Muslims in India are broadly categorised into three social groupings — Ashraf (the 'noble' or 'honourable ones'), Ajlaf (backward Muslims) and Arzal (Dalit Muslims). ‘Pasmanda’, a Persian word, means the ‘ones left behind’, and is used to describe depressed classes among the Muslims, while underlining their deliberate or conscious exclusion. Ashraf are seen as the traditionally dominant social group. Scholars believe that this group comprises families that can either trace their lineage to Muslim conquerors or were upper caste Hindus that converted to Islam very early on.
Ajlaf and Arzal are collectively known as the Pasmanda -- a Persian word meaning “left behind”. It is a term used for Other Backward Class (OBC) Muslims comprising economically and socially backward members of the community. Leaders of Pasmanda Muslims claim that nearly 85% of the Muslim population in India is Pasmanda while the remaining are 'Ashrafs'. They claim that out of the roughly 400 Muslims elected in the first 14 Lok Sabhas, only 60 were from Pasmanda background.
To speak about this topic, we invited Faiyaz Ahmad Fyzie. Faiyaz Ahmad Fyzie is an socio-pasmanda Activist & medical doctor by profession. He is also an author, translator and a columnist speaking on issues faced by the Pasmanda community in India.