MYSURU: With the State Government preparing for the upcoming Social and Educational Census, there is confusion within the Muslim community over caste enrolment.
The Karnataka State Backward Classes Commission has issued a notification and as part of the preparatory process, it released a list of 124 sub-castes under the Muslim community eligible for backward classes’ reservation. The notification has sparked a discussion within the community as many are not clear as to how they should identify their caste during the enumeration process as they are not sure of which sub-group they belong to.
Questions have been raised over whether Muslims should record themselves simply by their religion or their specific sub-caste or occupational group. These 124 sub-castes are not new and Muslims were enrolled under these during the past census, surveys and findings. The commission has also invited objections within seven days of the notification in case any sub-caste is omitted or if there are errors in the names listed.
These caste includes Bangi Muslim, Atari, Byari, Chapperbanda, Darji Muslim, Fakir, Gabbit, Ghyare, Goundi, Kasbin, Khalifa, Mapilla, Nadaf, Notari, Pesh-imam, Pinjara, Qaji, Salafi, Pathan, Sikkaligara, Takankar, Syed, Sunni and many others.
With the prevailing confusion, awareness programmes have been started and round table conferences held to arrive at a unified stand. Community representatives believe that a consensus is vital at current juncture as inconsistent or fragmented response during the census could have long-term implications on reservations and welfare measures. The Social Democratic Party of India, Karnataka unit, also held two round table meetings of Muslim community leaders, elected representatives, religious scholars and social thinkers, including retired government officers and revenue department officials.
SDPI state president
Abdul Majeed said, “Many of them record religion as Islam and their caste as Muslim, but within the community there are multiple identities based on conversion history, traditional occupations, and regional groups. This overlap creates confusion and our responsibility as social, political and religious leaders is to help families record their details correctly and we are organising awareness programmes and round table meetings to take a unified stand on this.”