Mahmood Farooqui is among the bloggers signed on to a new group blog project called Kafila, which I discovered via DesiPundit. (Other names on the roster include Shivam Vij, the omnipresent progressive blogger/journalist, and Nivedita Menon, a well-known, Delhi-based academic).
For his first post at Kafila, Farooqui reprints an essay he had published in Tehelka, on the uncomfortable position he finds himself in as a secular — indeed, atheist — Muslim intellectual in today’s India. The place to start might be where he lays his cards on the table:
Let me explain my locus. I am an atheist, I follow none of the Islamic taboos, but I live in a locality in the capital that can only be called a ghetto. I lived here for five years, when I was a student, when I was very self-consciously opposed to the Indian Muslim stereotype. I had grown up on Chandamama and Nandan, Holi was my favourite festival, Karna my hero, Shiva the great God, Hinduism a highly tolerant religion and I had dreams of attaining martyrdom fighting Pakistan. I was studying history and detested medieval Muslim rulers; I would expatiate on the reasons why Islam had trouble with modernity; I admired Naipaul and Rushdie; supported Mushirul Hasan during the Satanic Verses controversy — a novel I deeply admire in spite of its undoubted blasphemies — and I detested many things about Indian Muslims, except, predictably, Urdu literature and Sufism. I was, in short, a model Hinduised-Indian-Muslim, who always put India before Islam. I was desperate to leave Okhla. (link)
Okhla is a predominantly Muslim suburb (slum?) in south Delhi; Mahmood Farooqui has written a little more about life there in this article.
Tellingly, Farooqui had trouble leaving Okhla for Delhi’s posher (predominantly Hindu/Sikh) neighborhoods:
But I am now back in Okhla, arguing simultaneously for the legitimacy of difference and the fact of a universal human. Between the self-hatred of my youth and the current uneasiness with my earlier positions lies, possibly, a series of adult defeats — perhaps they have dulled my passions and my hatreds. However now I have, you could say, chosen to live here, after a series of eliminations — Defence Colony, Greater Kailash-I, Jangpura — on grounds of my being Muslim and/or not having a company lease. But, crucially, I came here because I was sickened by South Delhi and because I was incipiently aware of Okhla’s hospitableness. (link)
When he says “eliminations,” he means he was denied a lease — at least some of the time — because of his Muslim name. What happens to Farooqui as he tries to leave Okhla is a reflection of the double-bind he faces as he tries to balance his social identiy and background with a self-critical attachment to the idea of modern India as a nation. He fits in uneasily in Okhla, surrounded by conservative Muslim neighbors. But mainstream society isn’t very encouraging, and as a result the pull of his social loyalites remains alive:
More than this, however, my views, in conformity with the rest of the academic world, about the virtues of egalitarianism, liberty and a democratic welfare state are now far less uncomplicated than they were in my youth. I still search for vestiges of the narrative of liberty in Islamic pasts, I continue to valourise streams of pluralism in Muslim sultanates and extol those Indian Muslims of the past who were ecumenical and tolerant. I would still challenge descriptions of the medieval past that underline forced conversions or bemoan the second-class treatment of Hindus. If I do not have much truck with Islam, why then do I continue to search for narratives of tolerance in the Islamic past? Why do I smart when Vajpayee says that there is trouble and violence wherever Muslims live? Why is my attitude to Islam so defensive? (link)
In this essay (you should really read the whole thing), Farooqui doesn’t really come upon any answers to the double-bind he faces, but it is a remarkably forthright and careful attempt to articulate the problem of minority belonging — which isn’t so different from minority belonging in other national contexts.
More Mahmood Farooqui links:
Amit Varma’s post on a controversy regarding a possible instance of plagiarism in a book review Farooqui wrote
Dastan Goi, the lost art of storytelling
Thanks for introducing us to Kafila, Amardeep. Some solid stuff there. Besides, group blogs are the best!
