Doctorate in Cultural and Social Anthropology from Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. Phone: 03363589481 Address: Department of Anthropology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad
This study analyses the ways Dalit activists contest and (re)construct social identities to gain ... more This study analyses the ways Dalit activists contest and (re)construct social identities to gain self-respect and political representation in Sindh, Pakistan. The study spans over four years of episodical field work consisting of 16 months from September 2015 to August 2017, and from October 2018 to January 2019, in villages and towns in Sindh province of Pakistan, particularly Mirpurkhas and Hyderabad divisions, where Dalit activists had some public visibility. To explore contestation between the opponents and the supporters of the ‘Dalit’ and ‘Scheduled Castes’ identity markers, the researcher became one of the core members of Dalit Sujaag Tehreek (DST), a group of anti-caste activists. DST opened up outlets to interact with several Dalit and anti-caste activists that were members of different social and political groups. Most of the Dalit activists belonged to Kolhi, Bheel and Meghwar castes, which are the demographic majority in lower Sindh. The ethnographic insights are supplemented with an analysis of vernacular literature and official documents. Looking from the Ambedkarian perspective, the study revealed the arbitrariness of identity markers. The arbitrary identities were adopted by Dalit activists in the discursive spaces where Ashrafia-Savarna hegemony persists in its various forms. Instead of diluting casteism, Political Sufism glossed over caste-frictions under the performative and the rhetorical Sufi-Muslim binaries whereby Sufi was accommodative of Hindus, but a Muslim was not. Similarly, the Ashrafia denial of casteism set the epistemic barrier not to problematize caste thereby discouraging to entertain Dalit issue. The denial thrived on performative assumption that there is no concept of caste discrimination among Muslims. These normatively hegemonic assumptions choked Dalit agency to problematize caste-based discrimination and to formulate their political demands. Though Dalit activists assert to (re)construct their identities and history to achieve caste-parity and gain self-respect, it does not wholly work as desired and often prove rather counterproductive turning Dalits into loyal subordinates of Savarna-Ashrafia political elite. Their reluctance to confront the Ashrafia elite as compared to Savarna (Hindu) elite (of the Vaniya/Lohana, Thakur and Brahmin castes) reflected the limits of their assertion in the Muslim dominated polity and the hegemonic influence of Ashrafia narrative that was constraining them to Ashrafize. Despite the appropriability of Dalit spaces, identities and issues, the possibility of counterhegemonic Dalit assertions was not completely foreclosed. There did exist a minimal epistemic and discursive space for Dalit assertions at the margins of civil society though. The impact of that discursive space became evident during the 6th population census held in 2017. The campaign launched by Dalit activists to mark the Scheduled Caste category instead of ‘Hindu’ paid dividends. The census results reflected an unprecedented demographic shift, and affirmed the viability of doing Dalit politics in Pakistan. Dalit activists could experiment with identity (re)construction in ways that could enable them to gain the desired self-respect. They could add to their subaltern consciousness of being oppressed majority (as against the Hindu minority). This assertion as the oppressed class was immanent from their attempts to invert religious binaries by asserting Scheduled Castes, Dalit and Darāwaṛ identity markers. It was also evident from their attempts to reframe their caste-based, ethnic, regional and national identity markers. The study, thus, concludes that identity assertions were infusing in Dalits a much-needed optimism and giving them the sense of direction to make social forums inclusive of all Dalit castes so that they could legitimize claims of representation in proportion to their demographic strength and subalternity.
This paper is an attempt to establish epistemological validity of Dalitbahujan perspective (DBP) ... more This paper is an attempt to establish epistemological validity of Dalitbahujan perspective (DBP) in academia and argue for its use as an analytical perspective specifically in the context of South Asia, or wherever in the world similar caste-based or descent-based intersected hierarchies exist. I discuss the counter-hegemonic claims of Dalitbahujan scholar with Pakistan as a region in the foreground and forethought. Dalitbahujan critique is mounted against Brahmanism or ‘upper caste-class’ order and Western articulations of South Asian societies. It is contended that the Western hegemonic epistemes construct academic field in South Asia and determine which sociological and ideological concepts are of universal value applicable or translatable globally. Dalitbahujan scholars argue that universalization understood as premised on Western approaches as a necessary criterion to qualify or appreciate Dalit oppression does not exhaust the empirical reality of South Asia. Since my empirical theme of doctoral research was caste politics and Dalit assertions (in Pakistan), I have specifically elaborated upon the concepts of caste based identity politics and ‘Dalit assertions’. I discuss intellectual and political Dalit assertions’ limitations as well as generative capacity to mount the critique of neoliberal democracy, nationalism, secularism, communalism and the internal colonization, and in process, furnish necessary tools to analyze the problem of caste, Dalit oppression and assertions.
Key words: Dalitbahujan Perspective, Dalit assertions
Probably the first comprehensive political statement for Dalit rights in Pakistan framed in the v... more Probably the first comprehensive political statement for Dalit rights in Pakistan framed in the vocabulary of Dalitism was given in 2007 by Surendar Valasai, who is now the Media Cell Incharge, Bilawal House of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). Although Dalit activists have been agitating and struggling in Pakistan since last 30 years, their articulation of Dalit issues remained confused and limited to social activism. Surendar Valasai was the one, along with Dr. Khatumal Jeewan (another PPP leader) who brought Dalitism on the macro political scene. Dalit leadership of PPP is the typical example of how the Dalit case can be projected within a political party; a party which has become the symbol of waderaism, landlordism and the upper caste hegemony. When any issue related to minority rights, human rights or Hindus is raised, these Dalit leaders try their best to argue essentially for Dalit rights despite all political compromises in a political milieu which is nothing but a political system based on caste democracy.
This study is based on an ethnography of Kolhi peasant community of Lār (lower Sindh) followed by... more This study is based on an ethnography of Kolhi peasant community of Lār (lower Sindh) followed by extensive ethnological account of the history, origin and identity reconstruction efforts of Kolhi-Dalit community. This study is to explain, ‘how Kolhi-Dalit peasant identities are being transformed under the impact of social forces, such as Kolhi peasant activists, NGOs, leftist and Marxist activists, civil society activists, and under the influence of mass media and social media networks? The prime focus of this study is the identification of the ‘processes of socio-political change that are involved in the transformation of Kolhi-Dalit ethnic peasant identities.
Major Findings of the research are that the dependence of almost entire Kolhi community on sharecropping as landless peasants under debt bondage of landlords in barrage-area of south-eastern lower Sindh has been so overwhelming that it is difficult to conceive of their ethnic marginality independent of peasant related issues. In recent past, since 2006, peasants in the barrage area of lower Sindh, particularly sharecroppers and peasant activists of Kolhi community of Dumbālo, have been highly dynamic. Kolhi peasant activism is not just for land reforms, or against debt bondage, it is also the struggle for ethnic and communal rights and equal social status for the marginalized Dalit communities of lower Sindh. The phenomenal multiplicity of Kolhi ethnic maneuverability can be evidenced from their participation in political protests and rallies for their ethnic and peasant rights. Kolhi community has become conscious of the relationship between ethnic discrimination, landlessness, debt bondage and economic exploitation, the evidence of which can be had from the emerging trend to establish community-initiated self-funded Kolhi colonies at Naon Dumbālo, District Badin Sindh.
Kolhi peasant activism provides a unique opportunity to understand peasant activism from the perspective of the sharecroppers of lower caste, the ethnically discriminated and marginalized minority community. Systematic effort has been made to look for ideological and political space for Kolhi-Dalit peasant-village community to coexist peacefully with other ethnic identities at local, provincial, national and international levels. Ethnically motivated Peasants’ willingness or reluctance to accommodate with the dominant discourses at national level and capacity of Civil Society Organizations to transform ethnic-peasant identities has been assessed in relation to one another. In final chapter, to ensure ‘environmental justice and to empower ethnic peasant communities establishment of ‘communal councils’ and peasant communities has been suggested to policy makers and to activists. To build the nation of Pakistan on more inclusive grounds, it has been suggested to approach socio-political issues at community level, and strive politically to empower local communities so that they could initiate and implement their self-planned projects in a manner that may suit their purpose best.
This research paper focuses on the life experiences of sharecroppers, of Sindh Rice Belt in Pakis... more This research paper focuses on the life experiences of sharecroppers, of Sindh Rice Belt in Pakistan. The purpose of this paper is to grasp the subjective meaning of sharecropper’s experiences associated or related to the unpaid labour (Begar), and to assess the prevalence of Begar as a kind of social and economic exploitative arrangement. Sharecroppers are approached in this research as active agents capable of shaping and transforming their identities and power relations. “Field Theory” of Bourdieu and the James C Scott’s notions of ‘safety first’ and ‘risk aversion’ have been applied to understand multiple aspects of unpaid labour (Begar). It was found that Begar is not a major form of exploitation, as usually depicted. Wage-less work is not imposed by the landlord. Contrary to that, it is explicitly negotiated by the harecropper. Begar, is a two way dualistic process in which both landlord and sharecropper cooperate and reciprocate for different reasons, to seek multiple concess...
