Masawat ki Jung: The Battle for Equality

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It was Ali Anwar, the author of this book, who first proposed, in the 1990s, the nomenclature ‘Pasmanda’ (meaning those who have been left behind) for the backward castes and Dalits among Muslims. Masawat ki Jung: The Battle for Equality provides a brief history of the Pasmanda identity, which has now entered mainstream political discourse as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party seeks votes from among Muslims. This book, originally written in Hindi in 2001, traces the birth of Islam in the Middle East, the coming of Islam to India and its spread as the several castes on the subcontinent embraced the faith. With a focus on Bihar, the author draws on studies of anthropologists, historians as well as his own field trips and interviews, to depict the extent of marginalization of this vast majority of Indian Muslims both in society and politics.