The Muslims who came to the subcontinent during the 12th century Muslim conquests on the Indian subcontinent were allegedly already divided into vocation based social "classes" , including priests, nobles and others. Further, a racial segregation demarcated the local Muslim converts from foreign origin Muslims . The foreigners claimed a superior status as they were associated with the conquerors and categorized themselves as Ashraf ("noble"). Over time, the Indian Muslim society also allegedly split on the basis of the existing Hindu caste system. According to M. N. Srinivas (1986) and R.K. Bhattacharya, Indian Hindu converts to Islam brought their original caste system to the Muslim society in the region. On the other hand, Louis Dumont (1957) believes that the Islamic conquerors consciously adopted the Hindu caste system "as a compromise which they had to make in a predominantly Hindu environment."