This article will look into the ways ideological and political clashes are negotiated by peasant ... more This article will look into the ways ideological and political clashes are negotiated by peasant activists in Sindh, in relation to the existing and possible local peasantivist trends towards creating a space for themselves through trans-local and transnational networking. Effort has been made to trace the formation of peasantivist agendas and strategies in Sindh, the nature of networking and forming peasantivist-ethnic alliances. The tendency of feudal and capitalist elements to bring about capital-intensive 'agrarian reform' instead of pro-peasant 'land reforms', has been critiqued in the light of post-developmental notion of 'agrarian citizenship'. It was found that peasant activists in Sindh have yet to devise their own contextually compatible plan of the level and strength that could penetrate the feudal regime and break it from within to create space for the marginalized. Peasant activists of Sindh are hereby suggested to remain informed about the theor...
The Sindhi nationalist historiography is a classic case of how to read
historical, archaeological... more The Sindhi nationalist historiography is a classic case of how to read historical, archaeological, and political texts of importance to justify the present-day modernist ideologies premised on excluding marginalized sections of society. This essay interrogates the Sindhi nationalist literati elite’s epistemic neglect of the underprivileged caste’s lifeworld. That disregard reflects in their literary and political writings that arguably rely on the British Orientalist historiography to construct the myth of casteneutral and egalitarian culture of Sufi Sindh. It traces the historicisation of the claim of Hindu–Muslim interfaith harmony, and its persistence in the post-Partition Sindh. Based on the content analysis of progressive literature and the historiography of progressive politics in Sindh, it is concluded that owing to the casteist social structural barriers the privileged caste elite at the vanguard of progressive nationalist politics was blinded by their own privileged position to justly address the caste question. That inherent blindness to see through the problem of caste is the reason that progressives' emancipatory projects to redefine the past and myths end in failure.
Pakistan is often discussed at domestic and international forums in the context of its treatment ... more Pakistan is often discussed at domestic and international forums in the context of its treatment of the religious minorities and more particularly the alleged forced religious conversions to Islam. This paper is in continuation of a recent report by the author that discussed the narrative of systematic and organized forced religious conversions in Pakistan to show that it is not supported by any data or verifiable evidence. The paper presents preliminary results of the fieldwork that collected data from the province of Sindh in Pakistan. The data gathered comprises audio-visual interviews from a cross-section of the society, official documents, and data of converts. While the study could not find cases of forced conversion, it notes that the force is used against the neo-converts through various means. It identifies 13 push and pull factors that contribute to religious conversions in the context of the area of this study. It also looks into the widespread perception of only women be...
This paper is an attempt to explicate the emancipatory limits of a historical figure in a caste s... more This paper is an attempt to explicate the emancipatory limits of a historical figure in a caste society. As a case study, it offers a critical analysis of a metaphor of Shah Abdul Latif, the eighteenth-century poet who inherited enormous caste capital as a Sayed and custodian of a Sufi shrine. The poetry and life history of Shah Latif are often invoked by Sindhi nationalists to pose an ontological challenge to the narrative of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Situating Latif in the South Asian political context, this paper offers a historiographical analysis of the vernacular literature on the projection of Latif as the prime symbol of emancipation for the Sindhi nation. It contends that Latif, as we know him today, is an anachronistic construct that was initially inspired by the Orientalist motive, and later used by privileged caste Hindus and Ashrafiya morality to feed the performative Sindhi nationalist agenda.
Pakistan is often discussed at domestic and international forums in the context of its treatment ... more Pakistan is often discussed at domestic and international forums in the context of its treatment of the religious minorities and more particularly the alleged forced religious conversions to Islam. This paper is in continuation of a recent report by the author that discussed the narrative of systematic and organized forced religious conversions in Pakistan to show that it is not supported by any data or verifiable evidence. The paper presents preliminary results of the fieldwork that collected data from the province of Sindh in Pakistan. The data gathered comprises audio-visual interviews from a cross-section of the society, official documents, and data of converts. While the study could not find cases of forced conversion, it notes that the force is used against the neo-converts through various means. It identifies 13 push and pull factors that contribute to religious conversions in the context of the area of this study. It also looks into the widespread perception of only women being converted, or the age of converted individuals generally being below 18 years.
Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), Islamabad is currently conducting a groundbreaking study on th... more Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), Islamabad is currently conducting a groundbreaking study on the issue of faith conversions in the Sindh province of Pakistan where conversion to Islam is frequently portrayed as forced. Several reports from various civil society organizations allege that around 1000 under-aged girls are abducted and forced to convert to Islam annually; most of them in Sindh and from Hindu families. The IPS investigation into this serious allegation started with the review of current literature on the subject which showed that this allegation is only rhetorical, without any scientifically collected data, or plausible basis. The whole narrative against Pakistani state, society, and Islam was developed through tautological argument in which one report would cite another to seek legitimacy. It was also found that for several NGOs, the alleged cases of forced conversion as reported in media constitute a primary and conclusive evidence which is tantamount to intellectual dishonesty, to say the least. They misrepresent the incidents, hide facts, misinterpret the phenomenon and avoid taking into account the social norms of the Pakistani society. They also do not refer to Muslim laws related to matrimonial affairs while making their case. The IPS baseline report “Forced Conversions or Faith Conversions: Myth and Reality” presents the textual and contextual analysis of the allegations of forced conversion. The report is available in English and Urdu. The ethnographic evidence based on ten years of episodical field work, audio-visual interviews with a cross-section of Sindhi society and statistical analysis of the data indicates that there is hardly any evidence of the alleged forced conversions in Sindh. Although the research explored several propositions, the key hypothesis was to investigate whether non-Muslim girls below the age of 18 are forcibly converted to Islam. During the course of research, this data has been presented at various national as well as international forums including Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University, USA, Islamabad Bar Council, and Shaybani Foundation.
This article examines the poetry of Shah Abdul Latif for its casteist and patriarchal drift. In p... more This article examines the poetry of Shah Abdul Latif for its casteist and patriarchal drift. In particular, it focuses on the 'Dalit question' and the interpretation of Latif's poetry by both progressive and conservative sections of Sindhi society. Latif's poetry is highly lyrical, and several of his works inspire love for a transcendental being immanent in nature and in people. Yet much of Latiff's poetry and his biography suggest that Latif was not as progressive and egalitarian as he is often represented to be. Metaphors of caste, gender and religion have materiality. They do not simply invoke esoteric mystical feelings but also furnish justifications in everyday life for persisting with entrenched casteist and patriarchal values. Observing the easy appropriation of Latif's poetry by different sections of Sindhi society, I conclude that it provides a social and political idiom that depolitici ¶ zes casteism and lacks the capacity to inspire Dalit consciousness.
This paper attempts the historiographical analysis of the caste as it reflects in Sindhi progress... more This paper attempts the historiographical analysis of the caste as it reflects in Sindhi progressive literature and rural politics. In an attempt to reframe the harmonious image of Sindhi society, the Progressives popularised certain slogans, phrases and historical events as the metaphors of the nationalist and class struggle. Tracing from the early Partition phase (the 1940s), this paper interrogates the progressive’s orientalist literary trajectory that reframes caste metaphors and constructs the Sindhi nationalist narrative. It is contended that the reframing of some key historical events of Dalits and peasants seem uncritical and apologetic of caste friction, create an illusion of neutrality and at times even sanction casteism as a functional aspect of Sindhi society. The ‘progressive’ literature condones caste hierarchies and flattens the question of caste adding to the pre-existing hegemonic relations between the historically dominant and the subordinated caste groups. This diminishes the possibility of deploying the framework of caste-as-class for understanding caste, organising Dalits reckoning their agency as it may shape their immanent narratives and subverting caste hierarchies.
This paper is an attempt to understand the appropriation of spaces of Dalits by Sindhi progressiv... more This paper is an attempt to understand the appropriation of spaces of Dalits by Sindhi progressive activists and short story writers in Pakistan as they construct, or rather undermine, caste at the anvil of religion and gender to reframe their own theo-political agenda premised on political Sufism or Sufi nationalism. I specifically discuss the narratives emergent of the three popular short stories that are reframed as having exceptional emancipatory potential for the Dalits. Assessing the emancipatory limits of the Sindhi progressive narrative, I argue that while the short stories purport to give fuller expression to religious, gender-based, and class dimensions of the problem, it elides the problem of casteism and the subsequent existential demand of Dalit emancipation. Given the hegemonic influence of local Ashrafia class, the internal caste frictions are glossed over through political Sufism or Sindhi nationalism. This gloss of politicized Sufism hampers Dalit agency and rather facilitates the appropriation of Dalit spaces by the Ashrafia class. This leads to the conclusion that the seemingly progressive literary-political narratives framed in theo-political idiom may offer to the oppressed no more than token sympathy, compassion, self-pity, and false pride in legends. Instead, they allow the appropriation of spaces and events of the oppressed, and the objectification of oppressed bodies by the oppressor.
