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Muslims in Indian Cities: Trajectories of Marginalisation
Hardcover – May 29, 2012
Product Details
Photo: AFP
Saturday, October 5, 2013
[mukto-mona] Fwd] Book Review: Muslims in Indian Cities: Trajectories of Marginalisation
Earlier we had some debates about how Muslims are doing in India. I said they are doing really bad and many members stated otherwise. Here is a book by scholars who know about this more than average people. Feel free to check it out...
by Laurent Gayer (Editor) , Christophe Jaffrelot (Editor)
A new book, edited by scholars Christophe Jaffrelot and Laurent Gayer, tells sobering truths about our fractured cities, says Kunal Majumder
Divided house The number of Muslim ghettos in India is on the rise
WITH JUST a few weeks to go for the Gujarat election, Muslims in Indian Cities comes at an interesting time. From a state that till 1969 hadn't seen a riot to one that colluded in the mass murders of 2002, Gujarat has been transformed into a Hindutva laboratory. This compilation of research papers looks at cities like Ahmedabad (Amdavad to Hindu right wingers who refuse to acknowledge the city's Islamic past) that bear the scars of communal violence.
Understanding the narrative of marginalisation of Muslims in India is a complex project. There's a danger of being accused of Hindu chauvinism or on the opposite spectrum, being accused of 'minority appeasement'. Muslims constitute the largest minority population in India — 14 percent, roughly 170 million. Yet, their socio-economic status is the lowest in the national prosperity graph. The process of 'othering' has been rapid. Ghettoes that did not exist a few decades ago are mushrooming across several cities. Gayer and Jaffrelot, both distinguished French researchers, present excellent accounts from Mumbai, Delhi, Bhopal, Lucknow, Aligarh, Hyderabad, Cuttack, Kozhikode and Bengaluru dissecting the reasons behind such marginalisation.
The introduction is a perceptive examination of how urban life was once at the core of Muslim culture, enabling Indian cities to become venues for a rich composite culture. Gayer and Jaffrelot contend that since the early 20th century, this composite culture has taken a hit with the "redrawing of communal and national boundaries". The Indian city, that once had "a dramatic scene of democracy", became the site for religious violence during Partition, preparing the ground for communal conflicts like the 1982 Mumbai riots, the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition and the 2002 post-Godhra riots. This pushed Muslims — already victims of Partition — further into the corner.
Accounts show marginalisation that began with communal violence was sometimes facilitated by the state apparatus. Delhi's Abul Fazal Enclave in Okhla counters the prevailing narrative. In this middle-class Muslim locality, professionals like doctors, engineers, academics, journalists moved there primarily due to the 'insecurity' that pervades other areas of the city but refuses to characterise itself as a 'Muslim area'.
The book takes anecdotal and empirical approaches to understanding the ghettoisation. But two areas are strangely neglected. While some chapters note how Muslim groups use ghettoes to further private agendas, others fail to follow through. In Ahmedabad, for instance, the burning of the Sabarmati Express in Godhra preceded the riots. A key dimension could have been the inclusion of Muslim opinion on the 'cause' of the riots.
Gayer and Jaffrelot also miss talking about the East. Apart from Cuttack, there is no mention of eastern cities, many of which have large Muslim populations, like Kolkata which saw extensive communal fighting during Partition. There is also the crucial problem of Bangladeshi immigrants. As per governmental data, almost all major cities in India have Bangladeshi immigrants most of whom live in slums and ghettoes and do menial jobs. This is perhaps why, over a period of time, the narratives of political outfits like Shiv Sena have shifted from Hindutva to the insider-versus-outsider debate. In a city like Mumbai, Bangladeshi Muslims are more alien than the rest. The compilation overlooks this demographic.
Quibbles aside, this book is a significant study of the deleterious condition of Muslims in urban India.
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