Thank you Amardeep for the link. That’ll make for some good reading tomorrow!
Friend of mine introduced me to it a few days ago – fantastic stuff. Model blog.
One of my uncles tried to rent an apartment in a very posh South Delhi neighborhood. He met with the landlord, had tea and biscuits, discussed the weather, politics, discussed my uncle’s business etc. and verbally agreed on the lease terms. When my Uncle got up, shook hands and gave the landlord his first name (very muslim sounding first name as compared to his last name which the landlord was aware of already and was not Muslim sounding-it was turkish)the landlord on hearing the full name asked my Uncle whether he was Muslim. My uncle said yes and the landlord apologized and told him that he could not rent out the place to my uncle because he was a Muslim.
I can’t think of any big city in India which doesn’t have religion based ghetto-ization or for that matter region based ghetto-ization (Delhi was always divided as kalkaji and chittranjan park for the Bongs, RK Puram for the madarasis etc etc). It all seems to go back to the idea of Indian mosaic of religions and cultures vs. a melting pot like the US. While it would seem like a bad thing to be divided up like that, I always knew where to go for good rosogollas when I lived in Delhi! I wonder if that works for fried chicken in the US…
Mujahid – Mahmoud’s and your Uncle’s experiences are not unique. It is not just Delhi but most major cities in India, even Mumbai where there are a lot of muslims, that this goes on.
I was expated in Mumbai for 6 months and with a halfie name (muslim-hindu luve marriage parents), the utter disbelief in some ppl’s faces on hearing my name was worthy of a Punk’d moment.
I have never understood the deep seated mis-trust between the two when every day ppl flock to multiplexes to see a muslim star playing a hindu punjabi doing what they do best. I think post Babri Masjid, Bombay and Gujarat riots and communal strife announcing itself as regularly and surely as a woman’s period, things are very different now. It is as browns and the rest of the US keep saying, that life changed after 9-11 in this country. So is the case in India. Life has never been the same after Babri Masjid.
So you have muslims cheering louder than hindus when Tendulkar is batting and hindus doing the same when Pathan bowls, flaunting their secular stripes but the hollowness of it all is not lost on anyone.
Desis born into hindu families in the US but are atheist or agnostic still feel conflicted and hurt when they are proselytized to and feel like they must stick up for Hinduism even though they are not practicing Hindus. This is similar to the confusion that Mahmoud talks about. The emotion evoked is not one of religious freedom but more of personal/cultural identity and a sense of belonging. Not a day goes by when on some Indian blog someone says, why don’t they go back to Pakistan. These are not rare cases but happen at disturbingly frequent intervals. This is usually balanced by seculars adding that muslims own the country too and they are Indian but the damage is done.
“Despite all my rage, I’m still just a rat in a cage” – Pumpkins
I think that sums up what a lot of urban muslims feel (and I am focusing on them because no one ever tells a Hindu Indian in India to go back home). You may insulate yourself from all of these things through education and money (whether muslim or hindu), but when you are caught at the wrong place at the wrong time, whether the Sameer in your name is Hindu or Muslim will mean life and death. All it takes is one instance of seeing a mob rush past you, to relinquish your cherished ideals.
I am sharing some of my personal experiences here not to make a point, but to help others understand what it feels like to be the other, which in some way or form, most ppl on this blog have.
Well said, Delirium tremens.
