Dilip Kumar: The gardener of the Pasmanda movement

The actor never sought any fame nor used his activism as a public relations exercise for his career

A celebrity's lack of interest in social causes and larger politics could be a matter of debate. 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. 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.

Few know that Dilip Kumar participated extensively in the struggles of the marginalised among the Muslim community. Such empathy is exceptional for someone from upper castes, that too from an individual who has achieved a niche among the country's elites. 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.

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. Sonawane met Dilip Kumar for the first time at Mumbai's Islam Gymkhana. Kamal informed me that this meeting coincided with a phase in the actor's life when he actively supported social causes. 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. 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.

Sonawane and Ansari informed Dilip Kumar about the Mandal Commission report and its provisions for Pasmandas, or backward, Muslims. They told him how 85 per cent of Muslims are Pasmanda and could benefit from the AIMOBCO movement. 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.

Dilip Kumar promised Sonawane help. However, what he did was beyond everyone's expectations.

Soon, Dilip Saheb officially joined the AIMOBCO in 1990 and associated with its organisational activities on almost a daily basis. He participated in more than a hundred public meetings all over India. His public meetings in Aurangabad and Lucknow turned out to be significant political events. His celebrity status attracted large crowds and jolted the political class to heed the demands of people.

In these meetings, Dilip Saheb insisted that reservation for Pasmandas should not be seen as a religious issue. He said it was a social tool to uplift this socially and educationally backward community, which happens to be Muslims. He said Pasmandas suffered caste marginalisation. Their discriminatory categorisation into occupational biradaries (communities) restricted their economic mobility and social development. Reservations were a constitutional process, and marginalised communities should use the opportunity for social and economic mobility. He helped people get organised, made them understand the rationale behind reservations, and brought them together to agitate from a common platform. He became a medium to spread the voices that were unheard till then.

Although 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. The government had to listen to the demands of the millions who had rallied behind the organisation. On December 7, 1994, the Maharashtra government issued an order to include socially and educationally backward Muslims in the state list of OBCs. A massive achievement of the Pasmanda movement was the state government issuing over 57 notifications on the issue.

But the story is incomplete without discussing in greater depth Dilip Kumar's social location and personal journey in this struggle. How did a Pathan from a zamindar background become an activist for Pasmandas? I was not satisfied with the explanation that Dilip Kumar's compassionate nature was the reason for his participation in this movement. So, I went back to Ansari with these questions. Ansari told me of the events in Dilip Kumar's life that sensitised him towards associating with the Pasmanda movement.

Ansari told me that while Dilip Kumar was quite socially aware, he was initially hesitant about the caste question in Muslim society. Ansari narrated one incident which might have played an important role in sensitising Dilip Kumar towards the evil of caste.

Dilip Kumar used to play football in his childhood days. Among many of his friends was a Dalit boy who eventually became the football team captain. When he became captain, he invited all players to dinner at his home. Only Dilip Kumar turned up for dinner, and the rest of his teammates did not. When Dilip Kumar inquired about their absence, the boy said, "I belong to a low caste; they will neither come to our place nor eat food with us."

Another incident that might have influenced Dilip Kumar was when some students from the Pasmanda community in Maharashtra sought financial help from his organisation. Ansari told Dilip Kumar that other backward communities are taking the benefit of reservations, and if Pasmandas did too, these boys would be able to become doctors and engineers.

This explanation so convinced Dilip Kumar that he provided financial help to all the six students. It was only after this incident that Dilip Kumar officially joined the organisation. He received much flak for his espousal of the Pasmanda cause, even fatwas from ulemas and criticism from elite Muslims. Dilip Kumar would often talk about his meetings with Baba Saheb Ambedkar and how these opened him towards the question of caste and caste discrimination.

It is tough to pick a point in time - whether the impact of meetings with Ambedkar, his experience of the lot of Dalits and Pasmandas, or his own experiences of a displaced childhood - when Dilip Kumar truly changed. But Dilip Kumar not only transcended his caste privileges forever, he never sought any fame nor used his activism as a public relations exercise for his career.

That very few of the current generation know about his critical role in the Pasmanda movement is the most significant evidence that he never tried to appropriate it. He always pushed the leaders of the movement ahead instead of himself. As Ansari told me, Dilip Kumar identified himself as a baghbaan, or gardener. He believed that since his father was a fruit merchant, it makes him a baghbaan too.

Dilip Saheb will always be a baghbaan of the Pasmanda movement who nurtured the orchard so that others could enjoy the fruits.

The writer is a PhD scholar at National Law University, Odisha

(A previous version of this article was published a couple of years back on roundtable.co.in)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author’s own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.