Kapil Patil

With the passing of Shabbir Ansari, the Muslim community has lost a tireless warrior for the rights of OBC Muslims. A committed Lohiaite, he carried forward the emancipatory legacy of Jyotirao Phule, Shahu Maharaj, and B. R. Ambedkar, taking their ideas deep into the Muslim community.

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He was one of the founding pillars of the OBC movement in Maharashtra. Since the 1970s, he worked closely with Janardan Patil, a key figure in the state’s OBC mobilisation. Over the years, Shabbir Ansari collaborated with leaders such as Gopinath Munde and Chhagan Bhujbal in Maharashtra, and with Sharad Yadav, Ram Vilas Paswan, and Brahm Prakash at the national level.

It was largely due to Shabbir Bhai’s efforts that the legendary actor Dilip Kumar associated himself with the Pasmanda Muslim movement. With the support of poet Hasan Kamal, Dr Zaheer Kazi of Anjuman-I-Islam, and Ali Anwar Ansari from Bihar, he helped elevate the Muslim OBC movement to the national stage.

Initially, Shabbir Bhai led the Muslim OBC wing within Janardan Patil’s broader organisation. However, when the idea of forming an independent body was proposed, he readily agreed. Together, Shabbir Ansari, Janardan Patil, and I established a dedicated Muslim OBC organisation in Maharashtra. Its foundation rally, held in Jalna in 1983, was attended by prominent figures including Brahm Prakash, Asghar Ali Engineer, R. S. Gavai, and Ram Vilas Paswan. In 1995, this initiative evolved into the All India Muslim OBC Organisation.

Shabbir Bhai also enjoyed the goodwill of leaders like Vilasrao Deshmukh and Madhavrao Scindia. He played a key role in ensuring the election of OBC candidates from the Congress, including Hafiz Dhature from Miraj and Rashid Tahir Momin from Bhiwandi, to the Legislative Assembly.

A tireless organiser, Shabbir Bhai was constantly on the move. There was hardly a village in Maharashtra with a Pasmanda Muslim population that he did not visit. He identified and documented over 60–70 OBC castes within the Muslim community, giving visibility to groups long ignored.

In December 1994, when the recommendations of the Mandal Commission began to be implemented for Muslim OBCs, I accompanied him to meet Sharad Pawar, who was then Chief Minister.

Pawar Saheb was already familiar with the names, occupations, and social conditions of backward-class Muslims in remote areas. However, he was astonished by the scale at which Shabbir Bhai had organised and united them. That moment proved decisive, and many deprived Muslim communities began receiving long-denied benefits.

Communities such as Julaha, Bunkar, Momin, Attar, Mehtar, Bakar Qassab, Qureshi, Mulani, bear and monkey trainers, Chhapparband Dafaliwale, Rangrez, Rangari, Gujjar, Mujawar, Madari, Pinjari, Nadaf, Patharwat, Tamboli, Faqir, and Ansari have since seen a significant transformation. Their children are now accessing education and opportunities that were once out of reach.

There was a time when Muslim doctors and engineers could be counted on one’s fingers. Today, thousands of young people from these marginalised communities are entering education and employment, thanks to the groundwork laid by Shabbir Ansari.

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Since Independence, few leaders have brought about such profound social change among the most deprived and marginalised sections of the Muslim community. Despite his monumental contributions, Shabbir Ansari lived a life of simplicity in a modest tin-roofed house. He remained, till the very end, a humble faqir.

The author is a Member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council.