Social Exclusion faced by Indian Muslims: Manifestation of Majoritarianism

HUMA SAYED– ILS LAW COLLEGE, PUNE

Introduction

From the beginning of Indian democracy, the question of placing the identity of an Indian Muslim lies within deciphering the social and political dimensions of the mind of a Muslim beyond theology.

Enshrined in our constitution the definition of secularism, is taken different from its European sense. In the Indian context– It legislates the equality of each faith before the law and is part of the guaranteed freedoms: a right of every citizen to practice any religion he professes. Similar to a line of the Quran-

‘La qum din akum wa il ya din’ (Your faith is for you, my faith is for me)

This has significant value in analyzing the Indian-ness of Muslims in India.

That being said, it becomes imperative to analyse ‘Who is an Indian Muslim’ before analysing what he goes through and why.

The preview of this article is limited to only social exclusion faced by ‘Indian Muslims’ and not the entirety of all Muslims around the globe and or Islam as a religion in general.

Muslims are not as “Numbers”

For a long time, Muslims in India have been referred to in terms of “Numbers” (preferably in Vote Bank politics) because of their numerical strength. For the purpose of this article, I define it in terms of a “Constitutional entity” i.e. one which exerts its legal-rational ability as a citizen, rather than a religious minority that is only interested in its own politics.

The community is a collective in two senses

i) Positive sense gives the beneficiaries the rights to profess religion and the right to protect culture and heritage
ii) Negative sense treats it as a minority institution acting as a threat to the majority culture, a narrative generally attacked by the Hindutva essentialists

The minority is not a function of numbers but a derivative of empowerment, and with this statement, Minority sects enrich the secular ethos of a country with a cultural flavor.

Majoritarianism

Modern India remains highly influenced by Hinduism, a far cry from the Sanatan Dharma, the essence of how to live life within Hinduism, Today it has further been distorted into the aggressive political statement of Hindutva. Although one sees the party-political end of Hindutva, one portrays a revivalist movement in line with other such Hindu reform movements with an extra tint of politics attached to it. Such a view is appraised by the Supreme Court in the judgement of Justice J. S. Verma. Another view that comes into the picture is an assertive counter-distinction from people of the other religions and their way of life, inferred from the statement given by the current chief of RSS Mohan Bhagwat “[The] day it is said that we don’t want Muslims, it won’t be Hindutva”, An opinion quite contrary to the statements made by senior BJP leaders asking Muslims to go to Pakistan for real or virtual disagreements on political discourse. So the question arises are we talking about religion or ideology, for this I took the liberty to define, ‘Who is a Hindu?’

One must be careful while defining a Hindu, not long ago the definition encapsulated all Indians and not just a religious entity. As Amartya Sen writes

“The term ‘Hindu; was traditionally used mainly as a signifier of location and country, rather than any homogenous religious belief”

But today, the price of independence was paid through the division of wealth, heart, and brothers. The new Pakistan was theocratic and not a democracy, so is majoritarianism in their purview and not in our democracy.

Insecurity: Partition and Aftermath

Post Partition fundamental changes came in the way of major sects of the Indian republic, I sought to find the reasoning behind the social exclusion and alienation as an aftermath of the partition and how it has been an ‘Unending Partition’ resulting in the insecurities of Indian Muslims today,

The dominant reason for alienating Muslims from mainstream Indian society and the majority community is through the construction of the identity of ‘other’ i.e different from the rest of foreign or ‘alien’ and ‘Pakistani’

This has led to Muslims forming their own ghettoes to find their safe place, close to what one may call a Muslim-concentration area. These ghettos turn to what is referred to as ‘mini-Pakistan’- because of the spatial boundary created through segregation. This in turn denationalised the identities of these people making them akin to the enemy. The mercenaries sent to India further complicate the situation, which makes ‘the metaphorical Pakistanis’ the victims of heinous crimes as seen in Bhagalpur(1989), Bhiwandi (1970 and 1984), Meerut (1982), Mumbai(1992-93) with the police and state actively involved. (see Rai 1999)

Social Exclusion: Current Implications (social, economic and political)

Social exclusion refers to the process by which individuals or groups are systematically marginalized from participating fully in the social, economic, political, and cultural life of their communities. Social exclusion results in reduced access to resources, opportunities, and rights, leading to inequalities and social injustice. The imagined image of Muslims has been the main reason for this ostracising of Muslims.

