Guwahati

The Assam government has approved the formation of a development council for the Maimal Muslim community of the Barak Valley of the state.

The Assam Cabinet took this crucial decision during its meeting recently. Tourism Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah told the media that in response to the community’s demands, the government has approved the formation of a development council for the Maimal community.

This approval paved the way for similar councils for other communities too. This is seen as a masterstroke by the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

The Kiran Sheikh community or Maimal community is mainly a fishing community. The fishing community is said to have converted to Islam through the efforts of the Sufi saint Shah Jalal and his disciples.

In the Cabinet Meeting held on 10.03.2024, we decided to

1️⃣ Allocate ₹131 cr for the beautification of Rang Ghar

2️⃣ Offer range of incentives to Tata’s semiconductor facility

3️⃣ Introduce Meitei Script in educational institutions

1/2 pic.twitter.com/t5ERxmTEui

— Himanta Biswa Sarma (Modi Ka Parivar) (@himantabiswa) March 10, 2024

The Maimal fishing community is mainly found on the banks of the Sonai and Barak rivers in the Barak Valley of Assam but some are also found in Sylhet district of Bangladesh. The word Maimal traditionally comes from the Persian word mahi, which means fish. Similarly, the word mallah in Arabic means sailor.

The Assam Cabinet also approved the use of the Meitei script for primary education in the Manipuri language in schools.

It is noteworthy that indigenous fishing communities like Kaivarta, Das, Patini, Namashudras, Mal, Pod, Chandal, etc. converted to Islam and became known as Maimal. After the arrival of Sufi saint Sheikh Shahjalal along with 360 of his disciples (Auliyas) in 1443 A.D, conversion started among the indigenous people.

The Sylhet region of Bangladesh witnessed one of the largest conversions to Islam in then India. The adjoining region of Cachar in Assam was heavily influenced by Islam and the converts wanted to live with social equality and justice.

This area was frequently flooded, because of the large number of lakes, beaches, reservoirs, and rivers. Fishing and boating were their main occupation. Despite the introduction of agriculture in the area, most people are dependent on fishing.

The social stratification of Muslims was based on two important occupations. One is the Maimal (fisherman) and the other, the Bangal (Bengali farmer). Their socio-economic status remained unchanged after their conversion to Islam. The so-called Ashraf (nobles), consisting of landed and noble Muslims, granted them the status of Ajlaf (uncultured).

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They continued their ancestral occupation of fishing and rowing, generally looked down upon by their Muslim co-religionists. Their demeaning occupations on the one hand and their poor socio-economic status on the other made the situation of the novices most distressing. The discrimination and social disabilities imposed by the so-called upper-caste Muslims pushed them to the outer margins of society.