Urdu academies, AMU, Jamia Millia Islamia, etc). He also documents the caste-based violence and discrimination against Dalit and backward Pasmanda (Persian for those who have fallen behind) Muslims. Anwar's key demands were - Reservation in government jobs and educational institutions to enable the rise of an educated leadership Inclusion of Dalit Muslims and Christians in the list of Scheduled Castes as was done for Sikh and Neo-Buddhist Dalits in 1950, to allow these groups to fight elections in reserved constituencies Social reform initiatives to encourage inter-caste marriages. In the 1990s and early 2000s, Muslims in Bihar had electorally consolidated behind Laloo Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal. In the lead up to the 2005 legislative elections, Anwar's PMM and other Pasmanda leaders heavily criticized Laloo's tenure and the lack of progress made by Pasmanda muslims therein. Anwar threw his support behind Nitish Kumar's JD(U)-BJP alliance. and helped Kumar and his alliance to victory. In power, Kumar implemented policies reserving seats in local bodies as well as educational scholarships for backward Muslims. This This helped breach Yadav's hold on Muslim voters and drove a portion of the Muslim voter base to Kumar. Anwar's endorsement of Nitish Kumar and drew heavy criticism from Muslim organizations including from within the Pasmanda Muslim Mahaz because of Kumar's alliance with the Hindu-nationalist BJP. Anwar defended his decision by stating Kumar was not a Hindu nationalist. Organizations similar to PMM in other states like Maharashtra have increasingly focused on social and economic improvement among backward Muslims with initiatives to address landlessness, lack of education, poverty, and unemployment. PMM has continued to focus on political goals such as reservations. This has attracted criticism as reservations only benefit urban educated people, whereas the large majority of Pasmanda Muslims in Bihar and rural, landless and uneducated. Political career Anwar was elected to the Rajya Sabha as a member of Janata Dal (United) and served two terms until his expulsion from the party in September 2017. He was suspended from his party for attending a meeting of opposition parties called by Indian National Congress President Sonia Gandhi. As a result, he was expelled from Rajya Sabha. Anwar had strongly opposed the party leadership decision to break from the Mahagathbandan and instead partner with BJP. Later he became the founding member of Loktantrik Janata Dal along with Sharad Yadav parting ways from Janata Dal (United), due to its alliance with Bharatiya Janata