This paper is an attempt to investigate the discursive bases of the categorical and identity-base... more This paper is an attempt to investigate the discursive bases of the categorical and identity-based choices available to the Dalits under the Ashrafia hegemony, and the resultant denial of Dalitness prevalent among the Dalits and the Sindhi civil society in Pakistan. Informed by the Ambedkarian (subaltern) perspective, I analyse the conversational interviews conducted with the Dalit activists (mostly Scheduled Castes), and with their Ashrafia class counterparts. Interrogating the superior status of Sayed caste(s), I contend that the the denial of casteism, opposition to the use of ‘Dalit’ identity marker and the negation of Dalitness seemed to have as much to do with the belief in Ashrafia values as it had with the normative sanction of the Savarna values.Both the Savarna and the Ashrafia values seemed to seek legitimacy from the dominant ethnocentric forms of the politicized Sufism. Political Sufism merges the Savarna and Ashrafia norms by means of the syncretic narrative based on interfaith harmony and the civilisational rhetoric. Ashrafisation (also Savarnisation) and the reverence towards Sayeds were the key self-perpetuating hegemonic processes underlying the attempts by the Dalits and the civil society activists to dissipate cognitive dissonance underlying the existing Dalitness and the Ashrafia hegemony. I, therefore, conclude that the practices and the narratives prevalent in Sindhi civil society undermined the Dalit agency to come up with their own counter-hegemonic and emancipatory narrative(s).
This paper is an attempt to investigate the historical trajectory of Ashrafia hegemony in Sindh, ... more This paper is an attempt to investigate the historical trajectory of Ashrafia hegemony in Sindh, the province of Pakistan. I begin with the analysis of biopolitics of caste, class and religion organised around Hindu–Muslim binarism and unity as it unfolded during and after the partition of the Indian subcontinent. I particularly analyse the demographic shifts, the official categorisation of populations, and the communal and ethnonationalist claims that led to the specific kind of interpretation of religion, caste and class. Informed by the Ambedkarian subaltern perspective and based on the analysis of ethnographic data and vernacular literature, I explain that nationalist ideologies framed in the narratives of political Islam and Sufism tend to organise politics around Hindu–Muslim otherness, as in case of Pakistani nationalism, and Hindu–Muslim harmony, as in case of Sindhi nationalism. Based on that understanding, I argue that Ashrafia advantage, by and large, is the product of pre-existing historical hegemonic relations than any conscious strategy, and or directly imposed domination. Since both the Ashrafia narratives primarily imagine people through religious binaries, they lack the counter-hegemonic elements that could confront casteism that lies at the intersection of class and religion. None of the narratives, being performative projections of the ideal religious society, brought casteism in their focus while dealing with the structural inequalities, social hierarchies and the issues of political representation of the Dalit class. It resulted in the unwarranted legitimacy for Ashrafia hegemony, Jati Hindu domination and Dalit subordination. This re-hierarchised caste groups and continue to (re)distribute the caste capital by (re)producing Sayedism, Dalit exclusion and caste-class oligarchies.
Keywords Sayedism, Dalit exclusion, hegemony, Ashrafia, biopolitics, political Sufism, political Islam
This study analyses the ways Dalit activists contest and (re)construct social identities to gain ... more This study analyses the ways Dalit activists contest and (re)construct social identities to gain self-respect and political representation in Sindh, Pakistan. The study spans over four years of episodical field work consisting of 16 months from September 2015 to August 2017, and from October 2018 to January 2019, in villages and towns in Sindh province of Pakistan, particularly Mirpurkhas and Hyderabad divisions, where Dalit activists had some public visibility. To explore contestation between the opponents and the supporters of the ‘Dalit’ and ‘Scheduled Castes’ identity markers, the researcher became one of the core members of Dalit Sujaag Tehreek (DST), a group of anti-caste activists. DST opened up outlets to interact with several Dalit and anti-caste activists that were members of different social and political groups. Most of the Dalit activists belonged to Kolhi, Bheel and Meghwar castes, which are the demographic majority in lower Sindh. The ethnographic insights are supplemented with an analysis of vernacular literature and official documents. Looking from the Ambedkarian perspective, the study revealed the arbitrariness of identity markers. The arbitrary identities were adopted by Dalit activists in the discursive spaces where Ashrafia-Savarna hegemony persists in its various forms. Instead of diluting casteism, Political Sufism glossed over caste-frictions under the performative and the rhetorical Sufi-Muslim binaries whereby Sufi was accommodative of Hindus, but a Muslim was not. Similarly, the Ashrafia denial of casteism set the epistemic barrier not to problematize caste thereby discouraging to entertain Dalit issue. The denial thrived on performative assumption that there is no concept of caste discrimination among Muslims. These normatively hegemonic assumptions choked Dalit agency to problematize caste-based discrimination and to formulate their political demands. Though Dalit activists assert to (re)construct their identities and history to achieve caste-parity and gain self-respect, it does not wholly work as desired and often prove rather counterproductive turning Dalits into loyal subordinates of Savarna-Ashrafia political elite. Their reluctance to confront the Ashrafia elite as compared to Savarna (Hindu) elite (of the Vaniya/Lohana, Thakur and Brahmin castes) reflected the limits of their assertion in the Muslim dominated polity and the hegemonic influence of Ashrafia narrative that was constraining them to Ashrafize. Despite the appropriability of Dalit spaces, identities and issues, the possibility of counterhegemonic Dalit assertions was not completely foreclosed. There did exist a minimal epistemic and discursive space for Dalit assertions at the margins of civil society though. The impact of that discursive space became evident during the 6th population census held in 2017. The campaign launched by Dalit activists to mark the Scheduled Caste category instead of ‘Hindu’ paid dividends. The census results reflected an unprecedented demographic shift, and affirmed the viability of doing Dalit politics in Pakistan. Dalit activists could experiment with identity (re)construction in ways that could enable them to gain the desired self-respect. They could add to their subaltern consciousness of being oppressed majority (as against the Hindu minority). This assertion as the oppressed class was immanent from their attempts to invert religious binaries by asserting Scheduled Castes, Dalit and Darāwaṛ identity markers. It was also evident from their attempts to reframe their caste-based, ethnic, regional and national identity markers. The study, thus, concludes that identity assertions were infusing in Dalits a much-needed optimism and giving them the sense of direction to make social forums inclusive of all Dalit castes so that they could legitimize claims of representation in proportion to their demographic strength and subalternity.
This paper is an attempt to establish epistemological validity of Dalitbahujan perspective (DBP) ... more This paper is an attempt to establish epistemological validity of Dalitbahujan perspective (DBP) in academia and argue for its use as an analytical perspective specifically in the context of South Asia, or wherever in the world similar caste-based or descent-based intersected hierarchies exist. I discuss the counter-hegemonic claims of Dalitbahujan scholar with Pakistan as a region in the foreground and forethought. Dalitbahujan critique is mounted against Brahmanism or ‘upper caste-class’ order and Western articulations of South Asian societies. It is contended that the Western hegemonic epistemes construct academic field in South Asia and determine which sociological and ideological concepts are of universal value applicable or translatable globally. Dalitbahujan scholars argue that universalization understood as premised on Western approaches as a necessary criterion to qualify or appreciate Dalit oppression does not exhaust the empirical reality of South Asia. Since my empirical theme of doctoral research was caste politics and Dalit assertions (in Pakistan), I have specifically elaborated upon the concepts of caste based identity politics and ‘Dalit assertions’. I discuss intellectual and political Dalit assertions’ limitations as well as generative capacity to mount the critique of neoliberal democracy, nationalism, secularism, communalism and the internal colonization, and in process, furnish necessary tools to analyze the problem of caste, Dalit oppression and assertions.
Key words: Dalitbahujan Perspective, Dalit assertions
Probably the first comprehensive political statement for Dalit rights in Pakistan framed in the v... more Probably the first comprehensive political statement for Dalit rights in Pakistan framed in the vocabulary of Dalitism was given in 2007 by Surendar Valasai, who is now the Media Cell Incharge, Bilawal House of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). Although Dalit activists have been agitating and struggling in Pakistan since last 30 years, their articulation of Dalit issues remained confused and limited to social activism. Surendar Valasai was the one, along with Dr. Khatumal Jeewan (another PPP leader) who brought Dalitism on the macro political scene. Dalit leadership of PPP is the typical example of how the Dalit case can be projected within a political party; a party which has become the symbol of waderaism, landlordism and the upper caste hegemony. When any issue related to minority rights, human rights or Hindus is raised, these Dalit leaders try their best to argue essentially for Dalit rights despite all political compromises in a political milieu which is nothing but a political system based on caste democracy.
