On Wednesday (9th October), Prime Minister Narendra Modi came down strongly on the Congress party for dividing the Hindu society on caste lines while maintaining a conspicuous silence on castes among Muslims. PM Modi fumed on Congress stating that it wants to keep the Hindu society on fire for its political gains. He dubbed the party a factory of ‘spreading hate’ and an “irresponsible party”. He also slammed them for dividing Hindus on caste lines adding that no Congress leader has ever uttered a word on castes among the Muslim society.
Slamming Congress and its ecosystem, PM Modi emphasised there are many castes among Muslims but the ecosystem never talks about that, they always talk about caste in Hindu society as they want to keep igniting fire among the Hindus for its political gains.
The Prime Minister said, “Congress does not talk about castes in the Muslim community. It only talks about Hindu castes because it wants to divide Hindu society.”
There’s many caste in Islam as well but ecosystem never talks about that, they always talk about caste in Hinduism because they want to create rift between Hindus – PM Modi
Surprising but a very necessary & important statement by PM… It will have a big impact.. 👏🏻🔥 pic.twitter.com/si3hzLZ2pk
— Mr Sinha (@MrSinha_) October 9, 2024
Notably, PM Modi made the stinging remark on Congress, a day after BJP secured a historic win in the Haryana Assembly elections. On Wednesday, PM Modi virtually laid the foundation stone of various development projects in Maharashtra worth over Rs 7600 crore.
It is pertinent to note that Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi has been spearheading negative campaigning while calling for a nationwide caste census. He has often alleged discrimination against Dalits and the OBCs in Hindu society, however, refraining from doing so with respect to Muslim society.
PM Modi goes hammer and tongs on Congress
During his address, PM Modi said, “Yesterday, the results of Haryana and J&K elections were declared…After completing two terms, getting elected for the third term in Haryana is historic.”
He added, “The entire ecosystem of Congress was misleading the public…They tried to spread lies among the Dalits. The Dalits realised that Congress would snatch away reservations from them and distribute them to their vote bank. The Dalit community in Haryana extended record support to the BJP …Congress instigated the farmers. The farmers of Haryana are happy with the farmer-friendly schemes of the BJP. Congress also tried to instigate the youth. They all trust the BJP for a bright future…The public of Haryana has shown that they will not fall prey to the hatred conspiracies of the Congress and its urban Naxal allies…”
#WATCH | PM Narendra Modi says, “…Congress is doing politics of hatred… Congress is bent on destroying the country. We all have to be aware and cautious. I am sure that the people of Maharashtra will give a befitting reply to all these forces bent on destroying the society…… pic.twitter.com/erkVO4JrDN
— ANI (@ANI) October 9, 2024
He further stated, “The Congress is an irresponsible party and a factory to spread hatred. The Congress is not concerned about development and legacy, we have paid attention to both.”
“The policy of Congress is to make one caste of Hindus fight against another caste. Congress knows that the more Hindus get divided, the more it will benefit. Congress wants to keep the Hindu society on fire by any means to make political gains out of it. Wherever elections are held in India, Congress applies this formula,” he added.
It is pertinent to note that while media reports on Election analysis have often segregated Hindus on caste lines, the Muslim society is shown as a monolith. However, the caste discrimination and segregation are all the more prevalent in the Muslim society.
Discrimination and division among Muslim society
The Muslim community is divided into mainly three categories – the Ashrafs, the Ajlafs, and the Arzals. Among the Muslims, the Ashrafs are the seen as the “noble and elite” as they are considered the direct descendants of Muslims from Arabs, Persia, Turkey, and Afghanistan. The main castes involved in this category are Syeds, Sheikhs, Mughals, and Pathans. These Muslim castes are compared to the upper castes in the Hindu community, which include Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas.
On the other hand, Ajlafs and Arzals are two of the lowest caste in Muslims and they are called the Pasmand Muslims. Pasmanda Muslims are mainly the Hindu population who were forcefully converted to Islam. They comprise about 85% of the total Muslim population in India and are engaged in ‘lower’ activities like scavenging, butchering, weaving, or tailoring.
Due to their profession, the elite Muslims have traditionally discriminated against these groups and have declined to give them equal status in the Muslim community. The hard caste discrimination against Muslims is attributed to the historical incidents of forced conversions. Originally, Pasmandas were the followers of Sanatan Dharma.
Meanwhile, the second group Ajlaf includes the so-called middle castes. This group is quite large and consists of several castes, such as Ansari, Mansoori, Rayeen, and Qureshi, among others. Qureshis are primarily involved in the meat trade, and Ansaris in the textile weaving profession, and they are compared to Yadav, Koiri, and Kurmi castes in Hindus.
The third group is Arzal, which includes castes like Halalkhor, Hawari, and Razzak. They are compared to Dhobis among Hindu society.
Furthermore, discrimination is also prevalent in Muslim society on the lines of Firkas.