Lives of Muslims in India
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Lives of Muslims in India The fast-consolidating identities along religious and ethnic lines in recent years have considerably ‘minoritised’ Muslims in India. The wide-ranging essays in this volume focus on the intensified exclusionary practices against Indian Muslims, highlighting how, amidst a politics of violence, confusing policy frameworks on caste and class lines, and institutionalised riot systems, the community has also suffered from the lack of leadership from within. At the same time, Indian Muslims have emerged as a ‘mass’ around which the politics of ‘vote bank’, ‘appeasement’, ‘foreigners’, ‘Pakistanis within the country’, and so on are innovated and played upon, making them further apprehensive about asserting their legitimate right to development. The important issues of the double marginalisation of Muslim women and attempts to reform the Muslim Personal Law by some civil society groups are also discussed. Contributed by academics, activists and journalists, the articles discuss issues of integration, exclusion and violence, and attempt to understand categories such as ‘identity’, ‘minority’, ‘multiculturalism’ and ‘nationalism’ with regard to and in the context of Indian Muslims. This second edition, with a new introduction, will be of great interest to scholars and researchers in sociology, politics, history, cultural studies, minority studies, Islamic studies, policy studies and development studies, as well as policymakers, civil society activists and those in media and journalism. Abdul Shaban is Professor at the School of Development Studies and Deputy Director (Tuljapur Campus), Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India. He has published widely on Muslims in India, including in Mumbai: Political Economy of Crime and Space (2010); Muslims in Urban India: Development and Exclusion (2013); and Mega-urbanization in the Global South: Fast Cities and New Urban Utopias of the Postcolonial State (2012, co-editor). He has been member of the Study Group appointed by the Government of Maharashtra to assess the ‘Social, Economic and Educational Status of Muslims in Maharashtra’ (2012–13); the ‘Post-Sachar Evaluation Committee’ (2013–14) appointed by the Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India; and the Commission of Inquiry on Social, Economic and Educational Status of Muslims in Telangana (2015–present). He has also authored many reports for the Maharashtra State Minorities Commission, the Government of Maharashtra, the Government of India, the World Bank, and national and international corporate groups. ‘Lives of Muslims in India is an important book not only because it adds to the literature on Indian Muslims but also because it confronts head-on many of the issues facing Indian Muslims. The immense importance of the Sachar report in this context also becomes evident.’ Vikhar Ahmed Sayeed, Frontline ‘It offers significantly new things to the readers. One hopes it would be appreciated not only in academic as well as popular circles but also in policy domain and state executive.’ K.M. Ziyauddin, Journal of Exclusion Studies ‘This is a stimulating, interesting, thought-provoking and thoroughly absorbing collection that will be of value for academics, students and researchers interested in political sociology, minority studies, Asian politics, cultural and religious studies, anthropology and social sciences. The series of articles that individually represent important contributions to the debate about the lives of Muslims in India and present a series of interesting observations, comparisons, interpretations and questions make it a book worth reading.’ Fayaz Ahmad Bhat, Islam and Muslim Societies, A Social Science Journal ‘This is a rare book bringing together thought-provoking, well- researched and articulated writings from a range of authors on issues relating to Muslims of India. Essays explore the impact of violence on the structure of exclusion and point to the changing domains of national integration. The analytical richness describing the life situation of Muslims in major cities, regions and at the national level within the multidisciplinary perspective, broaden our understanding of the social and developmental institutions, their formations and processes. Special emphasis on the issues relating to Muslim women are praiseworthy.’ Abusaleh Shariff , US-India Policy Institute, Washington DC, USA and former Member Secretary, the Prime Minister’s High Level Committee (Sachar Committee), Government of India Lives of Muslims in India Politics, Exclusion and Violence Second Edition With a New Introduction Edited by Abdul Shaban Second edition published 2018 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2012, 2018 selection and editorial matter, Abdul Shaban; individual chapters, the contributors The right of Abdul Shaban to be identified as the author of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice : Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. First edition published 2012 in India by Routledge British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record has been requested for this book ISBN: 978-0-8153-9297-2 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-8153-6983-7 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-351-22762-9 (ebk) Typeset in Plantin by Apex CoVantage, LLC Contents List of Tables vii List of Figures ix Notes on Contributors xi Acknowledgements xv Introduction to the Second Edition xvii Introduction 1 Abdul Shaban 1. Minority and Minorityism: The Challenge before Indian Muslims 25 M. J. Akbar 2. The Muslim as Victim, The Muslim as Agent: On Islam as a Category of Analysis 35 Markha Valenta 3. Policies for Muslims in India: Locating Multiculturalism and Social Exclusion in the Liberal Democratic Framework 66 Ranu Jain 4. Muslims and Politics of Exclusion 88 Ram Puniyani 5. Indian Muslims: Political Leadership, Mobilisation and Violence 107 Irfan Engineer 6. Precedents and Exceptions: BJP’s engagement with the Muslims 131 Nistula Hebbar 7. Structure of Violence and Muslims 145 Taha Abdul Rauf vi ♦ Contents 8. Hindu–Muslim Riots in India: A Demographic Perspective 163 R. B. Bhagat 9. Police Conduct during Communal Riots: Evidence from 1992–93 Mumbai Riots and Its Implications 187 Jyoti Punwani 10. Ethnic Politics, Muslims and Space in Contemporary Mumbai 208 Abdul Shaban 11. Social Exclusion and Muslims of Kolkata 226 Sanjukta Sattar 12. Muslim Women and Law Reforms: Concerns and Initiatives of the Excluded within the Excluded 250 Noorjehan Safia Niaz and J. S. Apte Index 273 Tables II.1 Percentage of population with various levels of education by religion in India, 2011 xxxiii 1 Religious Group-wise Distribution (%) of Prisoners in Jails in India 12 2 Share (%) of Muslim Jail Inmates as per Different Categories in Major States in India 14 4.1 Introduction of Education and Industrialisation and Associated Changes in Social Values and Relationships 91 8.1 Religious Composition of Population and its Growth Rate in India, 1961–2001 168 8.2 Deaths during Hindu–Muslims Riots and Characteristics of Riot-Affected States in India, 1960–2002 172 8.3 Hindu–Muslim Riot-Affected Towns/Cities in Pre-Independence India (Present-Day India Only) 175 8.4 Most Riot-Affected Cities in India, 1950–2002 180 8.5 Correlation Matrix of the Number of Deaths in Riots (per 1,00,000) and Selected Variables: City Level Relationship (N = 31) 181 8.6 Regression Analysis of Number of Riot Deaths (per 1,00,000) and Selected Variables: City Level Relationship (N = 31) 182 11.1 Distribution of State Patronage in Bengal, April 1871 233 11.2 Occurrence of Riots in Kolkata and Immediate Surroundings, 1910–2009 236 11.3 Ward-Wise Share of Minority Households under BPL Category 240 Figures II.1 Trend in reported number of communal riots in India, 1901–2013 xxix II.2 Number of Hindu–Muslim riots, 1901–1946 xxxi II.3 Number of Hindu–Muslim riots, 1947–2013 xxxii II.4 Percentage of Muslim population with completed SSC level of education, 2011 xxxiv II.5 Percentage of Muslim population with completed graduation and above level of education, 2011 xxxv 1 Share of Muslim Population in India by District, 2001 (%) 3 8.1 Demography, Communalism and Riots 166 8.2 Riot-Affected States in India, 1960–2002 171 8.3 Most Riot-Affected Cities in India, 1950–2002 178 10.1 Hindusthan, Dalisthan and Pakistan: Metaphorical Map of Neighbourhoods in Mumbai 221 11.1 Literacy Rate among Religious Groups in Kolkata, 2001 238 11.2 Distribution of Slum Population in Kolkata by Wards, 2001 241 Notes on Contributors M. J. Akbar is a leading Indian journalist and author. Presently, he is Minister of State for External Affairs, and a Member of Par- liament in the Rajya Sabha. He has also been editor of The Sunday Guardian , published from Delhi; India on Sunday , published from London; and editorial Director, India Today and Headline Today . He is the founder and former editor-in-chief and managing direc- tor of Asian Age and was editor-in-chief of The Deccan Chronicle . He was founder and editor of The Telegraph , published from Calcutta and the Sunday magazine. In 1989, he joined politics with his elec- tion to the Indian Parliament and left politics with his resignation in 1992. In March 2006, he joined The Brooking Institute, Wash- ington, as visiting fellow in the Brooking Project on the US Policy towards the Islamic world.