A massive achievement of the Pasmanda movement was the state government issuing over 57 notifications on the issue.īut the story is incomplete without discussing in greater depth Dilip Kumar's social location and personal journey in this struggle. On December 7, 1994, the Maharashtra government issued an order to include socially and educationally backward Muslims in the state list of OBCs. The government had to listen to the demands of the millions who had rallied behind the organisation. He became a medium to spread the voices that were unheard till then.Īlthough the AIMOBCO was working for the issues of Pasmandas since 1978, Dilip Kumar's association with them was a shot in the arm for the movement. He helped people get organised, made them understand the rationale behind reservations, and brought them together to agitate from a common platform. Reservations were a constitutional process, and marginalised communities should use the opportunity for social and economic mobility. Their discriminatory categorisation into occupational biradaries (communities) restricted their economic mobility and social development. He said Pasmandas suffered caste marginalisation. He said it was a social tool to uplift this socially and educationally backward community, which happens to be Muslims. In these meetings, Dilip Saheb insisted that reservation for Pasmandas should not be seen as a religious issue. His celebrity status attracted large crowds and jolted the political class to heed the demands of people. His public meetings in Aurangabad and Lucknow turned out to be significant political events. He participated in more than a hundred public meetings all over India. Soon, Dilip Saheb officially joined the AIMOBCO in 1990 and associated with its organisational activities on almost a daily basis. However, what he did was beyond everyone's expectations. Dilip Kumar shared a similar view and remarked that the balance 15 per cent are traditionally well-off and did not need the support of reservations.ĭilip Kumar promised Sonawane help.
They told him how 85 per cent of Muslims are Pasmanda and could benefit from the AIMOBCO movement. Sonawane and Ansari informed Dilip Kumar about the Mandal Commission report and its provisions for Pasmandas, or backward, Muslims. He believed a film star should associate himself with the issues of the larger society or else people will forget him as soon as his career ends. If an issue related to the Indian Army would come to his knowledge, or if he heard of a natural calamity, Dilip Kumar used to contribute as much as he could. Kamal informed me that this meeting coincided with a phase in the actor's life when he actively supported social causes. Sonawane met Dilip Kumar for the first time at Mumbai's Islam Gymkhana. To know details of this facet of Dilip Saheb's life, in 2017, I sought out social activist and founder of AIMOBCO Vilas Sonawane, well-known lyricist Hassan Kamal and president of AIMOBCO Shabbir Ansari. The thespian spent a substantial time of his late working life participating with activists of the All India Muslim OBC Organization (AIMOBCO) for the rights of Pasmandas in Maharashtra. Such empathy is exceptional for someone from upper castes, that too from an individual who has achieved a niche among the country's elites. Was this always the case? I am not sure, but there comes to my mind an exception to this rule - Dilip Kumar aka Yusuf Khan.įew know that Dilip Kumar participated extensively in the struggles of the marginalised among the Muslim community. Yet, we can safely posit that Indian celebrities, for example, most Hindi film industry icons, have selfishly received from society and failed to give back in return.
A celebrity's lack of interest in social causes and larger politics could be a matter of debate.
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