Marginalization and Stratum of Dalit, Muslim in India

Marginalisation, it means when a certain group of people are excluded from the normal course of life and are forced to the edge of society because they speak a different language or follow different social customs or do anything which is not in sync with the views of the majority. It is unfortunate in a developing country to be marginalised but it is worse to be marginalised, vulnerable and unprotected. The marginalised are most affected even by slightest disruptions or shocks. It was during the nationwide curfew to contain the spread of COVID-19, the economically disadvantaged people were the most affected. In India, groups of people are also Marginalised because of their poverty or because they belong to a different caste, different sex, ethnicity, occupation etc. In case of Indian Muslims as a religious marginalized community, these two concepts overlap. However, concern with ‘marginalization’ is relatively recent and it is imperative to check the development trajectory on the marginalized groups. As considerable evidence exists, a process of ‘marginalization’ of minority communities exists in almost all societies and nothing warrants that the same is not true of Muslims in India to a greater or a lesser degree. While discussing social structure of Indian Muslims prominent scholars like Imtiaz Ahmad and ZoyaHasan brought forth the theoretical debate “Can there be a category called Dalit Muslims”( Imtiaz, A, 2007; Zoya, H, 2009).This paper will explores the systemic processes through which Muslims are being marginalized step by step in different zone of life