This study is based on an ethnography of Kolhi peasant community of Lār (lower Sindh) followed by... more This study is based on an ethnography of Kolhi peasant community of Lār (lower Sindh) followed by extensive ethnological account of the history, origin and identity reconstruction efforts of Kolhi-Dalit community. This study is to explain, ‘how Kolhi-Dalit peasant identities are being transformed under the impact of social forces, such as Kolhi peasant activists, NGOs, leftist and Marxist activists, civil society activists, and under the influence of mass media and social media networks? The prime focus of this study is the identification of the ‘processes of socio-political change that are involved in the transformation of Kolhi-Dalit ethnic peasant identities.
Major Findings of the research are that the dependence of almost entire Kolhi community on sharecropping as landless peasants under debt bondage of landlords in barrage-area of south-eastern lower Sindh has been so overwhelming that it is difficult to conceive of their ethnic marginality independent of peasant related issues. In recent past, since 2006, peasants in the barrage area of lower Sindh, particularly sharecroppers and peasant activists of Kolhi community of Dumbālo, have been highly dynamic. Kolhi peasant activism is not just for land reforms, or against debt bondage, it is also the struggle for ethnic and communal rights and equal social status for the marginalized Dalit communities of lower Sindh. The phenomenal multiplicity of Kolhi ethnic maneuverability can be evidenced from their participation in political protests and rallies for their ethnic and peasant rights. Kolhi community has become conscious of the relationship between ethnic discrimination, landlessness, debt bondage and economic exploitation, the evidence of which can be had from the emerging trend to establish community-initiated self-funded Kolhi colonies at Naon Dumbālo, District Badin Sindh.
Kolhi peasant activism provides a unique opportunity to understand peasant activism from the perspective of the sharecroppers of lower caste, the ethnically discriminated and marginalized minority community. Systematic effort has been made to look for ideological and political space for Kolhi-Dalit peasant-village community to coexist peacefully with other ethnic identities at local, provincial, national and international levels. Ethnically motivated Peasants’ willingness or reluctance to accommodate with the dominant discourses at national level and capacity of Civil Society Organizations to transform ethnic-peasant identities has been assessed in relation to one another. In final chapter, to ensure ‘environmental justice and to empower ethnic peasant communities establishment of ‘communal councils’ and peasant communities has been suggested to policy makers and to activists. To build the nation of Pakistan on more inclusive grounds, it has been suggested to approach socio-political issues at community level, and strive politically to empower local communities so that they could initiate and implement their self-planned projects in a manner that may suit their purpose best.
This research paper focuses on the life experiences of sharecroppers, of Sindh Rice Belt in Pakis... more This research paper focuses on the life experiences of sharecroppers, of Sindh Rice Belt in Pakistan. The purpose of this paper is to grasp the subjective meaning of sharecropper’s experiences associated or related to the unpaid labour (Begar), and to assess the prevalence of Begar as a kind of social and economic exploitative arrangement. Sharecroppers are approached in this research as active agents capable of shaping and transforming their identities and power relations. “Field Theory” of Bourdieu and the James C Scott’s notions of ‘safety first’ and ‘risk aversion’ have been applied to understand multiple aspects of unpaid labour (Begar). It was found that Begar is not a major form of exploitation, as usually depicted. Wage-less work is not imposed by the landlord. Contrary to that, it is explicitly negotiated by the harecropper. Begar, is a two way dualistic process in which both landlord and sharecropper cooperate and reciprocate for different reasons, to seek multiple concess...
This article will look into the ways ideological and political clashes are negotiated by peasant ... more This article will look into the ways ideological and political clashes are negotiated by peasant activists in Sindh, in relation to the existing and possible local peasantivist trends towards creating a space for themselves through trans-local and transnational networking. Effort has been made to trace the formation of peasantivist agendas and strategies in Sindh, the nature of networking and forming peasantivist-ethnic alliances. The tendency of feudal and capitalist elements to bring about capital-intensive 'agrarian reform' instead of pro-peasant 'land reforms', has been critiqued in the light of post-developmental notion of 'agrarian citizenship'. It was found that peasant activists in Sindh have yet to devise their own contextually compatible plan of the level and strength that could penetrate the feudal regime and break it from within to create space for the marginalized. Peasant activists of Sindh are hereby suggested to remain informed about the theor...
The Sindhi nationalist historiography is a classic case of how to read
historical, archaeological... more The Sindhi nationalist historiography is a classic case of how to read historical, archaeological, and political texts of importance to justify the present-day modernist ideologies premised on excluding marginalized sections of society. This essay interrogates the Sindhi nationalist literati elite’s epistemic neglect of the underprivileged caste’s lifeworld. That disregard reflects in their literary and political writings that arguably rely on the British Orientalist historiography to construct the myth of casteneutral and egalitarian culture of Sufi Sindh. It traces the historicisation of the claim of Hindu–Muslim interfaith harmony, and its persistence in the post-Partition Sindh. Based on the content analysis of progressive literature and the historiography of progressive politics in Sindh, it is concluded that owing to the casteist social structural barriers the privileged caste elite at the vanguard of progressive nationalist politics was blinded by their own privileged position to justly address the caste question. That inherent blindness to see through the problem of caste is the reason that progressives' emancipatory projects to redefine the past and myths end in failure.
Pakistan is often discussed at domestic and international forums in the context of its treatment ... more Pakistan is often discussed at domestic and international forums in the context of its treatment of the religious minorities and more particularly the alleged forced religious conversions to Islam. This paper is in continuation of a recent report by the author that discussed the narrative of systematic and organized forced religious conversions in Pakistan to show that it is not supported by any data or verifiable evidence. The paper presents preliminary results of the fieldwork that collected data from the province of Sindh in Pakistan. The data gathered comprises audio-visual interviews from a cross-section of the society, official documents, and data of converts. While the study could not find cases of forced conversion, it notes that the force is used against the neo-converts through various means. It identifies 13 push and pull factors that contribute to religious conversions in the context of the area of this study. It also looks into the widespread perception of only women be...
This paper is an attempt to explicate the emancipatory limits of a historical figure in a caste s... more This paper is an attempt to explicate the emancipatory limits of a historical figure in a caste society. As a case study, it offers a critical analysis of a metaphor of Shah Abdul Latif, the eighteenth-century poet who inherited enormous caste capital as a Sayed and custodian of a Sufi shrine. The poetry and life history of Shah Latif are often invoked by Sindhi nationalists to pose an ontological challenge to the narrative of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Situating Latif in the South Asian political context, this paper offers a historiographical analysis of the vernacular literature on the projection of Latif as the prime symbol of emancipation for the Sindhi nation. It contends that Latif, as we know him today, is an anachronistic construct that was initially inspired by the Orientalist motive, and later used by privileged caste Hindus and Ashrafiya morality to feed the performative Sindhi nationalist agenda.
Pakistan is often discussed at domestic and international forums in the context of its treatment ... more Pakistan is often discussed at domestic and international forums in the context of its treatment of the religious minorities and more particularly the alleged forced religious conversions to Islam. This paper is in continuation of a recent report by the author that discussed the narrative of systematic and organized forced religious conversions in Pakistan to show that it is not supported by any data or verifiable evidence. The paper presents preliminary results of the fieldwork that collected data from the province of Sindh in Pakistan. The data gathered comprises audio-visual interviews from a cross-section of the society, official documents, and data of converts. While the study could not find cases of forced conversion, it notes that the force is used against the neo-converts through various means. It identifies 13 push and pull factors that contribute to religious conversions in the context of the area of this study. It also looks into the widespread perception of only women being converted, or the age of converted individuals generally being below 18 years.
Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), Islamabad is currently conducting a groundbreaking study on th... more Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), Islamabad is currently conducting a groundbreaking study on the issue of faith conversions in the Sindh province of Pakistan where conversion to Islam is frequently portrayed as forced. Several reports from various civil society organizations allege that around 1000 under-aged girls are abducted and forced to convert to Islam annually; most of them in Sindh and from Hindu families. The IPS investigation into this serious allegation started with the review of current literature on the subject which showed that this allegation is only rhetorical, without any scientifically collected data, or plausible basis. The whole narrative against Pakistani state, society, and Islam was developed through tautological argument in which one report would cite another to seek legitimacy. It was also found that for several NGOs, the alleged cases of forced conversion as reported in media constitute a primary and conclusive evidence which is tantamount to intellectual dishonesty, to say the least. They misrepresent the incidents, hide facts, misinterpret the phenomenon and avoid taking into account the social norms of the Pakistani society. They also do not refer to Muslim laws related to matrimonial affairs while making their case. The IPS baseline report “Forced Conversions or Faith Conversions: Myth and Reality” presents the textual and contextual analysis of the allegations of forced conversion. The report is available in English and Urdu. The ethnographic evidence based on ten years of episodical field work, audio-visual interviews with a cross-section of Sindhi society and statistical analysis of the data indicates that there is hardly any evidence of the alleged forced conversions in Sindh. Although the research explored several propositions, the key hypothesis was to investigate whether non-Muslim girls below the age of 18 are forcibly converted to Islam. During the course of research, this data has been presented at various national as well as international forums including Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University, USA, Islamabad Bar Council, and Shaybani Foundation.