Having discussed the main causes for the social exclusion in the context of Indian Muslims, Social exclusion is largely manifested in varied forms due to majoritarianism—a political philosophy or agenda that prioritizes the interests and culture of the majority population.

The current dynamics of Social Exclusion of Indian Muslims:

Economic Exclusion

Employment Discrimination:

In ‘Muslims in India: Economic marginalization and social exclusion’, published in Economic and Political Weekly, 41(48), 4887-4892, research has found that Muslims have lower employment rates compared to Hindus, with a significant wage gap even for those with similar qualifications. A recent study by the Center for Applied Socioeconomic Research (CASER) found that Muslim job applicants in India were called back for interviews only half as often as Hindu applicants with identical qualifications. This bias exists in both the public and private sectors, with Muslims underrepresented in government jobs and often underpaid in private companies.

Educational Disparities: The main reason for the educationally backward Indian Muslims is the lack of Equal Access to quality educational facilities in Muslim-majority areas.

This is compounded by economic hardships that force many Muslim children to drop out of school early to support their families. The Sachar Committee Report (2006) titled ‘Report of the Committee on the Socio-Economic and Educational Status of the Muslim Community of India’ highlights the low literacy rates among Muslims and the lack of quality educational facilities in Muslim-majority areas.

Cultural Exclusion

Ghettoization: Muslims often live in segregated neighbourhoods, either by choice for safety or due to being unwelcome in mixed or non-Muslim areas. The article by Alam, J. (2012) titled Social Exclusion of Muslims in India and Deficient Debates about Affirmative Action. Journal of Social Exclusion, 1(1), 107-128, explores the factors contributing to residential segregation and its impact on social mobility among Muslims. Many urban cities even today don’t allow Muslims to rent out their properties.
Cultural Stereotyping: Muslims are often subjected to negative stereotyping in media and public discourse. This includes being unfairly associated with terrorism and crime, which fuels societal prejudice and discrimination.

One important instance of this is seen in the negative portrayal of Muslim characters in mainstream media as elaborated by Jeffrey, T. (2017) in the book Muslims in Indian Cinema: Configuring the “Enemy Within”, which analyzes how popular Indian films often portray Muslims through a stereotypical lens, reinforcing negative associations.

Political Exclusion

Underrepresentation in the political realm:

Muslims are underrepresented in political institutions and decision-making bodies. This limits their ability to influence policies that affect their lives.

An important observation made here is that, In Indian Politics, leaders are not known as leaders who ‘are Muslims’ rather, the leaders ‘of Muslims’

Targeted Violence and Communal Riots:

There have been numerous instances of communal violence where Muslims have been disproportionately targeted. The state’s response to such violence is often inadequate, furthering the sense of insecurity among Muslims.

Legal and Institutional Discrimination

Partisan (Prejudiced) Law Enforcement:

Law enforcement agencies often exhibit bias against Muslims. This includes unwarranted arrests, harassment, and a lack of fair treatment in the judicial process. As scholar Jeet, S. (2018) writes in the article– “They Treat Us Like Criminals”: Everyday Policing and the Experience of Muslim Youth in India which explores how profiling and discriminatory practices by law enforcement disproportionately affect Muslim youth. There has not been one but several thousand instances.

Citizenship and Identity Issues:

Policies such as the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) have created fear and uncertainty among Muslims about their citizenship status. As Jaffer, M. A. (2020) writes in the article The Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens: A Threat to Indian Muslims, analysing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and their potential to create fear and uncertainty about citizenship status among Indian Muslims.

Conclusion

The deep-rooted system that purports to exclude a segment of the society from common entitlements and guarantees civil liberty cannot hope to be flawless for the rest, even if that happens to be the majority, which is what has led to the emergence of liberal Hindus. Liberal Hindus see this as a problem and fight against this marginalization. For whatever reason the ‘US’ versus ‘THEM’ has plagued our mind, we obliterate the dichotomy and celebrate the lost Hindustani collective of HuM (Hindu-Muslim unity) and that and only that will be the saviour of Indian Democracy.

References-

Hilal Ahmed, ‘Siyasi Muslims: A Story of Political Islams in India’

Ahmed, H. (2019) Siyasi Muslims: A story of political islams in India. Gurgaon, India: Penguin Viking.

Social Exclusion of Muslims in India and Britain

Khan, S. (2020). Social Exclusion of Muslims in India and Britain. Journal of Social Inclusion Studies, 6(1), 56-77. https://doi.org/10.1177/2394481120944770