Niazi, Soheb <br/><br/>
Towards a history of non-Ashrāf Muslims: Notes on the Muslim occupational castes in late colonial India 

 - Economic & Political Weekly   
 - 59(33), Aug 17, 2024: p.48-56 
<br/><br/> Both mainstream accounts and a section of scholars on Muslim society in South Asia continue to deny the prevalence of caste, despite the existence of numerous Muslim occupational castes engaged in “dirty” or “unclean” labour, who face stigmatisation from both Muslim and Hindu communities. This denial has also been reflected in the historical scholarship on Muslims, which has predominantly focused on the narratives of ashrāf Muslims, leading to an erasure of non-ashrāf voices. This paper critically examines the portrayal of Muslims in colonial India through the dual lens of nationalism and separatism. In doing so, it seeks to provide an outline for a history of non-ashrāf Muslims that is grounded in an analytical framework weaved out of the narratives of the peshewar aqwām or the occupational castes among Muslims. Moreover, the paper underscores the significance of contextualising social hierarchy in order to gain a deeper understanding of the social organisation of Muslims during colonial India. –Reproduced <br/><br/>https://www.epw.in/journal/2024/33/special-articles/towards-history-non-ashraf-muslims.html<br/>