EP38 - Discussing caste-consciousness and inner lives of a community

This MBM conversation is with Aiman Haque, a Delhi-based researcher and writer. Through her years of growing up, working and having family across different parts of the country, Aiman shares how language, caste, history and local cultures have shaped her sense of identity and belonging. We discuss how caste manifests within Muslim communities, especially during arranged marriage discussions or in the choice of words used to address certain sections of the community.

We also discuss the value of understanding the inner lives of Muslim women, in order to truly address the needs of the community as a whole. Aiman also shares what it takes to have spaces that are caste-conscious and compassionate towards every person, and find ways to expand opportunities and sense of belonging in more ways than one.

Episode notes:

• Panel 5: Counter-Narratives to Majoritarianism | Counter-Narratives: The MHI Conference 2025 (YouTube, Mariwala Health Initiative, April 2025)

• The forgotten riots of Bhagalpur, In Pictures (Javed Iqbal, Al Jazeera, December 2014)

• Caste and social stratification among Muslims in India (edited by Imtiaz Ahmad, Aakar Books, April 2018)

• The political life of Muslim caste: articulations and frictions within a Pasmanda identity (Shireen Azam, Contemporary South Asia, July 2023)

• Kerala hijab row: How a dispute between a teen and her school became a state-wide debate (Haritha Manav, The News Minute, October 2025)

• The Indian development sector has got diversity hiring all wrong (Aiman Haque, The Caravan, January 2024)

• Mental Health Is Political: Institutional Violence, Marginalisation And Mental Health Policies At Work (Aiman Haque, Feminism In India, May 2022)

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