This article examines the poetry of Shah Abdul Latif for its casteist and patriarchal drift. In p... more This article examines the poetry of Shah Abdul Latif for its casteist and patriarchal drift. In particular, it focuses on the 'Dalit question' and the interpretation of Latif's poetry by both progressive and conservative sections of Sindhi society. Latif's poetry is highly lyrical, and several of his works inspire love for a transcendental being immanent in nature and in people. Yet much of Latiff's poetry and his biography suggest that Latif was not as progressive and egalitarian as he is often represented to be. Metaphors of caste, gender and religion have materiality. They do not simply invoke esoteric mystical feelings but also furnish justifications in everyday life for persisting with entrenched casteist and patriarchal values. Observing the easy appropriation of Latif's poetry by different sections of Sindhi society, I conclude that it provides a social and political idiom that depolitici ¶ zes casteism and lacks the capacity to inspire Dalit consciousness.
This paper attempts the historiographical analysis of the caste as it reflects in Sindhi progress... more This paper attempts the historiographical analysis of the caste as it reflects in Sindhi progressive literature and rural politics. In an attempt to reframe the harmonious image of Sindhi society, the Progressives popularised certain slogans, phrases and historical events as the metaphors of the nationalist and class struggle. Tracing from the early Partition phase (the 1940s), this paper interrogates the progressive’s orientalist literary trajectory that reframes caste metaphors and constructs the Sindhi nationalist narrative. It is contended that the reframing of some key historical events of Dalits and peasants seem uncritical and apologetic of caste friction, create an illusion of neutrality and at times even sanction casteism as a functional aspect of Sindhi society. The ‘progressive’ literature condones caste hierarchies and flattens the question of caste adding to the pre-existing hegemonic relations between the historically dominant and the subordinated caste groups. This diminishes the possibility of deploying the framework of caste-as-class for understanding caste, organising Dalits reckoning their agency as it may shape their immanent narratives and subverting caste hierarchies.
This paper is an attempt to understand the appropriation of spaces of Dalits by Sindhi progressiv... more This paper is an attempt to understand the appropriation of spaces of Dalits by Sindhi progressive activists and short story writers in Pakistan as they construct, or rather undermine, caste at the anvil of religion and gender to reframe their own theo-political agenda premised on political Sufism or Sufi nationalism. I specifically discuss the narratives emergent of the three popular short stories that are reframed as having exceptional emancipatory potential for the Dalits. Assessing the emancipatory limits of the Sindhi progressive narrative, I argue that while the short stories purport to give fuller expression to religious, gender-based, and class dimensions of the problem, it elides the problem of casteism and the subsequent existential demand of Dalit emancipation. Given the hegemonic influence of local Ashrafia class, the internal caste frictions are glossed over through political Sufism or Sindhi nationalism. This gloss of politicized Sufism hampers Dalit agency and rather facilitates the appropriation of Dalit spaces by the Ashrafia class. This leads to the conclusion that the seemingly progressive literary-political narratives framed in theo-political idiom may offer to the oppressed no more than token sympathy, compassion, self-pity, and false pride in legends. Instead, they allow the appropriation of spaces and events of the oppressed, and the objectification of oppressed bodies by the oppressor.
This paper is an attempt to investigate the discursive bases of the categorical and identity-base... more This paper is an attempt to investigate the discursive bases of the categorical and identity-based choices available to the Dalits under the Ashrafia hegemony, and the resultant denial of Dalitness prevalent among the Dalits and the Sindhi civil society in Pakistan. Informed by the Ambedkarian (subaltern) perspective, I analyse the conversational interviews conducted with the Dalit activists (mostly Scheduled Castes), and with their Ashrafia class counterparts. Interrogating the superior status of Sayed caste(s), I contend that the the denial of casteism, opposition to the use of ‘Dalit’ identity marker and the negation of Dalitness seemed to have as much to do with the belief in Ashrafia values as it had with the normative sanction of the Savarna values.Both the Savarna and the Ashrafia values seemed to seek legitimacy from the dominant ethnocentric forms of the politicized Sufism. Political Sufism merges the Savarna and Ashrafia norms by means of the syncretic narrative based on interfaith harmony and the civilisational rhetoric. Ashrafisation (also Savarnisation) and the reverence towards Sayeds were the key self-perpetuating hegemonic processes underlying the attempts by the Dalits and the civil society activists to dissipate cognitive dissonance underlying the existing Dalitness and the Ashrafia hegemony. I, therefore, conclude that the practices and the narratives prevalent in Sindhi civil society undermined the Dalit agency to come up with their own counter-hegemonic and emancipatory narrative(s).
This paper is an attempt to investigate the historical trajectory of Ashrafia hegemony in Sindh, ... more This paper is an attempt to investigate the historical trajectory of Ashrafia hegemony in Sindh, the province of Pakistan. I begin with the analysis of biopolitics of caste, class and religion organised around Hindu–Muslim binarism and unity as it unfolded during and after the partition of the Indian subcontinent. I particularly analyse the demographic shifts, the official categorisation of populations, and the communal and ethnonationalist claims that led to the specific kind of interpretation of religion, caste and class. Informed by the Ambedkarian subaltern perspective and based on the analysis of ethnographic data and vernacular literature, I explain that nationalist ideologies framed in the narratives of political Islam and Sufism tend to organise politics around Hindu–Muslim otherness, as in case of Pakistani nationalism, and Hindu–Muslim harmony, as in case of Sindhi nationalism. Based on that understanding, I argue that Ashrafia advantage, by and large, is the product of pre-existing historical hegemonic relations than any conscious strategy, and or directly imposed domination. Since both the Ashrafia narratives primarily imagine people through religious binaries, they lack the counter-hegemonic elements that could confront casteism that lies at the intersection of class and religion. None of the narratives, being performative projections of the ideal religious society, brought casteism in their focus while dealing with the structural inequalities, social hierarchies and the issues of political representation of the Dalit class. It resulted in the unwarranted legitimacy for Ashrafia hegemony, Jati Hindu domination and Dalit subordination. This re-hierarchised caste groups and continue to (re)distribute the caste capital by (re)producing Sayedism, Dalit exclusion and caste-class oligarchies.
Keywords Sayedism, Dalit exclusion, hegemony, Ashrafia, biopolitics, political Sufism, political Islam
This paper is a theoretical attempt to resolve the dilemma of how a researcher
belonging to a pri... more This paper is a theoretical attempt to resolve the dilemma of how a researcher belonging to a privileged class, caste or community can engage herself with Dalit activists. I have attempted to explain and suggest how ‘upper caste’ researchers can morally and ethically position themselves while producing an empirical knowledge on\for\with the subaltern or Dalit to legitimately contribute to their struggles of emancipation. I follow certain rules set up by Dalit scholars and Dalitbahujan activists, regarding ‘upper caste’ intervention to critically engage with Dalitbahujan activists without subverting or hegemonizing their struggles. With that Dalitbahujan understanding in foreground, I argue that since caste is a trans-Dalit issue affecting the whole society, it is necessary to allow and engage ‘upper caste’ researcher to produce coordinated and cooperative knowledge in a given shared space that will ensure not only inclusiveness of all the oppressed, but also problematize caste in its entirety.
Ganpat Rai Bheel In district Badin, a corpse of a young Bheel was exhumed out of the grave and th... more Ganpat Rai Bheel In district Badin, a corpse of a young Bheel was exhumed out of the grave and thrown in the open. Sahib-i-Iman (true believers of Islam) performed that inhuman act with the religious fervor of utmost sanctity. On the pages of daily Sindh Express, that photo and report were published with some detail. It can be said that this picture truly depicts the existing status of 'secular and Sufi' Sindh, and warrants a Dalit a 'death certificate' too. This is the status of Adivasi folks of Sindh who are not only living stranded nomadic existence for centuries but they are living that life in the grave as well. This land of Sindh is no more of the land of those Dravidian, of Dalits, whose dead bodies it throws out of its embrace. The invaders, the outsiders spiritually rule over Sindh, and the elegant tombs are raised in their honor, whereas the indigenous owners of that land, are disgraced all their lives, and when they die, they are not even given space in their own land. This incidence was not the act of any lone maniac, but it was the reflection of the whole society, its attitude towards Dalits. This is the bitter truth that when the Dalit of Dravidian origin is ostracized and humiliated all his life and is not even allowed to rest in peace after death.
Religion or the lack of it did not and does not seem to affect the existential reality of Dalits ... more Religion or the lack of it did not and does not seem to affect the existential reality of Dalits in Pakistan.
