empowerment.
“Dalit Muslims will be forced to take a stand against Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) in coming elections that will prove costly for him,” Haque said at a Mahaz function attended by hundreds of Dalit Muslims from across the state.
In 2005 Bihar assembly elections, Dalit Muslims reportedly voted against Railways Minister Lalu Prasad’s Rashtriya Janata Dal and in favour of Nitish Kumar’s JD(U).
Mahaz, which celebrated its 10th anniversary here Saturday, declared to fight against communal forces and continue to awaken Dalit Muslims for their rights and empowerment.
Most of the leaders of Mahaz protested the decision to declare Mallick Muslims as backward. They threatened a state-wide agitation and a legal challenge to the government’s decision.
“We have passed 12 resolutions. The first resolution was opposed to inclusion of Mallicks in the backward caste list by the state government and demanded to withdraw it immediately,” Haque said.
Dalit Muslim leaders described it as a historical wrong by the state government to declare Mallicks as a backward caste.
According to officials, Mallicks are educationally, economically and socially second to none including upper caste Muslims like Syed, Khan, and Shaikh.
Mallicks are mostly spread in about 50-odd villages of the districts of Patna, Jehanabad, Gaya, Nawada, Jamui, Munger and Nalanda, which is Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s home district. In urban centres of these districts, too, they have a sizeable population.
More at : ‘Withdraw Mallick Muslims from Bihar’s backward caste list’ http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/withdraw-mallick-muslims-from-bihars-backward-caste-list_100116708.html#ixzz0e7s9aOGL
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