Sad but true. The neighborhood that I grew up in Mumbai does not allow Muslims either. It’s not going to change soon 🙁
Oh, and as a side note, I’m gonna be in Kolkata, Mumbai and Bengaluru over the next 5 weeks. Anyone up for a meetup? Shoot me an email…
sad.
that is there, this is here. in the USA self redefinition is possible. the main reason my handle on SM has “the atheist” in it is that i don’t want to be assumed to be a muslim simply because of my name. this happened multiple times before spring of 2005 when i affected the name change. since being a presence on the web i have had multiple instances of atheist hindu acquaintances & friend referring to me as a ‘muslim,’ and i’ve objected every time (jews have a tendency of doing this too). just because one conceives of one’s own religion as defined by a particular set of parameters (an ethno-cultural identity) does not mean others need to conform to this (i also believe in the right of other atheists defining themselves as ‘muslim,’ or homosexuals defining themselves as ‘muslim.’ i don’t personally ‘get it,’ but i’m not them).
on a personal note, sometimes when i am a road warrior and i check into a brown owned motel it is interesting to see the expression on the owner’s face. they are often piqued with interest when they see my face, but when i give my name they tend to get a bit cooler (on average).
p.s. ironically note. conservative christians often assume that i am muslim by my appearance. when i explain i am an atheist, they totally take this to heart and don’t ever thing of me as muslim. for them, being an atheist is even worse 🙂
Oh jeez…you forgot to include “white, brown and rich” in that mix. Having gone thru the process myself and getting very close to being on the board as well I respect it. Unless you are ready to offer up your first born you cannot be allowed to be part of the corporation.
Delirium tremes,
Well put. I do not think that there is an easy solution. However, money and education can help as you also said.
Now my question to commenters who currently live in India.
There is a huge, huge condo boom in urban India, run by corporations. There are condos in Delhi that have appreciated 10X in a year once Dell started building their office next door. Do they also discriminate? I am not surprised by an individual landlord, sad but true.
Based on what he is writing, he sounds nothing like an Athiest. He sounds like a real secular activist. He is a counterpart to a non practising indifferent hindu. Give him sometime to get back into the fold of ‘a’ religion 🙂
People act mighty brave when they: a) Get a little drink in their belly b) Log on w/ an alias
This is not such a bad thing. This way you know where the douchebags stand. Just look at all the bright bloggers defending Michael Richards.
Hindu-Muslim unity was important to getting the British out of India. Politicians tried to build credibility by promiting narratives of tolerance. This was the pattern even after indepenence.
Things are different now. Politicians now feel that they can’t win everybody’s votes. So they focus on specific demographic groups. The BJP focusses on the Hindus. The Ramadosses (father and son) focus on the Vanniyar caste of Tamil Nadu. The Yadavs (Mulayam Singh and Lalu Prasad) focus on—you guessed it—the Yadav caste of the Gangetic plains. Mayawati focusses on UP Dalits. They form coalitions, because no one can win single-handedly.
Politicians don’t need to build credibility by promoting narratives of tolerance in this sort of situation. Blaming the Muslims is how the BJP runs its election campaign. Promising reservation is how the Ramadosses run their election campaigns. Blaming higher castes is how the Yadavs runs their election campaigns. As to Mayawati, she began by blaming all the non-Dalit castes. Now, however, she tells the Brahmins and the Thakurs, “The Yadavs have become the 800-pound gorilla of the Gangetic plains. Why don’t we unite to be a check and a balance on them?” So she just blames the Yadavs now, not the Brahmins or the Thakurs.
So much for politicians. What about the intellectuals? The intellectuals are busy intellectualizing this kind of demography-based politics. Read the op-ed articles of any newspaper today. What is their tone? Blame Christian evangelists! Blame Muslim mullahs! Blame higher-caste Hindus! We are the victims! You are the oppressor! Be ashamed of your ancestors! Be ashamed of your culture. Be ashamed of your religion!
Macaulay prescribed a currculum in which Hindus and Muslims where ashamed of their culture. Nehru kept up this shame. So did Romila Thapar. Arun Shourie helped the Hindus overcome this shame, but he was very hard on the Muslims and the Christians.
Well, no wonder Farooqui cannot keep his sanity.
well, reading the thread, that individual is clearly culturally identified with islamic history & heritage and what not. perhaps that’s just how one must be in india. i don’t know. i don’t feel any need to make apologia for islamic history and culture any more than i do for the relatively recent hindu history and culture in my family’s background. but different circumstances and viewpoints.