On 26 th of March, Bheel Intellectual Forum (BIF) organized Scheduled Caste Jagarta Rally, the fi... more On 26 th of March, Bheel Intellectual Forum (BIF) organized Scheduled Caste Jagarta Rally, the first ever rally that was attended and participated by all major Dalit communities of Sindh. Kolhi, Bheel, Meghwar and Baghri walked through the streets of Mithi city of Tharparkar to demand rights of Scheduled castes communities, and the Dalit leaders spoke on the importance of marking Scheduled castes option in an ongoing 6 th population census in Pakistan. Interestingly in census form, 'Scheduled caste' category has been inserted as one of the religion in opposition to 'Hindu' category. A Dalit have been left to mark either 'Hindu' or Scheduled caste in census form. This has put Dalit communities into an unusual situation as almost 95 percent of Dalits in Pakistan are believed to be Hindus by religion. Dalit leadership has risen up to the challenge to assert themselves as the most original indigenous Dravidian 'Scheduled caste Hindus'. Despite very huge opposition and internal conspiracies fomented by the foot soldiers of Brahmanism, BIF along with Dalit Sujaag Tehreek, Scheduled Caste Federation of Pakistan, Sindh Kolhi Itehad, all voluntary community based social and political organizations of Dalits have been in the forefront to mobilize Dalits to mark 'Scheduled castes' instead of 'Hindu' in March-April, census, 2017.
is the most celebrated Dalit leader of Pakistan. He has been senator, four times MNA (Member of N... more is the most celebrated Dalit leader of Pakistan. He has been senator, four times MNA (Member of National Assembly) and two times MPA (Member of Provincial Assembly) on party ticket of Pakistan People's Party, between 1985 and 2013. This speech was delivered at a time when the Meghwar community had organized itself around the leadership of Dr Khatumal Jeewan. These were the times when Sodha Thakurs, the traditional upper caste Hindu heads of Thar region of Sindh had just stopped taunting and denigrating Meghwars and Bheels, and had started to reckon their vote bank. Although Dr Khatumal Jeewan and Eng. Giyanchand were elected on party tickets of the feudal-capitalist and casteist party (PPP), it was nevertheless the beginning of Dalit political assertion at a micro political level, and provided reasons for experiences of self-esteem. In the successive democratic governments that ensued after the end of the martial regime of General Zia-ul-Haq in late 1980s. The speech was delivered in 1995-96 (the exact date is unconfirmed). Dr Khatumal Jeewan delivered this speech to the Meghwar community at a private wedding of the son of Arjan Das Meghwar held in the village Jhapyo, Mithi, Tharparkar Sindh. Dr Khatumal Jeewan was then MNA (1993-96), and Eng. Giyanchand Meghwar was MPA (1993-96). In this short speech, he reflects on the oppressed past, existing challenges to Dalit communities, about his own trust in Eng. Giyanchand (both Meghwars) about his commitment to the community and the need for trans-local Scheduled castes or a Dalit alliance. This speech gives the background to later Dalit politics in Pakistan up till now in 2017. It also shows the deep-seated desire to achieve self-respect and dignity in a society which is still wanting, and where Dalits continue to be discriminated and humiliated in various coarse and subtle ways. ~ Here sits brother Giyanchand. Here stand I. God knows that we both are your sons. When we come into your presence, we feel we are essentially from amongst you. We have risen up from that same oppressed existence; have been brought up in that same environment as
The ethno-nationalist historiography in South Asia primarily emerged as the postcolonial critique... more The ethno-nationalist historiography in South Asia primarily emerged as the postcolonial critique of British colonialism. Alternatively, the anti-caste historiographers have criticized the postcolonial historiography for reflecting the similar hegemonic bias towards the possible pre-orpost colonial histories of the internally colonized classes and castes. In this article, while appreciating with epistemic humility the equally legitimate position of Michel Boivin, I interrogate the concept of the 'declassed' caste groups as it tends to relativise the erasure of caste, the structural aspect that is peripheral to Boivin's avowed goal of capturing diversity instead of difference, but central to the contemporary critical anti-caste scholarship that I rely on as an alternative framework of reference. Contending his selective epistemic prioritizing of the privileged Amil, Khoja, Mirza castes, I argue that Boivin's archival ethnography has not effectively attended to the embedded caste-based political orders. He has failed to adequately address the possible erasure of caste, thereby adding to the ahistorical portrayal of the underprivileged castes such as Kolhi, Bheel, Meghwar, and Jogi. Boivin's rendering of the 'Sufi Paradigm, therefore, is in continuation with the scholarship on Sindh that undermines hierarchical differences based on caste discrimination, and facilitates Sindhi progressive intelligentsia to historicize the privileged caste myth of the caste-neutral Sufi Sindh.
This paper critically analyses the representation of caste and gender in the poetry of Shah Abdul... more This paper critically analyses the representation of caste and gender in the poetry of Shah Abdul Latif, the 18th-century poet of Sindh. It analyses how Latif represents these identitarian markers and is alternatively interpreted by the Sindhi progressive literary activists. Latif metaphorically projects the notion of the ‘self-surrender' through women characters that he borrows from local folktales. The progressive literati, being of Sindhi nationalist bent of mind recast the Sufi notion of the ‘self-surrender’ before God into a modern nationalist ideology, interpreting the actions of Latif’s heroines as symbolizing the unity of the nation and resistance against external oppression. They do not necessarily infer mystic meaning but invoke Latif as a feminist, revolutionary, and even as a Dalit emancipator. I contend that the anti-caste and anti-patriarchal emancipatory value of such projection, either literal or metaphorical legitimizes the submission of the humbled and the fatalist underprivileged caste female characters to the will of the androcentric male king.
Hussain, Ghulam (2019): Anti-politics of the Heterodox Poetry and Life history of Shah Abdul Latif: Ambedkarian Perspective. SageSubmissions. Preprint., 2019
This paper is an attempt to analyze from the Ambedkarian perspective the interpretations of Latif... more This paper is an attempt to analyze from the Ambedkarian perspective the interpretations of Latif’s poetry by the Progressives to assess its emancipatory potential for the Dalits. Building my critique primarily on the scholarly work of H.T.Sorley, I argue that in an attempt to construct the Sufi image of ‘Sindhi nation’, the Progressives undermine the casteist, fatalist and sectarian import of Latif’s poetry and life-history. Latif’s heterodox and multivocal nature of poetry and ambiguity regarding the originality of his verses gives expression to multiple and contradictory signifiers, including the casteist ones. This heterodoxy of Latif allows the Progressives, like any other social and political group, to legitimize and popularize the selective verses that may have, at least on surface, the egalitarian and patriotic import, to exonerate Latif from any possible hegemonic impact of the casteist values and the Ashrafia privileges that he enjoyed in his times, or the Progressives themselves continue to enjoy.
Khatu Mal Jeewan is the most celebrated Dalit leader of Pakistan. He has been senator, four times... more Khatu Mal Jeewan is the most celebrated Dalit leader of Pakistan. He has been senator, four times MNA and two times MPA on party ticket of Pakistan People's Party, between 1985 and 2013. The speech below was delivered in times when Meghwar community had organized itself around the leadership of Dr.Khatumal Jeewan. These were the times when Sodha Thakur, the traditional upper caste Hindu heads of Thar region of Sindh had just stopped taunting and denigrating Meghwar and Bheel, and had started to reckon their vote bank. Although Dr.Khatu Mal Jeewan and Eng. Giyanchand were elected on party tickets of the feudal-capitalist and casteist party (PPP), it was nevertheless the beginning of Dalit political assertion at micro political level, that provided reasons for experience of self-esteem, in the successive democratic governments that ensued at the end of Martial regime of General Ziaul-Hag in late 1980s. The speech was delivered in 1995-96 (the exact date is unconfirmed). Dr Khatumal Jeewan delivered that speech to Meghwar community in a private wedding of the son of Arjan Das Meghwar at village Jhapyo, Mithi, Tharparkar Sindh. Dr. Khatumal Jeewan was then MNA (1993-96), and Eng. Giyanchand MPA (1993-96). In this short speech, he speaks reflects on the oppressed past, existing challenges to Dalit communities, about his own trust in Eng. Giyanchand, both Meghwar, about his commitment to community and the need for trans-local Scheduled castes or Dalit alliance. This speech gives forth the background to latter Dalit politics in Pakistan up till now in 2017. This speech gives forth the feel of deep seated suppressed desire to achieve self-respect and dignity in society which is still wanting, and Dalits continue to be discriminated and humiliated in various coarse and subtle ways.
