Transformations on the Bengal Frontier by Subhajyoti Ray

Author:Subhajyoti Ray [Ray, Subhajyoti]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, Asia, General, India & South Asia, Social Science, Ethnic Studies, Regional Studies
ISBN: 9781136848582
Google: b8ddAgAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2013-12-16T16:00:57+00:00

In search of ‘pure’ Islam, 1890–1937

Among the Muslims there were two simultaneous processes at work. The first of these was similar to that of the Rajbanshi Hindus in the sense that there was an urge among them for upward social mobility. Just as the Rajbanshi Hindus had tried to establish themselves as Kshatriyas within the Hindu caste system, so too the Muslims of north Bengal tried to claim higher status within the fold of Indian Islam where ‘caste’ and status continued to be important determinants of identity. On the other hand, there was a more significant trend by a section of the Muslims to campaign for a ‘pure’ Islam. In going through these processes the Muslims of north Bengal were merely following the footsteps of their brethren in other parts of the sub-continent. It may appear contradictory that the urge for upward social mobility among the Muslims went hand-in-hand with attempts to purify the religion, for ‘true’ Islam did not recognise caste-like sects among its followers. But among the Muslims in Bengal there was a link between the two as the so-called purer forms of Islam were seen to be practised by the higher classes.

The first of these trends is clearly visible in the decennial census reports beginning from 1872. In the first census of Bengal almost all the Muslims of the three north Bengal districts of Rangpur, Dinajpur and Jalpaiguri were classed as an unspecified category. The census offered to classify the Muslims under the following sub-castes: Julaha, Mughal, Pathan, Sayyid and Shaikh. But the returns from the three districts showed that the Muslims of these areas did not wish to be classified into any of these categories. Thus out of a total of 144,980 Muslims recorded in Jalpaiguri, 144,903 were classed as unspecified, as were 1,290,257 out of 1,291,465 in Rangpur and 792,058 out of 793,215 in Dinajpur. The local Muslims of north Bengal were known as Nasyas and no such category was on offer.68 In the census of 1881 the earlier categories were replaced by the broader categories of Shias and Sunnis, and it was found that in line with the rest of the province Sunnis formed the overwhelming majority of the Muslims in Jalpaiguri. Out of a total population of 208,513, 189,441 were returned as Sunnis as against 6,828 Shias. What was more interesting was that more than 12,000 Muslims were still outside the two ‘possible’ classificatory categories and were returned as unspecified.69 The census of 1891 complicated matters by offering all the categories of the earlier two censuses. In contrast with the last census very few of the Muslims were returned as Sunnis, instead the vast majority were returned as Sheikhs, a category they had rejected in the census of 1872. Thus as many as 218,256 claimed to be Sheikhs while only 73 claimed to be Sunnis.70 In 1901 Nasya was included for the first time as a classificatory category and no less than 63,884 Muslims were returned under this category. But it appears that

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