Why Was There No Tranfer Of Population?

[G.Subramaniam]

The Census Superintendent mentions another feature of the Muslim social system, namely, the prevalence of the "
panchayat system." He states :—
" The authority of the panchayat extends to social as well as trade matters and... marriage with people of' other
communities is one of offences of which the governing body lakes cognizance. The result is that these groups are often
as strictly endogamous as Hindu castes. The prohibition on inter-marriage extends to higher as well as to lower castes,
and a Dhuina, for example, may marry no one but a Dhuina. If this rule is transgressed, the offender is at once hauled
up before the panchayat and ejected ignominiously from his community. A member of one such group cannot
ordinarily gain admission to another, and he retains the designation of the community in which he was born even if he
abandons its distinctive occupation and takes to other means of livelihood.... thousands of Jolahas are butchers, yet
they are still known as Jolahas."
Similar facts from other Provinces of India could be gathered from their respective Census Reports and those who are
curious may refer to them. But the facts for Bengal are enough to show that the Mahomedans observe not only caste
but also untouchability.
There can thus be no manner of doubt that the Muslim Society in India is afflicted by the same social evils as afflict
the Hindu Society. Indeed, the Muslims have all the social evils of the Hindus and something more. That something
more is the compulsory system of purdah for Muslim women.
As a consequence of the purdah system a segregation of the Muslim women is brought about. The ladies are not
expected to visit the outer rooms, verandahs or gardens, their quarters are in the back-yard. All of them, young and old,
are confined in the same room. No male servant can work in their presence. A woman is allowed to see only her sons,
brothers, father, uncles and husband, or any other near relation who may be admitted to a position of trust. She cannot
go even to the mosque to pray and must wear burka (veil) whenever she has to go out. These burka women walking in
the streets is one of the most hideous sights one can witness in India. Such seclusion cannot but have its deteriorating
effects upon the physical constitution of Muslim women. They are usually victims to anaemia, tuberculosis and
pyorrhoea. Their bodies are deformed, with their backs bent, bones protruded, hands and feet crooked. Ribs, joints and
nearly all their bones ache. Heart palpitation is very often present in them. The result of this pelvic deformity is
untimely death at the time of delivery. Purdah deprives Muslim women of mental and moral nourishment. Being
deprived of healthy social life, the process of moral degeneration must and does set in. Being completely secluded
from the outer world, they engage their minds in petty family quarrels with the result that they become narrow and
restricted in their outlook.
They lag behind their sisters from other communities, cannot take part in any outdoor activity and are weighed down
by a slavish mentality and an inferiority complex. They have no desire for knowledge, because they are taught not to
be interested in anything outside the four walls of the house. Purdah women in particular become helpless, timid, and
unfit for any fight in life. Considering the large number of purdah women among Muslims in India, one can easily
understand the vastness and seriousness of the problem of purdah 4[f.4]
The physical and intellectual effects of purdah are nothing as compared with its effects on morals. The origin of
purdah lies of course in the deep-rooted suspicion of sexual appetites in both sexes and the purpose is to check them
by segregating the sexes. But far from achieving the purpose, purdah has adversely affected the morals of Muslim
men. Owing to purdah a Muslim has no contact with any woman outside those who belong to his own household.
Even with them his contact extends only to occasional conversation. For a male there is no company of and no
commingling with the females except those who are children or aged. This isolation of the males from females is sure
to produce bad effects on the morals of men. It requires no psychoanalyst to say that a social system which cuts off all
contact between, the two sexes produces an unhealthy tendency towards sexual excesses and unnatural and other
morbid habits and ways.
The evil consequences of purdah are not confined to the Muslim community only. It is responsible for the social
segregation of Hindus from Muslims which is the bane of public life in India. This argument may appear far fetched
and one is inclined to attribute this segregation to the unsociability of the Hindus rather than to purdah among the
Muslims. But the Hindus are right when they say that it is not possible to establish social contact between Hindus and
Muslims because such contact can only mean contact between women from one side and men from the other 5 [f.5]
Not that purdah and the evils consequent thereon are not to be found among certain sections of the Hindus in certain
parts of the country. But the point of distinction is that among the Muslims, purdah has a religious sanctity which it
has not with the Hindus. Purdah has deeper roots among the Muslims than it has among the Hindus and can only be
removed by facing the inevitable conflict between religious injunctions and social needs. The problem of purdah is a
real problem with the Muslims—apart from its origin—which it is not with the Hindus. Of any attempt by the Muslims
to do away with it, there is no evidence.
There is thus a stagnation not only in the social life but also in the political life of the Muslim community of India. The
Muslims have no interest in politics as such. Their predominant interest is religion. This can be easily seen by the
terms and conditions that a Muslim constituency makes for its support to a candidate fighting for a seat. The Muslim
constituency does not care to examine the programme of the candidate. All that the constituency wants from the
candidate is that he should agree to replace the old lamps of the masjid by supplying new ones at his cost, to provide a
new carpet for the masjid because the old one is torn, or to repair the masjid because it has become dilapidated. In
some places a Muslim constituency is quite satisfied if the candidate agrees to give a sumptuous feast and in other if he
agrees to buy votes for so much a piece. With the Muslims, election is a mere matter of money and is very seldom a
matter of social programme of general improvement. Muslim politics takes no note of purely secular categories of life,
namely, the differences between rich and poor, capital and labour, landlord and tenant, priest and layman, reason and
superstition. Muslim politics is essentially clerical and recognizes only one difference, namely, that existing between
Hindus and Muslims. None of the secular categories of life have any place in the politics of the Muslim community
and if they do find a place—and they must because they are irrepressible—they are subordinated to one and the only
governing principle of the Muslim political universe, namely, religion.