Rules or the constitution of Dalit movement is proposed to be unwritten, flexible and ever evolvi... more Rules or the constitution of Dalit movement is proposed to be unwritten, flexible and ever evolving. Rules outlined below will merely serve as path-finders, as recommendations, not mandatory to follow by all Dalit forums that will become members of DST. This draft proposal outlines rules for Dalit Sujaag Thereek (DST) that shall assume legitimacy through gradual process of acceptance, initially through the approval of the founder Dalit committee in its first meeting after the formation of this draft. Later this draft will keep evolving through constant review and amendments in the light of various recommendation and suggestions given in various Dalit Assemblies (DAs) and Dalit Sujag Sangat/Board of Spokesperson (DSS) meetings, and through personal individual suggestions of the DST workers brought before DSS. All suggestions and recommendations will become part of this draft or become reason for amendments in it with the accent of 2/3rd of its registered members, 2/3rd of DSS accent, and 2/3rd accent by DA/DAs. All amendments will not necessarily pass through all the processes before its approval. Local DAs can approve and amend their ways on their own through direct participatory democratic decision-making if their ways of doing do not conflict with DSS, and particularly in cases when making any on spot action shall be necessary. DSS need not to necessarily seek accent of all DAs when the seeking of approval from DA in minor issues may not be necessary. Similarly DAs and local Dalit member forums will function as before quite autonomously according to their own policies and programs but in their social and political activities will identify themselves with DST as well.
There is a proverbial saying common in Sindh, that” Maarhoon Aan Yaa Mahesar Aan”, that literally... more There is a proverbial saying common in Sindh, that” Maarhoon Aan Yaa Mahesar Aan”, that literally means, “Are you a man, or a Mahesar”. Friends often invoke out of surprise that idiom when any Mahesar utters or does something different, peculiar or extra-ordinary. In reality, it Mahesar (Urdu: مہیسر, Hindi महेसर, Sindhi:مهيسر) may have two major interpretations depending on which historical traditions one relies. This draft elaborates the most probable interpretation of Sufi-mystical origins of Mahesar and Maheshwari castes basing its arguments in historical, semi-historical and even mythical narratives of history of Mahesar tribe and caste.
This text outlines proposed projects for any area-study center, regional studies center, or any a... more This text outlines proposed projects for any area-study center, regional studies center, or any academic, research and advocacy-based institute of Sindh. It outlines the teaching subjects and themes for the courses in Sindh Studies, and the teaching methodology for such courses. A few academic and cultural projects are also proposed to preserve the cultural heritage of Sindh, to disseminate the cultural knowledge and message of peace, tolerance and fraternity, to create awareness about socio-economic issues of Sindh, and to inculcate among the budding youth the sense of importance of cultural practices and heritage, community consciousness, and the sense of belonging and ownership of the motherland Sindh and its people. The tentative listing of subjects and themes can be contracted and expanded depending upon the number of subjects being offered, level of students being taught, and its compatibility with the mission and objectives of the concerned institution.
Hussain, Ghulam, “Bhil (of Pakistan)”, in: Brill’s Encyclopedia of the Religions of the Indigenous People of South Asia Online, (Editor-in-Chief) Marine Carrin. Consulted online on 26 January 2022 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2665-9093_BERO_COM_033485> First published online: 2021, 2021
The Bhil (or Bheel) constitute one of the largest indigenous ethnic groups of Pakistan, where the... more The Bhil (or Bheel) constitute one of the largest indigenous ethnic groups of Pakistan, where they are considered a religious minority group and identified as Hindus although their rituals are highly syncretic and in spite of the fact that several hundred families have converted to Islam and Christianity over the past decades. In the constitution of Pakistan (art. 260[b]3) and in the Scheduled Castes Ordinance of 1957, they are classified as a Scheduled Caste, as a non-Muslim group distinct from Hindus (Shah, 2007). In other official documents such as census reports and job advertisements, they have been referred to as Scheduled Caste Hindus in contrast to caste Hindus. In either case, Bhil have thus been classified as a religious minority and as a caste. This minoritization and classification of indigenous tribes has been a gradual process, one that is rooted in British policies and steered by the modern nationalist politics of contemporary South Asia, the emerging international human rights discourse, and globalization (Kymlicka, 2007; Skrentny, 2009). Although official population figures are not available, it is estimated that the Bhil currently number around 1.2 million to 1.7 million (as of 2020). They speak a mixture of different dialects of Rajasthani (mainly Marwari), Gujarati, and Sindhi – a mixture that some label as Bhilki. They are mainly concentrated in Khairpur district in upper Sindh, the districts of Mirpur Khas and Hyderabad in lower Sindh, and Bahawalpur district in southern Punjab. About 95% of them live in rural areas or small towns and engage in animal husbandry and agriculture, depending on the remittances sent by family members working as household servants or factory laborers in Karachi and Hyderabad. Bhils are often found living as landless peasants in lower Sindh, having been trapped into bonded labor by upper-caste Muslim landlords. They have, however, considerably diversified their occupational base during the past two decades, thereby lessening their dependency on landlords. Today, many Bhil have received higher education and can be found in various professions, notably as teachers, lawyers, shopkeepers, or police officers. Bhil micro-politics are regulated through the clan pañcāyat (village council), which is overseen by a mukhī or paṭel (village headman). However, the authority of the clan pañcāyat is often challenged by the younger generations, who have established their own forums and associations that represent the entire caste instead of one particular clan (e.g. the Bheel Intellectual Forum and Bheel Sujag Council) or speak in the name of all indigenous Scheduled Castes (e.g. the Scheduled Castes Federation of Pakistan and Pakistan Darawar Itehad).
Cite this page Hussain, Ghulam, “Bhil (of Pakistan)”, in: Brill’s Encyclopedia of the Religions of the Indigenous People of South Asia Online, (Editor-in-Chief) Marine Carrin. Consulted online on 26 January 2022 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2665-9093_BERO_COM_033485> First published online: 2021
Pakistan, being an Islamic Republic, is portrayed as a country where rights of religious minoriti... more Pakistan, being an Islamic Republic, is portrayed as a country where rights of religious minorities are undermined. A major allegation in this context is that members of minority communities, particularly women and girls, are forcibly converted to Islam. The frequent promotion of this allegation has developed a narrative that is repeated without verifying its authenticity to malign Pakistani state and society at international forums. This baseline report presents content analysis of the reports, academic studies and social media outlets on the narrative of ‘forced’ conversion in Pakistan. The argument of most of the activists and many policymakers about the prevalence of organized and systematic forced conversions of minority community members revolves around the claims and data presented in certain reports. Part I of this baseline report is based on the content analysis of the NGO reports that are often presented as the principal evidence of the existence of the issue in Pakistan. In Part II, the report reviews academic studies on the subject and presents alternative evidence hidden in the scripts of Hindu and Dalit (scheduled castes) activists. In the end, a brief discussion is followed by some recommendations and propositions for further in-depth study. The analysis primarily focuses on the selection and representation of the cases of alleged forced conversions, the way forced conversion is defined, and the organizations as well as individuals involved in reporting and highlighting the cases and incidents of ‘forced conversions’. It analyzes them to assess the scientific rigor or the validity and reliability of the overall data presented. It also interrogates the discursive anomalies that singularly focus on the State religion, instead of on the post-truth minority politics as it is staged on the internet or social media. Epistemologically, its primary concern is that the meaning of ‘conversion’ becomes fixed as ‘forced’ conversion in various reports. The content analysis shows that these reports that are often presented by rights activists as the primary evidence based on substantive first-hand data, and understood as such by civil and political society, lack primary evidence, and mainly rely on clichés cited from other similar reports. The reports rely on anecdotal evidence taken from newspaper reports and statements primarily collected from activists and politicians rather than the supposed victims and so-called perpetrators. Based on that, it is argued that claims in these reports framed as statements are tautological in nature and make circular arguments on the basis of unverified/unverifiable secondary data, presumed as primary data. The study also interrogates the polemics against religious clerics, lawyers, police, and the State of Pakistan that characterizes the content of the reports. The study also underscores the narrative internal to minority communities, particularly Dalits, and found that irrespective of the influence of religious clerics or dominant Muslim communities, the young girls and women have acquired some agency to transcend the domestic or familial pressure of the patriarchs to challenge ‘forced’ marriages, and to break caste-based and religious barriers. Some Dalit activists maintain that the narrative of ‘forced’ conversion is being projected by the privileged caste Hindus to maintain their hegemony over the emerging political class of Dalits. The report, therefore, concludes that the issue of conversion is more complicated than it is made out to be in everyday politics. The reports and simultaneous projection of the statements through social media and the internet seem more political rather than objective and impartial accounts based on scientific authenticity. Additionally, this study contends that although academic studies on the subject suspect the monolithic narrative of NGO reports, they have not adequately addressed hidden and public scripts of the rights activists, Hindus, Dalits, victim families, and alleged perpetrators. Finally, this analysis recommends primary research into the subject to understand the phenomenon of faith conversions, various factors contributing to it, and the justification and objectives of the rhetoric being promoted through various reports and statements.
