122 – Religious minorities, caste, and preferential quotas in South Asia
Minority provisions in South Asian legal regimes provide protection to religious groups but often ignore in-group inequality. In recent years, several collective mobilizations have taken place in India and Pakistan to address this problem. In India, the demands by marginalized Muslim caste groups under the ‘Pasmanda’ label depict minority provisions as a tool for Ashraf Muslims to maintain their dominant position. At the same time, the rise of Hindutva challenges both minority rights and the inclusion of Muslims in preferential quotas meant for marginalized castes. In Pakistan, the identification of “Scheduled Caste” as a religious category separate from Hinduism has sparked debate about further “minoritization” in an overwhelmingly Muslim country.
Against this backdrop, this panel aims to examine the effects of minority provisions on caste inequality among religious minorities in South Asia. We hope to interrogate how the legal regimes in the region address social stratification within minority groups and to investigate the responses of marginalized caste groups within religious minorities to mitigate the double exclusion they suffer.
We particularly welcome contributions that bring together a legal focus on minority rights and preferential quotas, with a socio-anthropological investigation into the responses to intersecting exclusions and state categorization. These responses include the multiple ways in which marginalized groups seek social mobility not only through political mobilization, but also, for instance, through welfare associations, new narratives of self-identification, or religious practices. We also hope to bring together cases from different South Asian countries, allowing for a comparative discussion on dynamics of double exclusion among religious minorities.
