A Muslim man from Changanassery of Kerala’s Kottayam district has drawn attention to caste-based discrimination by a mosque committee after they refused to let him participate in their public meetings, saying that the Ossan community he belongs to has been barred from such privileges since the days of his “ancestors”.
Aneesh Sali (34), a resident of Puthoorppally in Changanassery alleged caste discrimination by the Puthoorppally Muslim Jamaath, after they decided to invalidate proceedings of a recent public meeting he had attended and also told him not to attend future meetings. The Jamaath has cited its code of conduct for the decision, which says that members of the Labbay and Ossan communities are considered “subordinate” and cannot attend public meetings or be a part of the Jamaath council.
Members of the Labbay community are traditionally traders, who also perform certain rituals during weddings, deaths, and other occasions. They are also among the communities who call for prayers (Adhan) in the mosque. Members of the Ossan community in Kerala have traditionally worked as barbers, and also perform circumcisions. In the caste system, the jobs of the Ossan community were considered to be menial and of a low rank. Ossan Muslims are considered to have a similar social status as Dalit communities, and are said to have formerly been lowered caste Hindus before converting into Islam.
Speaking to TNM, Aneesh, who belongs to the Ossan community, said that the public meeting was held by the Jamaath on July 2 to discuss an issue related to a pathway used by local residents. Like other attendees, Aneesh’s name was marked in the public attendance register. Two days later, Aneesh received a letter from the Jamaath stating that his participation was not allowed as per their code of conduct, and that since the days of “his ancestors”, none of the “descendants” had attended such public meetings. “Under sub-section (f) of section 16 of the Jamaath’s code of conduct, your membership is subordinate. We consider that your participation in this public meeting is due to ignorance. This should not be repeated again and the public attendance marked by you stands cancelled,” the letter read.
Section 16(f) of the Jamaath's code of conduct states that those from Labbay and Ossan communities and their family members, who enjoy certain “rights and privileges” granted by the Jamaath, as well as members of these communities who don't enjoy such rights and privileges but have been accommodated, as a tradition, are supposed to be subordinate. It says that whether they obtain an allowance or not, they are bound to follow the rules of the Jamaath.
After receiving the letter, Aneesh approached the Jamaath council, who reiterated their stand that this practice was as per the Jamaath’s code of conduct. “They said that Muslims from the Labbay and Ossan communities cannot participate in general meetings or have voting rights within the Jamaath,” said Aneesh.
Speaking about the alleged caste discrimination faced by the Ossan community, Shanavas Ismail, a social activist based in Puthoorppally, said, “Nearly two centuries ago, Labbays and Ossan Muslims were brought in from Tamil Nadu and made to stay here to do this work. They were given an allowance but were not allowed membership within the mosque, as they were migrants. This was included as a rule in the Jamaath’s rule book, which is still followed. The Ossan residents of today are fourth-generation migrants. Most of them haven’t practised their traditional occupations for nearly six decades, and so they aren’t given any allowance by the mosque. But the discrimination still continues. The only reason is that if people from these communities are given membership and voting rights, and if they win an election and become the president or secretary in the Jamaath, people from dominant communities cannot accept their leadership. This is plain Savarna supremacy.”
As controversy over the issue persisted, on July 12, the Jamaath released a statement calling the allegations of caste discrimination “baseless and defamatory”. They defended the letter sent to Aneesh, saying it was in accordance with the Jamaath’s code of conduct. They insisted that those who prepared the code of conduct had considered those belonging to Labbay and Ossan communities as employees of the Jamaath, who were granted an allowance, and for that reason were not allowed to be included in the Jamaath committee and public meetings.
“Since the person (Aneesh) attended the public meeting and registered his presence against the practice of the Jamaath, the public meeting’s proceedings will turn invalid,” the statement read.
When TNM reached out to Puthoorppally Muslim Jamaath’s vice president MS Noushad, he said, “The by-laws of the Jamaath are approved by the state Waqf Board and the sub-registrar. According to these by-laws, those who get an allowance from the Jamaath or are employed by the Jamaath need not be a part of its governing body. In this case, we just tried to make him understand that he made a mistake and went against the code of conduct. We did not accuse him of anything or insult him in any way. All of us are considered equal here and there is no caste discrimination. They just cannot participate in the public meeting or be on the Jamaath council, but there is no discrimination in any other issue,” he said.
Although Islam does not openly recognise caste based discrimination, Muslims from privileged communities do not prefer intermarriages with the Ossan community. Even Islamic matrimony websites have a separate category for Ossan brides and grooms.
Noushad said members of Labbay and Ossan communities never asked for voting rights or participation in meetings, but the Jamaath is trying to amend the by-laws to include them.