While I dont deny that many people flatly refuse to rent houses to muslims, I must add that MOST of them do so not because they are muslims, but due to the fact that they would cook non-veg food, including beef. I know dozens of families that come in this category. Marwadis and Southie brahmins would refuse leasing their houses to muslims, christians and even their brahmin bretheren from Bongol. So, it isnt as bad as it is made to sound in these “intellectual” essays.
What is the actual difference? How does the reason behind the discrimination make any difference to the person trying to get a room? It’s still discrimination.
Technically speaking, it does make a difference, as it is, in such a case, discrimination against non-vegetarians, and not against muslims.
What is the actual difference? How does the reason behind the discrimination make any difference to the person trying to get a room? It’s still discrimination.
Yes. It is discrimination. A much more benign one though compared to racial or religious ones. Some people are appalled at the mere thought of blood, flesh and bones in a kitchen. Hence, they prefer renting their houses to veggies. I dont think there is anything wrong with this practice.
not all discrimination is created equal. as a young man i see plenty of “seeking female roommates” adverts (this might not technically be legal from what i hear, but it is pretty ubiquitous). on the other hand, i don’t see “seeking white roommates” adverts.
South Delhi is mainly Hindu/Sikh Punjabi, many partition families, not all vegetarian by any means. I think its a flimsy excuse.
This was an excellent article. I think we are all aware of the complicated relationship between culture and religion but Farooqui does a brilliant job of articulating what happens when you attempt to put one before the other (nationalism above religious principles, or lack thereof) and realize that you can’t. The two are inextricably linked together and while you may try and identify more with culture than religion it’s just not possible. Farooqui argues this in the context of his community, while I can empathize with his same points from within my context of being an American-Muslim. Or Muslim-American. Both, but never one or the other.
Not a day goes by when on some Indian blog someone says, why don’t they go back to Pakistan.
They did not come from Pakistan to go back there.
The two are inextricably linked together and while you may try and identify more with culture than religion it’s just not possible.
perhaps you should speak for yourself? some people i know assert they can do it successfully.
specifically, there is a long tradition of ‘cultural’ judaism or catholicism. there are hindus, muslims, shintoists, etc. i’ve met who make cultural assertions. your flat out contention is falsified by these individuals. it might be hard, or it might differ across social contexts, but it is possible. it might be impossible to be a ‘cultural’ muslim in saudi arabia, or india, but it is probably far easier in sweden, or the USA.
“What is the actual difference? How does the reason behind the discrimination make any difference to the person trying to get a room? It’s still discrimination.”
but in india some forms of discrimination are ok and legal, such as parsi-only or christian-only (that too by denomination) or veggie-only (hindu) housing.
—-#17 Kush,
If I understand correctly, the condo boom in delhi and other cities is due to consrtuction corporates, but the actual sale/lease/rent is done by invidual landlords so no respite.
A Hindu would not be able to live in one of the muslim housing colonies either. Like someone mentioned in the thread, politics is demographic and it is far easier to get votes playing this angle than it is through development cos if you promise development, you have to deliver and if you don’t you will be voted out of power.
Amardeep – Thanks. This is a great find.
Delirium tremens and others – just wondering how many “halfies” are out there? I don’t mean to take such an obvious tangent, but I am just so curious being a Hindu-Muslim mix myself. Would love to hear about that experience. I haven’t been denied any leases living in America, but I do know that I do not quite fit in with many groups. Most notably, my Dad is Muslim Gujarati and very often people have said “Well how can you be Gujrati? Your Muslim?” Of course, to my mind Gujarat is a state not a religion….
Since I am not a practicing Muslim, but more of a cultural one I do not quite fit in with that group either.
