Intersectional Identities: Muslim Students and Dalit Discourse at the University of Delhi
The academic landscape at the University of Delhi (DU) serves as a unique laboratory for intersectional marginality. Here, the encounter between Muslim women students and Dalit women professors transcends religious or caste binaries, creating a space where traditional hierarchies are challenged by shared sociological realities (Hasan, 2010).
- Muslim Students and the “Dalit Paradigm”
In DU’s English and Social Science departments, Dalit Studies has become a cornerstone of the curriculum. For many Muslim students—particularly those from Pasmanda (backward-caste) backgrounds—Dalit literature acts as a “mirror” (Ansari, 2013).
- Shared Vocabulary: Muslim students often find that the “Dalit experience” of social exclusion and ghettoization resonates with their own lived realities in India.
- The “Religious Superiority” Myth: While orthodox positions might suggest a binary of Believer vs. Non-Believer, the university space often dissolves this. Muslim women frequently view Dalit women professors as aspirational icons—proof that a woman from a marginalized background can command authority in a Brahminical-patriarchal space.
- Perceptions of Freedom and Liberty
The comparison of “liberty” between Dalit and Muslim women is a central theme in Indian feminist discourse (Rege, 2006).
- The Dalit Advantage in Labor: Dalit women have a historical legacy of participation in the public workforce. This “out-of-home” presence is often viewed by cloistered Muslim students as a form of independence.
- The Muslim “Protectionist” Trap: Many students recognize that their “privacy” is often a gilded cage. While a Dalit woman professor may face caste-based discrimination, she possesses a political agency and a “voice” (Ambedkarite agency) that is often denied to Muslim women within their own community structures (Hasan, 2010).
- The “Kitchen vs. Career” Anxiety: The Double Burden
The fear of a “life wasted in the kitchen” is a documented phenomenon among women in higher education.
- The Educational Surge: Statistics indicate a significant increase in Muslim women’s enrollment in higher education. For a student at DU, a degree is often a negotiation tool to delay marriage.
- The “Good Muslim Mother” Pressure: There is an internal conflict between community rewards for the “pious mother” role and university rewards for the “critical thinker.”
- Islamic Feminism: Research by Huma Ahmed-Ghosh (2008) suggests that Muslim women are increasingly using “Islamic Feminism” to argue that seeking knowledge (Ilm) is a religious duty that precludes being confined to domesticity.
- Comparing Literary Power
| Feature | Dalit Women Writers (e.g., Bama, Baby Kamble) | Muslim Women Writers (e.g., Ismat Chughtai) |
| Source of Power | Rebellion: Directly attacking caste and “purity” myths. | Subversion: Critiquing the “four walls” (Chadar and Chardiwari) from within. |
| Worldview | Focus on secular rights and body autonomy. | Focus on legal reform (Personal Law) and identity. |
| Goal | Total annihilation of the hierarchy. | Reform to allow female participation. |
- Academic Perspectives for Deeper Understanding
- “Difference” vs. “Dignity”: Saba Mahmood (2005) argues that for some, “freedom” is found in the “perfection of the self” within religious frameworks, though many DU students seek more secular liberations.
- The Pasmanda Discourse: Khalid Anis Ansari (2013) highlights that Pasmanda Muslim women often feel a closer kinship with Dalit women than with elite “Ashraf” Muslim men.
- Minority Stress Model: Zoya Hasan (2010) argues that because the Muslim community feels “under threat,” women are pressured to be “custodians of culture,” limiting their freedom compared to the robust political movement of Ambedkarism backing Dalit women.
Conclusion
Muslim students at DU generally do not see themselves as “religiously superior” to Dalit professors; they see a pathway to survival. They recognize the Dalit woman’s voice as powerful because it has successfully challenged both the state and the hearth—a feat the modern Indian Muslim woman is currently attempting.
Bibliography
- Ahmed-Ghosh, H. (2008). Muslim Women in India: The Struggle for Gender Justice. Rowman & Littlefield.
- Ansari, K. A. (2013). Pasmanda Politics and the Spectre of Caste. Economic & Political Weekly.
- Hasan, Z. (2010). Politics of Inclusion: Castes, Minorities, and Affirmative Action. Oxford University Press.
- Mahmood, S. (2005). Politics of Piety: The Islamic Revival and the Feminist Subject. Princeton University Press.
- Paik, S. (2014). Dalit Women’s Education in Modern India: Double Discrimination. Routledge.
- Rege, S. (2006). Writing Caste, Writing Gender: Reading Dalit Women’s Testimonios. Zubaan.
- Satyanarayana, K., & Tharu, S. (Eds.). (2013). The Exercise of Freedom: An Introduction to Dalit Writing. Navayana.
- Teltumbde, A. (2018). Republic of Caste: Civil Society as Apartheid. Navayana.
