A mahal committee of a Muslim Jama-Ath in Kottayam district is facing criminal proceedings on charges of alleged caste discrimination and ostracism, the first such instance in Kerala.
The Kerala State Waqf Board has decided to initiate legal action against the Puthoorppally Muslim Jama-Ath of Changanassery for socially ostracising and discriminating against the members of the Ossan community, who were traditionally engaged as barbers. The board held that the decision of the mahal committee went against the tenets of Islam and provision of the Constitution. The mahal committee violated the basic human rights of the committee members. Islam doesn’t promote any caste discrimination among Muslims, it held.