It is an interesting lens through which “halfies” view the whole Hindu-Muslim thing. I never quite grasped the extent of racism amongst US-based Indians until I got married to a Hindu. It is really so sad and bizarre how certain Muslim Indians are elevated and revered but the community as a whole is shunned. How does that happen?
sorry about all the typos – I’d like to blame it on my rush to get out for thanksgiving if that is okay 🙂
They do make cultural assertations but my point is that their assertations are tainted in part by their religious views. It doesn’t matter what religion/lack thereof but it will affect a person’s social constructs and basic cultural mores. After all, the idea of religion that a person practices/does not practice was in some way shaped to be what it is through careful considerations in which culture (be it related to background, history, science) undoubtedly played a role.
I agree that there may be varying levels of cultural/religious identity based on your location, but it is certainly not impossible to be a ‘cultural’ anything in a specific place such as Saudi, where they try and restrict religious viewpoints other than Islam. This has been proven to me by Christian friends in Saudi who do not broadcast their religion however still celebrate and practice within their own home.
As always, I do. My statements are not meant to be blanket generalizations, I’m sorry if you interpreted it to be that way.
—-Ek Aurat In cities like Mumbai and B’lore, there are a lot of halfies (atleast more so than the US). It is hard to spot some because if they don’t have obviously mixed names, one wouldn’t know. In the US, it has not had any effect on me as I didn’t have brown friends growing up as my parents had a rather interesting group of friends. Some may be familiar with the word h-i-p-p-i-e. For some reason though, my parents would love it if I came home with a good Indian boy of any stripe.
They do make cultural assertations but my point is that their assertations are tainted in part by their religious views. It doesn’t matter what religion/lack thereof but it will affect a person’s social constructs and basic cultural mores. After all, the idea of religion that a person practices/does not practice was in some way shaped to be what it is through careful considerations in which culture (be it related to background, history, science) undoubtedly played a role.
by this logic though cultural background matters too. well, many muslims in the USA (and hindus) were raised in a christian social matrix. does this effect their religious outlook? i believe it does (e.g., hindus seem more likely to make the assertion than hinduism is monotheistic, muslims are more arminian).
In Northern Ireland, when someone claimed to be an atheist, the locals would ask “But are you a Protestant atheist or a Catholic atheist?”
I never quite grasped the extent of racism amongst US-based Indians until I got married to a Hindu. It is really so sad and bizarre how certain Muslim Indians are elevated and revered but the community as a whole is shunned. How does that happen?
it can go the other way too. e.g., a muslim woman who marries a hindu man in the bangladeshi american community…lots of whispers and dirty looks (especially since the children were being raised hindu of course).
Yes, I believe it does affect a person’s perception on their own religious views, through understanding the inherent similarities and differences. However this is complimented by a constant cultural struggle of placing oneself in the context of a “christian social matrix” and not being truly christian, but affected by it nonetheless.
Had to laugh at that one. Gotta love N. Ireland for throwing politics into the mix as well.
I’ve seen the kind of discrimination that goes on while renting out houses in India. This is mostly limited to certain localities within a city.
I’m afraid that you’re wrong. The actaul lease/rent is not done by individual landlords…its the agencies that do it. They’re willing to sell it to anyone who comes up with money.
MOST of them do so not because they are muslims, but due to the fact that they would cook non-veg food
I see the capitalized most. Still one counter-example – my parents in west bengal. They cook fish every day, chicken and goat meat at least twice a week and are open to eating beef as well. But they have never rented the house to a muslim and never will. Not that they are particularly religious. They are not atheists like I am – indifferent is probably the right category. From my experiences in West Bengal, food habit is a convenient excuse most of the time – divisions are deeper than that.
ek aurat
This is not that uncommon in the social mileu I grew up in Bombay. Many of my friends and family have married inter religiously .But even in such marriages the wife usually has to convert or at least the kids have to ‘pick a side’.
In Bombay, Bohris/ Khojas have a high profile and are quite wel known for being both Gujju and Muslim. I don’t think you would have got this question in Bombay.I’ve noticed most ABDs are not aware of the level of diversity in India.