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Thesis Chapters by Ghulam Hussain
Key words: Dalitbahujan Perspective, Dalit assertions
Major Findings of the research are that the dependence of almost entire Kolhi community on sharecropping as landless peasants under debt bondage of landlords in barrage-area of south-eastern lower Sindh has been so overwhelming that it is difficult to conceive of their ethnic marginality independent of peasant related issues. In recent past, since 2006, peasants in the barrage area of lower Sindh, particularly sharecroppers and peasant activists of Kolhi community of Dumbālo, have been highly dynamic. Kolhi peasant activism is not just for land reforms, or against debt bondage, it is also the struggle for ethnic and communal rights and equal social status for the marginalized Dalit communities of lower Sindh. The phenomenal multiplicity of Kolhi ethnic maneuverability can be evidenced from their participation in political protests and rallies for their ethnic and peasant rights. Kolhi community has become conscious of the relationship between ethnic discrimination, landlessness, debt bondage and economic exploitation, the evidence of which can be had from the emerging trend to establish community-initiated self-funded Kolhi colonies at Naon Dumbālo, District Badin Sindh.
Kolhi peasant activism provides a unique opportunity to understand peasant activism from the perspective of the sharecroppers of lower caste, the ethnically discriminated and marginalized minority community. Systematic effort has been made to look for ideological and political space for Kolhi-Dalit peasant-village community to coexist peacefully with other ethnic identities at local, provincial, national and international levels. Ethnically motivated Peasants’ willingness or reluctance to accommodate with the dominant discourses at national level and capacity of Civil Society Organizations to transform ethnic-peasant identities has been assessed in relation to one another. In final chapter, to ensure ‘environmental justice and to empower ethnic peasant communities establishment of ‘communal councils’ and peasant communities has been suggested to policy makers and to activists. To build the nation of Pakistan on more inclusive grounds, it has been suggested to approach socio-political issues at community level, and strive politically to empower local communities so that they could initiate and implement their self-planned projects in a manner that may suit their purpose best.
Papers by Ghulam Hussain
historical, archaeological, and political texts of importance to justify the
present-day modernist ideologies premised on excluding marginalized sections of society. This essay interrogates the Sindhi nationalist literati elite’s epistemic neglect of the underprivileged caste’s lifeworld. That
disregard reflects in their literary and political writings that arguably rely
on the British Orientalist historiography to construct the myth of casteneutral and egalitarian culture of Sufi Sindh. It traces the historicisation of the claim of Hindu–Muslim interfaith harmony, and its persistence in the post-Partition Sindh. Based on the content analysis of progressive literature and the historiography of progressive politics in Sindh, it is concluded that owing to the casteist social structural barriers the privileged caste elite at the vanguard of progressive nationalist politics was blinded by their own privileged position to justly address the caste question. That inherent blindness to see through the problem of caste is the reason that progressives' emancipatory projects to redefine the past and myths end in failure.
Although the research explored several propositions, the key hypothesis was to investigate whether non-Muslim girls below the age of 18 are forcibly converted to Islam.
During the course of research, this data has been presented at various national as well as international forums including Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University, USA, Islamabad Bar
Council, and Shaybani Foundation.
caste groups. This diminishes the possibility of deploying the framework of caste-as-class for understanding caste, organising Dalits reckoning their agency as it may shape their immanent narratives and subverting caste hierarchies.
Keywords Sayedism, Dalit exclusion, hegemony, Ashrafia, biopolitics, political Sufism, political Islam
Key words: Dalitbahujan Perspective, Dalit assertions
Major Findings of the research are that the dependence of almost entire Kolhi community on sharecropping as landless peasants under debt bondage of landlords in barrage-area of south-eastern lower Sindh has been so overwhelming that it is difficult to conceive of their ethnic marginality independent of peasant related issues. In recent past, since 2006, peasants in the barrage area of lower Sindh, particularly sharecroppers and peasant activists of Kolhi community of Dumbālo, have been highly dynamic. Kolhi peasant activism is not just for land reforms, or against debt bondage, it is also the struggle for ethnic and communal rights and equal social status for the marginalized Dalit communities of lower Sindh. The phenomenal multiplicity of Kolhi ethnic maneuverability can be evidenced from their participation in political protests and rallies for their ethnic and peasant rights. Kolhi community has become conscious of the relationship between ethnic discrimination, landlessness, debt bondage and economic exploitation, the evidence of which can be had from the emerging trend to establish community-initiated self-funded Kolhi colonies at Naon Dumbālo, District Badin Sindh.
Kolhi peasant activism provides a unique opportunity to understand peasant activism from the perspective of the sharecroppers of lower caste, the ethnically discriminated and marginalized minority community. Systematic effort has been made to look for ideological and political space for Kolhi-Dalit peasant-village community to coexist peacefully with other ethnic identities at local, provincial, national and international levels. Ethnically motivated Peasants’ willingness or reluctance to accommodate with the dominant discourses at national level and capacity of Civil Society Organizations to transform ethnic-peasant identities has been assessed in relation to one another. In final chapter, to ensure ‘environmental justice and to empower ethnic peasant communities establishment of ‘communal councils’ and peasant communities has been suggested to policy makers and to activists. To build the nation of Pakistan on more inclusive grounds, it has been suggested to approach socio-political issues at community level, and strive politically to empower local communities so that they could initiate and implement their self-planned projects in a manner that may suit their purpose best.
historical, archaeological, and political texts of importance to justify the
present-day modernist ideologies premised on excluding marginalized sections of society. This essay interrogates the Sindhi nationalist literati elite’s epistemic neglect of the underprivileged caste’s lifeworld. That
disregard reflects in their literary and political writings that arguably rely
on the British Orientalist historiography to construct the myth of casteneutral and egalitarian culture of Sufi Sindh. It traces the historicisation of the claim of Hindu–Muslim interfaith harmony, and its persistence in the post-Partition Sindh. Based on the content analysis of progressive literature and the historiography of progressive politics in Sindh, it is concluded that owing to the casteist social structural barriers the privileged caste elite at the vanguard of progressive nationalist politics was blinded by their own privileged position to justly address the caste question. That inherent blindness to see through the problem of caste is the reason that progressives' emancipatory projects to redefine the past and myths end in failure.
Although the research explored several propositions, the key hypothesis was to investigate whether non-Muslim girls below the age of 18 are forcibly converted to Islam.
During the course of research, this data has been presented at various national as well as international forums including Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University, USA, Islamabad Bar
Council, and Shaybani Foundation.
caste groups. This diminishes the possibility of deploying the framework of caste-as-class for understanding caste, organising Dalits reckoning their agency as it may shape their immanent narratives and subverting caste hierarchies.
Keywords Sayedism, Dalit exclusion, hegemony, Ashrafia, biopolitics, political Sufism, political Islam
belonging to a privileged class, caste or community can engage herself with Dalit
activists. I have attempted to explain and suggest how ‘upper caste’ researchers can
morally and ethically position themselves while producing an empirical knowledge
on\for\with the subaltern or Dalit to legitimately contribute to their struggles of
emancipation. I follow certain rules set up by Dalit scholars and Dalitbahujan
activists, regarding ‘upper caste’ intervention to critically engage with Dalitbahujan
activists without subverting or hegemonizing their struggles. With that Dalitbahujan
understanding in foreground, I argue that since caste is a trans-Dalit issue affecting
the whole society, it is necessary to allow and engage ‘upper caste’ researcher to
produce coordinated and cooperative knowledge in a given shared space that will
ensure not only inclusiveness of all the oppressed, but also problematize caste in its
entirety.
This draft proposal outlines rules for Dalit Sujaag Thereek (DST) that shall assume legitimacy through gradual process of acceptance, initially through the approval of the founder Dalit committee in its first meeting after the formation of this draft. Later this draft will keep evolving through constant review and amendments in the light of various recommendation and suggestions given in various Dalit Assemblies (DAs) and Dalit Sujag Sangat/Board of Spokesperson (DSS) meetings, and through personal individual suggestions of the DST workers brought before DSS. All suggestions and recommendations will become part of this draft or become reason for amendments in it with the accent of 2/3rd of its registered members, 2/3rd of DSS accent, and 2/3rd accent by DA/DAs. All amendments will not necessarily pass through all the processes before its approval. Local DAs can approve and amend their ways on their own through direct participatory democratic decision-making if their ways of doing do not conflict with DSS, and particularly in cases when making any on spot action shall be necessary. DSS need not to necessarily seek accent of all DAs when the seeking of approval from DA in minor issues may not be necessary. Similarly DAs and local Dalit member forums will function as before quite autonomously according to their own policies and programs but in their social and political activities will identify themselves with DST as well.
Cite this page
Hussain, Ghulam, “Bhil (of Pakistan)”, in: Brill’s Encyclopedia of the Religions of the Indigenous People of South Asia Online, (Editor-in-Chief) Marine Carrin. Consulted online on 26 January 2022 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2665-9093_BERO_COM_033485>
First published online: 2021