Messages from the margins

Making Place for Muslims in Contemporary India offers a critical understanding of the differential citizenship to which Indian Muslims have been subject, and suggests ways to combat it

Making Place for Muslims in Contemporary India

Author: Kalyani Devaki Menon

Publisher: HarperCollins

Pages: 220

Price: Rs 499
 

Kalyani Devaki Menon’s latest book Making Place for Muslims in Contemporary India is an uncomfortable read at a time when the ruling ideology of Hindutva seeks to marginalise Muslim society. Dr  Menon’s field-work in Purani Dilli (Old Delhi), the shrinking epicentre of Delhi Muslims, distilled into this book, offers startling insights into the systematic attempts by the state to configure upper-caste Hindus as the normative nationalist subject, and relegate Muslims to the margins.

Her carefully chosen interlocutors include men and women from different sectarian traditions (Shia and Sunni) who follow different maslaks or religious doctrines (Deobandi, Barelvi, Ahl-e-Hadis). Through the stories of Aamir Sahab, Ameena, Rehana and Sadia Baji, told against the backdrop of socially significant events such as Muharram or the mourning of Irfan Bhai’s death, she uncovers the fears and anxieties of a community that has become increasingly susceptible to unwarranted detentions, torture and increased surveillance.

Her initial correspondents respond to the common prejudices Hindus harbour against Muslims. For instance, Ameena Baji, removes her burqa ahead of a doctor’s visit in New Delhi because she knows that she would be discriminated against if she didn’t.

Such stereotypes breed socio-political and economic inequalities that accentuate the problem. Stories of lesser jobs, lower pay scales, and layoffs owing to their religious identity are common among young people. The Sachar Committee’s 2006 Report reveals that Indian Muslims are the worst hit even when compared to other historically underprivileged groups. Being outside the mainstream economy results in very few Muslim students attempting UPSC exams and even fewer applying for government jobs. When confronted with the reality of filthy neighbourhoods compared to Hindu counterparts, Baji chips in, “Most families here are like mine. They can’t afford to pay [a sweeper] every month. [Hindu areas] are very clean because they can all afford to pay the sweepers what they want.”

Looking through an anthropologist’s lens, Dr Menon argues that small, everyday cultural or religious practices not only allow Muslims to intervene and create a space for themselves but also underline their interconnectedness. For example, wearing the hijab while also being a symbol of resistance offers women a shared identity to talk and share concerns, creating a way to expand their networks and get around social barriers to mobility.

In such a precarious situation, gender adds another layer of instability that can’t be precluded. In Old Delhi, Dr Menon notes, a far higher number of families rely on women’s income because men are often prone to disease or disability in their mid-forties owing to poor working conditions. Saiba Baji, a resident of Shahganj and a Zardozi artist, would embroider “Om” in Hindi and Punjabi on headpieces for Hindu bridegrooms. Back in 2012, she and her neighbour received Rs 800 to Rs 1,000 per palla of 40 headpieces. But in 2019, after the double whammy of first the demonetisation, and later the implementation of the goods and services tax, she began receiving much less money for her work.

Dr Menon also discusses the Shia community, with access to even more meagre resources when compared to an average Muslim. Most of them are part of the global commodity chain, forcing them to do home-based work for little remuneration but generating high profits for others situated in other places. She quotes the example of Kulsum and Nazima, supari cutters, who earn Rs 150 to cut down a sack of 75 kilograms, which takes eight days when both sisters work around the clock.

The desire to belong has led to clear and loud displays of religious symbols. While earlier offering Eid or Jumma (Friday) prayers didn’t hold much significance, Dr Menon notes an increasing emphasis on namaz, religious processions, and projecting particular kinds of identity that are more global. “These are all signs of being beleaguered,” says Tariq Sahab, a resident who has been living in Old Delhi since birth.

Dr Menon notes how ritual occasions provide an arena to transcend boundaries including sectarian, religious, and national ones, and construct alliances with people. For example, the Karbala narrative provides the Shias with a framework for understanding their lives in the contemporary world. Hussain’s suffering becomes their suffering—as Shias marginalised by the Sunni majority, as Muslims marginalised by Hindu majoritarianism, and as a beleaguered people marginalised by the politics of nation-states.

Acknowledging differences and working through them is the way ahead, Dr Menon believes, instead of counter-posing them with the ideas of communal harmony. Only then can we begin alternative imaginings in a country besieged by the chauvinistic and regressive idea of a Hindu state.

Although the book offers a critical understanding of the differential citizenship to which Indian Muslims have been subject, and even ways to combat it, it is heavy-going for the reader. It reads like a straight reproduction of Dr Menon’s PhD thesis, a notion that is underlined by the inclusion of an introduction and conclusion in every chapter.

The reviewer is based out of New Delhi and writes on books, gender, and sexuality