When I was looking for a studio apartment in Boston, I met a middle-aged couple (white) who were planning to rent out a portion of their house. They flatly refused to rent me the studio…citing that I will cook (curry)! I assured them that I won’t cook anything at all…but they didn’t budge. I’ve heard a lot of such stories ..mostly with white middle aged couples.
The very next day, I met another couple who were ready to bend over backwards and lease the apartment to a “nice Indian”. They apparently had a very favourable opinion about Indians…”nice, mannered and helpful”.
Yes, I’ve heard about this happening a number of times, though luckily it never happened to me. As with the veg/non-veg excuse in the Indian case, it makes you wonder whether the food smell was the real reason, or an alibi for a deeply felt xenophobic/racist hostility.
Luckily, for every “they all smell like curry” person there is an “Indians pay the rent on time, don’t play loud music, and don’t get in trouble with the law” person to balance it out. Model minority, zindabad.
P.G.Wodehouse, great comment! (and great books too!)
But how much of a narrative of tolerance was there really, before Independence? There were well established — and stoked — divisions between the Hindu, Muslim, and the Dalit community leaders even around that time. During the partition riots millions were killed, manu thousands of Dalits converted to Buddhism.
Ultimately, a narrative of tolerance can never precede a narrative of stake in the system. The British played on Muslim and Dalit fears of reduced stakes in any post-independence system. And now, the leaders of various sections play on the fears of the resp. sections of having their extant stakes reduced.
Economics is said to be the dismal science, but frankly, I can see no other way of distributing stakes in the “system” throughout the peoples, other than a robust decade of growth — only this can pave way for a narrative of tolerance.
The progressive agenda in countries like India should be aligned with economic reforms, quite sadly though it is the opposite.
Delirium,
I was talking about condos built by companies, like JP Constructions, etc. They are wholly owned by companies, and they lease/ and sell them. They are entirely a business enterprise. Now days, they are biggest constructor in town be it Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore. I just wanted to know their dynamics.
Ek Aurat, I personally know a few Hindu-Muslim mix, including extended family.
You will be surprised that in villages, religion changes with the drop of hat, and sometimes, the mixes just mesh in without any open call for allegiance. A little trivia that actress Meena Kumari was closely related to Rabindra Nath Tagore
That would explain the bad poetry 😉 .
A lot of S. Delhi residences are owned by Punjabi Hindu & Sikh folk. Either they or their parents were born in Pakistan and resettled in Delhi. A fictional account of this human tragedy and, it’s social impact can be found in “Train to Pakistan”. I am surprised this has not come up yet.
42 I’ve noticed most ABDs are not aware of the level of diversity in India.
um are most FOB’s even aware of the level of diversity in India (ie yellow skinned desis in the northeast)? especially the average, poor, uneducated one(aka the kind that doesn’t generally post blog comments.) also haven’t I heard situations of people with christian names having indians (i guess natives) questioning if they were Indian or not.
especially the average, poor, uneducated one
You will surprised how much they know just by observing life, watching movies, meeting people. Don’t be condescending them
Now regarding western Christian names, anyone who has seen Amar, Akbar, Anthony or Albert Pinto Ko Kussa Ku Hatta Hai will know. AAA is a milestone in Indian psyche. Every Ramu knows Helen.
Now with Mongoloid features in NE India, just walk in any big town in India.
can’t speak for all, but i had guys and gals from the NE in my college… yes we I am well aware of the ‘yellow skinned desis’ as you so crudely put it…
its never been FOBs beating the ‘brown’ drum, its always ABCDs …we beat the ‘We are all Indian anti-brown anti-SA drum remember ? man, this is FOB-ABCD flame war 101…
hmm..i should know..never happended to me in india, happens all the time here…most ABDs have no idea about Indian chrsitians….neither do most americans for that matter..