Indian Muslims And Citizenship

Through the creation of post-colonial citizenship, India adopted a hybridisation of specific secular and western conception of citizenship. In this democratic framework, Indian Muslims are observed on how they make use of the spaces and channels to accommodate their Islamic identity within a secular one. This book analyses how the socio-political context shapes citizens’ perceptions of multiple variables, such as their sense of political efficacy, agency, conception of citizenship rights and belief in democracy. Based on extensive surveys and interviews and through presenting and investigating the various meanings of jihād, the author explores the usage of non-Eurocentric conceptual approaches to the study of postcolonial and Muslim societies, in particular the meaning it carries in the psyche of the Muslim community. She argues that through means of argumentative and spiritual jihād, Indian Muslims fight their battle towards a realisation of citizenship ideals despite the unfavourable conditions of intra and inter community conflicts. Presenting new examinations of Islamic identity and citizenship in contemporary India, this book will be a useful contribution to the study of South Asian Studies, Religion, Islam, and Race and Ethnicity.

"Research shows that Indian Muslims experience higher levels of development and equity deficits. Indian Muslims are also predicted to become the largest Muslim population in the world by 2050. This increase in numbers might exacerbate their relative deprivation, creating a disjunction between India's constitutional promises of 'equality of opportunity' for citizens of a secular democracy-including for minorities-and the existential reality. This will create social and political conditions that could undermine the stability of the country's democracy and make Indian Muslims a security threat, which would have not only national but also global ramifications. This book examines the struggle for equality of citizenship of Indian Muslims in light of the release of the Sachar Committee report of 2006, which sparked widespread awareness of socioeconomic disparity and exclusion of religious minorities in India, especially Muslims. The contributors are some of the most eminent social scientists in the fields of applied economics, politics, sociology and demography who work on Indian issues. The Indian state and its political infrastructure have been relatively successful thus far in countering the challenges presented by the diversity of its population. India therefore has the capacity and the ability to deal with these new challenges, given the political and collective will. "

This book studies how marginality impacts the everyday lives of Indian Muslims. It challenges the prevailing myths and stereotypes through which Indian Muslims have come to be seen in the popular imagination. The volume engages with questions of citizenship, collective violence, and issues of civil and criminal jurisprudence. It explores the linkages between development, marginality, and citizenship – the three critical issues for modern democracies today. Going beyond the singular narrative of a community on a continuous slide, the chapters in this volume present diversities of the Muslim experience of exclusion and participation. It discusses themes such as violence and marginality among minorities; Indian Muslims and the ghettoized economy; employment aspirations of low-income Muslim men; intergenerational social mobility of Muslims; the nature of the middle class; and the question of Islam, development, and globalization to showcase the living conditions of Muslims in India. Part of the Religion and Citizenship series, this timely volume will be an essential read for scholars and researchers of political studies, sociology, political sociology, minority studies, public policy, religion, citizenship studies, diversity and inclusion studies, and social anthropology.

Part of the ‘Religion and Citizenship’ series, this book is an ethnographic study of marginality of Muslims in urban India. It explores the realities and consequences of socio-spatial segregation faced by Muslim communities and the various ways in which they negotiate it in the course of their everyday lives. By narrating lived experiences of ordinary Muslims, the author attempts to construct their identities as citizens and subjects. What emerges is a highly variegated picture of a group (otherwise viewed as monolithic) that resides in very close quarters, more as a result of compulsion than choice, despite wide differences across language, ethnicity, sect and social class. The book also looks into the potential outcomes that socio-spatial segregation spelt on communal lines hold for the future of the urban landscape in South Asia. Rich in ethnographic data and accessible in its approach, this book will be useful for scholars and researchers of sociology, social anthropology, human geography, political sociology, urban studies, and political science.

Using the princely state of Hyderabad as a case study, Sherman surveys the experience of Muslim communities in postcolonial India.

The Present Volume Tries To Map The Tensions And Predicaments Of Indian Muslims Arising As A Result Of That Threat. The Papers Included Here Study The Ways In Which Hindu Right Forces Such As The Rss And The Bajrang Dal View The Muslims And In A Certain Sense Construct Them. Does The Rise Of Hindutva Necessarily Force The Muslims Towards Alienation Or Is There A Section, Which Looks At The Bjp Differently? How Does The Stress On Indian Pluralism Translate In Terms Of Muslims` Relationship With The State? What Has Been The Response Of The State To Such Demands?

'The book seeks to explain Islam to non-Muslims, place the identity of the Indian Muslim in the context of Indian democracy, and decipher the Muslim mind in social and political contexts, beyond theology. '- PTI 'The notion that Muslims' problems are internal and self-made is the cornerstone of a new intellectual orthodoxy. This book presents rich material to fight that idea.'-The Asian Age