The recent academic debates on multiculturalism have shifted significantly from their earlier concern of inter -group equality to intra-group equality. Though socio-anthroological debates on caste, linguistic identity, ethnicity, religious communalism and other identity related issues still occupies a significant proportion in Indian context; issues of inequality within communities are gaining prominence in recent times. Studies on Muslims of India were largely focused on issues of social scarification, personal law, Urdu, social / political representation, communalism etc. However, starting from early 1990s, with implementation of Mandal commission and inclusion of backward Muslim castes into it, the issue of democratization and social justice emerged to be crucial among Indian Muslims. Especially rise of backward caste politics among Muslims of India pushed a quest for equality and threw light on the issue of social justice. However, in the broader and dominant Indian context, little anthropological insight could be found on the topic of social equality among Muslims of Northeast India. Taking it as a point of departure, focusing on Muslims of Assam, this paper attempts to interrogate nuances of hierarchy and inequality among Muslim Assamese. First, this paper attempts to locate the question of inequality and stratification among Muslim of India relating it to the larger theoretical crisis of multiculturalism. In this backdrop,, this paper attempts to articulate the unique context of inequality among Muslim Assamese which involves a complex intersection of migration, ethnicity and class identity based on field insights. Finally, it tries to map the recent politics of local vs. migrant Muslims and how it challenges the idea of social equality. Focusing on anthropological nuances of intra-Muslim stratification and inequality among Muslim Assamese, the article pushes some insights on the quest for social equality.
