Are Muslims second class citizens?
My article “Islam and Media Discourses in India: Constructing Islamophobia” (International Journal of South Asian Studies P.284) lambasts current political scenario in which Muslims have been reduced to second class citizens in India. If the term ‘minority’ connotes discrimination, disempowerment and systemic injustice by the majority community, the Muslims are ‘minorities’ only. Muslims have been treated as second class citizens in a secular democracy liable to be branded as terrorists by irresponsible fanatics and political parties, the police and sections of the breathless media. India’s long-cherished portrait of itself as a model of democracy, secularism and religious-cultural pluralism has been cast into doubt by Sachar Panel findings. Indian Muslims are disproportionately affected by under-representation and social exclusion and bureaucratic delay and inertia in responding to Muslim requests for socio-cultural space. Muslims, India’s largest religious minority, face systematic exclusion and serious discrimination at multiple levels. Sachar adds that Muslims now constitute India’s ‘new underclass’; they are worse off than the rest of the population in respect of access to public services, literacy, education, income, social mobility, and jobs. Muslims form 13.4 per cent of India’s population of a billionplus people, but are seriously underrepresented in schools, universities, government jobs, and Parliament.
The minority question has always been quite controversial in India. The secular forces not only acknowledge minority question but also want to give them equal status in matters of social, cultural, political and economic rights. Sadly, a systematic effort has been underway to create and sustain a minority-phobia among Indian Hindus that minority is synonymous with Muslims. Muslims are viewed as an enemy within and they feel that they are under constant siege as a numerical majority has been indoctrinated to believe that this minority is a threat. Communal forces who espouse communal ideology refuse to recognise the minority status and their distinct socio-cultural status. The communal forces continue to question the status of religious minorities especially Muslims. Sometimes they accuse secular parties of 'appeasement of minorities' and they also question their loyalty to the country.
The lackadaisical attitude of the government and the political mileage sought whenever communal riots occur has been very painful for the Community, the Sachar report also contained statistics showing the deplorable socioeconomic conditions that they confront and the systematic anti-Muslim bias on the part of the police and judiciary. No secular democracy can ever succeed without acceptance of pluralism. In a secular democracy a religious other becomes a political other. If the Indian secular democracy is well established, no Muslim should be deprived of his or her political rights on the basis of religion.
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this cannot be completely denied that more of muslims are behind most of the terror attacks and other outragious activities. they only misinterpret all ethos and easily get mislead. coming to the concerned topic ,all sections in india are subjected to oppression,supression and depression. all lower and minor sections get smashed under the wheel of exploitation and injustice. they all need upliftment and concern. why only fuss about muslim minority? so far india is concerned, it is surely not more racist than australia or more prejudised than pakistan or any mohammedan country. Komal Sikha
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