Viewpoint | How Does Being a Muslim Affect One in India?
Being Muslim in India: A Critical View by Ziya Us Salam is reviewed in an opinion piece by Karan Thapar in the Hindustan Times. The growing issue of what it means to be a Muslim in India is noted by Thapar. According to him, the response shouldn’t vary from that of a Hindu, Christian, Sikh, etc. Nevertheless, he ignores the complex reality of being an atheist of Muslim descent in India, mentioning notable individuals such as Umar Khalid and Javed Akhtar.
As seen by incidents like the murder of Farook in Coimbatore by a lifelong friend because he belonged to an atheist WhatsApp group, there is still violence and takfiri-ism inside the Muslim community. The Abrahamic faiths of Islam and Christianity are foreign to India, in contrast to the local Parsis who fled and prospered there. It’s interesting to note that Jews have not experienced persecution in India, and those descended from the Prophet who sought safety there have flourished in the area.
Women in Masjid: A Quest for Justice by Ziya-us-Salam discusses the long-overdue need for reform in Islam, especially in light of the 1937 Shariat Act that has not altered in India since independence. There are differing opinions in the debate about women’s participation and place in mosques. Some Wahhabi and Salafi sects adhere to strict interpretations, while others, like Ziya us Salam and many activists and reformers, support a more inclusive approach based on the life of the Prophet and the precedent set by early Muslim women defying authority.
The reduced proportion of Muslims—just 4.9% in paramilitary forces, 3.2% in IAS, IFS, and IPS, and 4.9% in state and central government employment—is highlighted in Zia’s book. The Hindu majority cannot be held exclusively responsible for this. Despite having postgraduate degrees, my spouse and I never applied for a government job due to the government’s reputation for corruption, the non-working ethics of “look busy, do nothing,” and the hefty salaries and pensions that many in their generation—including our fathers—were known for in the 1980s and 1990s. This completely turned us off to government employment.
Furthermore, there is no discrimination in government employment. Families that practice Islam should urge their children to take the UPSC and other government job exams. Shah Faisal’s story, who was first linked to sedition before converting to nationalism, is an example of openness when people are dedicated to the cause. Growing public awareness of civil services has led to a steady stream of prosperous Muslim candidates from different states and union territories, telling inspiring tales of people of Muslim descent achieving prestigious positions like IAS/IPS/IFS, including the sons of laborers and the daughters of rickshaw pullers.
among addition, the story highlights the lack of prejudice among paramilitary groups, the Indian Army, the Navy, and the Air Force, where many courageous Muslim leaders and soldiers—including those in the CRPF—serve. Notable examples are the accomplishments of Lt Gen (Retd) Ata Hasnain today and the historical sacrifices made in crucial battles by warriors like Havildar Abdul Hamid and Brigadier Usman. The J&K Police organization, which is mostly made up of Muslim officers, is an elite counterterrorism organization that, like our own “Fauda,” is fighting Pakistan-sponsored jihad in Kashmir while requiring heavy casualties from its members. The recent terrorist attack in Baramulla that claimed the life of a retired SP during morning prayers is a stark reminder of the constant hazards that affect everyone, even the retired.
In addition, some males are preparing to become combat pilots, while Kashmiri Muslim women are shattering stereotypes by seeking jobs as commercial pilots. Over the last ten years, there has been a noticeable rise in the number of Muslim applicants for government employment, civil service positions, and military positions. This may be due to improved internet access and technology that reaches further, promoting knowledge of a wider range of professional opportunities. Remarkably, millions of Indian Muslims are shedding the burden of the two-nation doctrine that caused India to be divided over 70 years ago.
The Muslim worldview has changed as a result of late 20th-century and current geopolitical upheavals, moving away from Islamist dominance, the perfection syndrome, and eternal victimization (Oppression Olympics). Ideas like nation-building, democracy, coexistence, tolerance, and electoral politics are becoming more and more popular. In the future, there may be an attempt to address Karan Thapar’s issue on the underrepresentation of Muslims in political posts. A lack of trust affects political involvement and is a result of historical events like as the Partition and recurrent internal insurgencies like SIMI, IM, and the now-banned PFI. Resolving these issues might result in more Muslims holding political office in India.
In a few years, maybe, Thapar’s complaint that there are just 27 Muslim seats in the Lok Sabha and no Muslim chief ministers in 28 states—or no Muslim ministers in 15—will be heard. There must be a cost associated with the subcontinent’s partition. There will be repercussions for launching a jihad against the Indian government and ethnically cleansing a population. Any political party will eventually lose credibility due to recurrent internal insurgencies like SIMI, IM, and the now-banned PFI, whose terror connections are discovered by the NIA every other week. Not to mention the hundreds of people who attended the funerals of Burhan Wani and Yakub Menon.
I visited Shaheen Bagh, the scene of months-long, large-scale demonstrations against the CAA. Similar to how no one in Pakistan or the Kashmir Valley had studied the UN resolutions pertaining to J&K, the demonstrators caused disruptions without understanding or reading that the CAA included no anti-Muslim sentiment. The state of the canal at Jasola, which encircles the slum, is pitiful, as are the roads, shanties, and ghettos. Why can’t Muslims organize protests reminiscent of Shaheen Bagh to demand macadamized roads, improved housing, mohalla clinics, operational schools and universities, neighborhood cleanliness, and slum dweller rehabilitation?
Every evening, I wait patiently while groups of kids, often accompanied by moms wearing burqas, use the metro lifts—which are meant for the elderly, the crippled, and the sick—causing a commotion and generally being a nuisance. Broods tampering with the lift’s automated controls, shoving, pushing, and jostling—all of which may be dangerous for the elderly—and the hijab, triple talaq, and CAA arguments that rage on TV channels have left no one speaking out against a brood guarded by a burqa. Instead, Thapar would be better served by bemoaning the lack of mohalla clinics and a large number of medical professionals who might have pushed for greater understanding of issues such as early child marriage, the veil, empowerment, financial independence, and contraception among the nation’s Muslim ghettos.
I looked into the disparaging remarks made toward opposing Muslims, both offline and online, by right-wingers and Muslimphobes, referring to them as “puncture wala.” It turns out that my son was surprised by how many people of Muslim ancestry who show up for maintenance, including carpenters, AC repairers, plumbers, etc. Is the lack of trust exacerbated by viral videos showing Muslim punks, high on dopamine from TikTok, threatening the majority and causing a 15-minute police absence? The Muslim extreme right responds angrily to every Hindu right-wing slur of “Babar ki Aulad” by mocking “Aurangzeb, Ghori, Ghazni, Mir Qasim destruction”—a sobering reminder of the Islamic invasion and conquest of India.
The 174 million Muslims in India who consider themselves to be part of India and who do not mind having Hindus as their leaders, representatives in parliament, council members, chief ministers, presidents, and prime ministers should, for once, let Thapar’s “Untold Story” play the role of “Devil’s Advocate” for the voices that go unheard. These Muslims know that they need the Hindu majority in order to safely profess their agnosticism, atheism, doubt, or heresy. The helpful fools of Hindu descent who are trying to save the Muslim elite should educate themselves on the violence against Muslims that has been going on since 632 AD and is still going on now, as well as the goals of the silent majority of Muslims.
