Revisiting the Pasmanda Political Discourse: Feasibility, Failure and the Way Forward

Abstract

This article attempts to revisit the Pasmanda political discourse (PPD) which is grounded on the premise that there exist a number of backward and dalit Muslims who remain under-represented and whose demands remain unheard in contemporary India. In recognising this reality, this article tries to understand the PPD from three perspectives. First, the feasibility and importance of the PPD in the context of the resounding victory of the National Democratic Alliance which has indicated that the present dispensation managed to dismantle caste-based politics in the last 2019 general elections. Second, it tries to explain the reasons for the failure of Pasmanda politics which could not make a headway in the Muslim community in general and Pasmanda Muslims in particular and also in other socio-religious groups and political parties, despite it being a century-old political discourse. Third, it seeks to articulate the way forward to strengthen and rejuvenate the idea of Pasmanda in India today which is witnessing a domination of majoritarian politics.

Contemporary ‘Pasmanda’ Leadership and the Hindutva Politics in Uttar Pradesh

“…Issues like Love Jihad, Cow Vigilantism, Shaheen Bagh’s protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the Hizab controversy constructed a homogeneous Muslim front against the dominant BJP. The majority-minority framework imposed by the politics of the BJP compelled the Muslim leaders and the community to respond in one voice (Alam, 2022). There was one Muslim ‘other’ that existed for outsiders and insiders alike.…”

“…The importance of the Pasmanda debate within Muslim politics has been recognized by scholars (Alam, 2003, 2007, 2022; Fazal, 2020; Ansari, 2009, 2018, 2023; Levesque & Niazi, 2023). However, the BJP’s proactive outreach towards Pasmanda Muslims being new, not much academic work has been done to analyze it.…”