Dalit Muslims in Bihar protest declaration of upper caste as backward

Patna, July 7 : 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hundred dalit muslims staged a daylong protest here against the government decision and demanded that the Mallicks be withdrawn from the backward caste list.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.

I am fully agree with Dr. Ahsan view regarding the status of mallick as backward due to following reason.

1) Mallick maximum population are indulged in transport business & their average economical condition are very bad. They are also backward on education front. Maximum dropout can be observed after matriculation/ Intermediate. They normally after tenth/intermediate, try to earn the bread & butter for his family either joining the transport business or going abroad (specially gulf) as unskilled labour.

2) Mallick has been included in Annexure II,(other OBC) whereas all other Muslim (like ansari,rayeen) are listed in annexure I .

So they should not scare of loosing the opportunity as mallick are not in the same annexure I .Daud Rayeen should not present the false picture to the backward Muslim & Create unnecessary fear among pasmanda Muslim.

But if he & his organization really care about the pasmanda Muslim he should put his effort to include them in schedule cast. We will definitely extend our full support in their effort.

3) if you will compare with other Muslim backward caste you will find very less in government job . if I have correct information currently only one IAS(direct) officer belongs to the community.

4) Furthermore, there is no political representative of mallick community (Even MLA/MLC/MP)

I hope this will give clear picture to our pasmanda Muslim brother & humble request to Daud Rayeen, he should not use this issue as a ladder for his personal political ambition.

raghib_afzal@yahoo.com

This is unaccepted decision which CM or Bihar Govt. has taken to include this “Mallick” community as backward Muslim . If you see history of “MALLICK” community in Bihar they has/had ruler and

Landlord. If any independent organization will do survey then they will find ,no any aspect to include this community in backward Muslim.

Mallick Community is rich, Educated and very powerful in Bihar and always around the Bihar Politics , either Mr. Laloo Pashad was ruled or Mr. Nitish Govt. Current.

We hope from “Dalit Muslim Morcha “ or any backward organization to counter case against this government decision at courts and save privileges exact needy

Thanks to Mr. Nitish Kumar for giving backward status to Mallick which has been long due & well deserved because of their backwardness in all fields-- Educationally, Economically, Politically. This decision has been taken after a thorough study by the Backward Commision & in fact Mr. Nitish Kumar knows this castes backwardness since his childhood. It is a fact that not even 01 person from this cast has become an MLA ,MP since indepednce. If we talk about the burecaratic position- only 01 person from this community has become IAS- Their is no IPS or IFS from this community.

I could not understand how people from one caste is protesting on this aspect-- may be because they dont want other backward caste to be par with them.

I would like to congratulate Nitish jee & his team for this bold & Just decision.

It is irony to note that dalit Muslims in Bihar are protesting the decision of upper caste(mallick) as backward.

I , the undersigned a native of Nalanda district ,personally feel that it was a historic decision of the present government of Mr. Nitish Kumar. The historic decision which the congress (so called MASSIAH of Muslims) and others could not take since independence , Nitish took it in few months in office as CM, I salute to his vision and all those who put their efforts in making the dream true for one of the most down trodden community of the Muslims from Bihar! Some may say that Nitish adopted the policy of divide and rule , I strongly object to such notion, the fact is that Nitish gave due right to the concerned among minority community from Bihar . Mallicks are about above a million in population, confined mostly to Gaya, Nalanda, Jahanbad, Monghyr, Patna and Bhagalpur districts

Instead of appreciating such revolutionary step , few dalit Muslims on the behest of so called higher caste, took the matter to the streets.

Let me give facts and figures to the readers of your esteemed journal. Central list of the backwards, includes sayed, sheikh, pathan and moghal, as forward caste, rest all other caste among Muslims have been labeled as backwards among Muslims, various categories of caste and subcaste has been described , the number varies form sate to sate, Delhi , Andhra, Kerala, Karnataka, utter Pradesh are among the states having highest number of back ward casts, Mallicks are on number 23, 51, in UP and Delhi list, in the neighboring UP list, all casts are linked with traditional hereditary occupations except those entered with specific mention of names of religion, are included , irrespective of whether their members follow Hinduism, Islam or any other religion, that is why mallicks names are found, in muslims, Bengalis, and Punjabi too.

The learned commission on whose recommendation Nitish government too such historic decision, made extensive survey and study of mallicks population of Bihar of various districts and in conclusion maliikcs were inducted to the backward list.

Considering the religious point of view , there should be no upper caste or lower caste among Muslims, all are equal , there is no superiority of white over black or black over white, if Indian Muslims are ready to accept Islamic point of view then all Muslims should be categorized as forward or as backward, why few among them should be labeled as forward or backward?

MALLICKS in Bihar are so confined to their own caste that no one marries in their caste and vise versa, and this has made them suffer a lot. Their only source of income was cultivation, some have got education and rarely any one gets any government job, which can be counted less than 0.2% of their population state wise. The beauty of this caste is that non among them can be found as beggars, they can do any menial job, but they don’t beg like sayeds (the so called higher caste). Mallicks had been found to be very brave and warriors in the past and they lived united.

In every caste among Indians few have progressed in their life and become public figure, it does not mean that whole caste can be categorized as forward, Mayawati.Lalu yadav , Rambilas Paswan , are few examples , unfortunately non among Mallicks of Bihar could reach to any extent of self sufficiency, they are most illiterate and economically backward too.

Those who feel that their move to the court against the decision will bring any result are in fools paradise , will face the counter case soon. Nitish has definitely done a remarkable job comparing his counter part at other sates ! well done NITISH