In five years, India’s largest minority has been cleaved from basic entitlements of democratic citizenship – By Shah Alam Khan
It has been difficult to be a Muslim in India in the last five years. The risk of violence, loss of life, loss of property and loss of dignity was many times higher than for other citizens, except probably the Dalits. Yet, most of our public discourse in these five years, whether through a Left or Right prism, was centred around the political dispensation which came to power in 2014.
What the Muslims lost in this din of majoritarian politics became too complicated an issue to talk about. Besides, to discuss the “loss” of Muslims in a secular country would amount to promoting a communal agenda, no matter how important and urgent it may be. No wonder, even political parties committed to secular politics decided to avoid the narrative of “Muslim loss”.
It thus becomes essential to understand what the Muslims, as the largest minority of this democracy, lost with the rise of a ruling class which did not shy away from a majoritarian narrative. This discussion becomes even more urgent at the time of the elections when nearly all the political leaders of the ruling party (including Union ministers) blatantly threaten the Muslim citizens of dire consequences if they dare not vote for them.…
SEE ALSO:
- Rajinder Sachar, a life-long socialist, showed the true picture of Indian Muslims – By Prem Singh (Apr 20, 2019, Indian Express)
https://indianexpress.com/profile/columnist/prem-singh/ - To be good neighbours in Ayodhya – By Paramita Ghosh (Apr 19, 2019, Hindustan Times)
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/to-be-good-neighbours-in-ayodhya/story-dYhKGTWiFZnmejelFWRkyM.html
