Pasmanda Muslims

About Pasmanda Muslims:

• Pasmanda is a Persian word that means the ‘ones left behind’.
• The word is used to describe the depressed classes among Muslims who have been deliberately or consciously excluded from the fruits of power and privilege.
• Backward, Dalit, and tribal Muslims use the word Pasmanda as an umbrella identity to flag caste-based discrimination within the community.
• The term ‘Pasmanda Muslims’ was first used in 1998 by Ali Anwar Ansari when he founded the Pasmanda Muslim Mahaz.
• Muslim society in India consists of several status groups or biradaris that are broadly sorted in three categories: the Ashrafs (the ‘noble’ elite or the ‘honourable ones’), the Ajlafs (backward Muslims), and the Arzals (Dalit Muslims).

Source : Indian Express

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