[Reader-list] Pasmanda Intellectuals' Forum Questions the selection process of the Vice-Chancellor (VC) of the Jamia Milia Islamiya University (JMI), New Delhi

[Taha Mehmood]

Dear Arshad,

Thank you for forwarding an open letter addressed to the president of
India written by members of so called Pasmanda community.

I hope that not only the President but also the citizens of India and
institutions which are engaged in public discourse must sit up and
take notice of the views presented in the letter.

However, let me just add that I will not be surprised at all, if the
contents of this letter are either ignored or dismissed. The reason
being quite simple. The argument presented through this letter
suggests that lived or practiced Islam is a fractured idea in India. I
cannot foresee  that either our learned journalists or our experts of
Islam in India or elsewhere will quickly acknowledge the genuine
aspiration of a separate identity by members of the so called Pasmanda
community. The idea of Islam, it seems, like other ideas is often
reduced to a bunch of cliches when people who are in the business of
representation seek to represent it.

The data concerning the demographic breakup of Muslims in India,
suggests that- 'the Pasmanda Muslims (dalit/backward caste Muslims;
also called ajlaf and arzal) constitute about 75% of the Indian Muslim
population (the remaining 25% is formed by the upper caste ashraf
Muslims).' This, I believe is a remarkable revelation. However, I
think, the crucial question would be to clearly assess how much of
this data could have a direct bearing on political power?  Which to a
large extent may determine the seriousness with which the claims of
'Pasmanda Muslims' will be addressed.

On a different note though, I most earnestly hope that with this
beginning the 'Pasmanda Intellectuals' Forum, based at New Delhi must
make all the efforts to build an intellectual body of work to not only
clearly delineate but definitively articulate and propagate various
historical, political, economical and philosophical reasons to
concretize such an identity.

Then and only then I think we could get a sense of beginning of the
end of this ugly and stereotypical, this utterly rubbish and often
disgusting bogey of a mythical creature called 'Indian Muslims'.

Warm regards

Taha