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Initially, the Muslim caste system in India originated as Ashraf
and Ajlaf divide: the Ashraf were the noble castes, who came from
foreign lands; the converted Indians were classed as the inferior
Razil, Kamin or Ajlaf. This Ashraf-Ajlaf divide was a kind of
apartheid
Muslim Brothers of Indian Subcontinent:
It's Time for Homecoming, Part IV
by Dr Radhasyam Brahmachari
25 Jan, 2008
Source: http://islam-watch.org
Origin of Muslim Caste System
Initially, the Muslim caste system in India originated as Ashraf
and Ajlaf divide: the Ashraf were the noble castes, who came from
foreign lands; the converted Indians were classed as the inferior
Razil, Kamin or Ajlaf. This Ashraf-Ajlaf divide was a kind of
apartheid as Yogindar Sikand writes,
This owed not just to racial differences, with local converts
generally being dark-skinned and the Ashraf lighter complexioned,
but also to the fact that the Ashraf belonged to the dominant
political elites, while the bulk of the Ajlaf remained associated
with ancestral professions as artisans and peasants which were
looked down upon as inferior and demeaning.
A classical, oft-quoted example in this regard is provided by the
Fatawa-i- Jahandari, written by 14th-century
Turkish scholar, Ziauddin Barani, a leading courtier of Sultan
Muhammad bin Tughlaq of Delhi. This text is the only known surviving
Indo-Persian treatise exclusively devoted to Islamic political
theory from the period of the Delhi Sultanate. Barani was a fervent
champion of Ashraf supremacy and despised the Ajlaf, whom he designated as 'low-born'. Barani insisted that the
Sultan should consider it his religious duty to deny the Ajlaf
access to knowledge, branding them as 'mean', and 'despicable'.
Thus he designated the Ajlaf as dogs, pigs and bears and advised
the Sultan:
Teachers of every kind are to be sternly ordered not to thrust
precious stones down the throats of dogs or to put collars of gold
round the necks of pigs and bears, that is, to the mean, the
ignoble and the worthless, to shopkeepers and to the low-born they
are to teach nothing more than the rules about prayer, fasting,
religious charity and the haj pilgrimage, along with some chapters
of the Qur'an and some doctrines of the faith, without which their
religion cannot be correct and valid prayers are not possible. But
they are to be taught nothing else, lest it bring honour to their
mean souls.
According to Barani, if the Ajlaf were allowed access to
education, they might challenge the Ashraf hegemony. Therefore, he
sternly warned the Sultan and said:
They are not to be taught reading and writing, for plenty of
disorders arise owing to the skill of the low born in knowledge.
If it is discovered at the time of investigation that the
teachers have imparted knowledge or taught letters or writing to
the low born, inevitably the punishment for their disobedience
will be meted out to them.
Barani continued:
To promote base, mean, low-born and worthless men to be the
helpers and supporters of the government has not been permitted by
any religion, creed, publicly accepted tradition or state-law.
Last update : 04-02-2009 07:44
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