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A Supreme Court PIL in February 2026 seeks 10% OBC reservation for Pasmanda Muslims, while home minister Amit Shah has already rejected religion-based reservation as unconstitutional. The BJP has intensified Pasmanda outreach ahead of the 2027 UP elections, giving local leaders prominent organisational roles in UP and focusing on weaver clusters and welfare delivery, while Maharashtra govt has constituted a committee to study the community’s socio-economic status, headed by BJP minority morcha state president.
Atif Rasheed, former NCM (National Commission for Minorities) vice-chairman, national executive member of the BJP OBC Morcha and president of Rashtrawadi Muslim Pasmanda Mahaz, said: “Julahas have become Ansaris… Lohar and Badhi have become Saifi. Sociologist Dr Khalid Anis Ansari of Azim Premji University said Indian Muslims encompass hundreds of OBC, Dalit Muslim and Adivasi communities, where caste, biradari, occupation and social status overlap. Stratified into Ashraf, Ajlaf and Arzal layers, “caste” itself remains ambiguous. The entire data becomes too large and unmanageable,” Ansari said, pointing to the 2011 SECC (Socio-Economic and Caste Census), which recorded over 46 lakh caste names against 4,147 in 1931, recommending standardised categories with an “Others” option. Talking of micro-communities that could disappear into broad categories, Ansari points to fluid Jogi and Fakir communities in eastern UP: “Jogi and Fakir are both occupational and community identities,” he said. They cannot be tied down to one religion,” Ansari said.
Meat-trading communities use Qureshi in UP and Delhi, but Khatig in Gujarat and Maharashtra. “My suggestion is that we should be remembered by our original names. Those old names should be reclaimed. “Open entries cause mistakes. Jogis may wear saffron, sing bhajans and perform namaz back at home, while Fakirs wear green and sing Islamic devotional songs. “Julahas, for example, are Hindus, Christians and Muslims. Meanwhile, Pasmanda politics has gained momentum.