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Debates on Muslim Caste in North India and Pakistan

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  • Julien Levesque

Abstract

From colonial census administrators to social scientists, scholars have debated whether Muslims in the subcontinent can be said to have castes. In recent decades, the discussion also entered the political arena over the issue of reservations in India. In order to offer an overview of the debates concerning caste among Muslims, mainly in North India and Pakistan, this article first shows that colonial scholars and administrators tended to understand the phenomenon as the product of a history of conquest and miscegenation. I then turn to socio-anthropological debates of the second half of the twentieth century that opposed scholars on whether a caste system existed among Muslims. Finally, I explore how new legal conceptions of caste among Indian Muslims became a stepping stone for political mobilization from the 1990s.

Suggested Citation

  • Julien Levesque, 2020. "Debates on Muslim Caste in North India and Pakistan," CSH-IFP Working Papers 0015, Centre de Sciences Humaines, New Delhi, revised Jul 2020.
  • Handle: RePEc:aed:wpaper:0015
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Rajindar Sachar & Saiyid Hamid & T.K. Oommen & M.A. Basith & Rakesh Basant & Akhtar Majeed & Abusaleh Shariff, 2006. "Social, Economic and Educational Status of the Muslim Community of India," Development Economics Working Papers 22136, East Asian Bureau of Economic Research.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    caste; social stratification; Islam; South Asia; India; Pakistan;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R50 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - General

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