A Bollywood star recently alleged that he has been denied access to buy an apartment in a Mumbai housing society because he is a Muslim. The media was assured of its column space and the television its bytes, thanks to his celebrity status.
There are a number of housing societies in Indian cities where you cannot buy an apartment, forget renting it, because you are a Sidiqqui, a Halem or an Ismail.
I do not want to rankle readers with my secular sermons. But it is plain disgusting to see that people never stop identifying religion in names (I am not even mentioning caste. That is a different debate altogether).
But the urban, Hindu middle class, that has found its expression of Hindutva, seems happy to “get back at Islamic fundamentalists”. Being in a position of owning property, the middle class is able to take its revenge. This denial can be carried out subtly, because the seller is in a position to decide whom to sell his/her property to. This ethnic discrimination will never be made public because the reasons are never spelt out. And, that is dangerous.
This is the middle class that secretly applauded when Babri masjid was demolished by Hindu hooligans. This is the middle class which found the BJP as its “saviour of Hinduism”. This is the middle class which, through its silence, approved of events which turned Gandhi’s Gujarat to Modi’s Gujarat. Many even spoke a saffron language in drawing room discussions, saying the riots were an answer to Godhra.
I understand, the issue cannot be simplified. And, the Islamic terror attacks in major cities have been responsible for making the middle class see saffron. But denying Muslims to buy apartments is not the right way to express anger.
So if it is Islamic terror that has created this suspicion, there are Hindu terror groups as well. Remember Jalagaon? And, Gandhiji’s assassination was masterminded by a Hindu organisation.
And, on the question of renting out apartments, I have seen people refusing to entertain prospective Muslim tenants. In the time of recession, they would rather let the apartment be locked than rent it out to a Muslim.
In a housing society in Chennai, there was a flat which was sold to a Muslim buyer for a handsome amount. But there was a lot of subdued irritation among other inmates of the complex. And, most of the ire was directed against the seller because he sold to a dirty, Muslim family. Appalling!
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A Godra did not happen for the 'Average' Muslim.
ReplyDeleteMumbai serial Blasts, Ahemdabad, Delhi, Coimbatore never happened for this 'Average' Muslim
Never a condemnation or remorse, just plain subjugation to dictacts of the Imams.
Where are these 'Average' Mulsim and their Psuedo Secularist supporters at such times?
Why do you guys just want to hog space without looking at whole issue integration with the society at large.
It took a 26/11 to shake you off your stupor. Even that due the brazen nature of attacks and the high profile targets.
Wake up and take a wholistic view
I am not even sure what do they exactly fear. The prejudice and generalization of a whole community is indeed quite appalling. People draw wrong conclusions from questions like, "Are all Muslims terrorists or all terrorists are Muslims?"
ReplyDeleteWell, let us not ignore the fact that the propertied class IS trying to "get back" at the Muslims in its own little ways.
ReplyDeleteI am not denying that the bias is present among both communities. Why cannot we talk it out, throw out the venom that has been churning inside our system?
First, Hindus should stop thinking of themselves as Natives and Muslims as "people who came in later"(read invaders). That is history. With time, the Indian fabric is a warp and weft (tana bana) of people from all religions, race, culture and caste. They only make our texture rich, vibrant and colourful.
If Obama can initiate beer diplomacy to dilute racial bias in America, why cannot we do that over chai??It is the cup that cheers. Right?
I think this has always been a fact of life in India. A housing complex refusing to register / allow a "alien" - While the media plays up the story of "Hindu" coop society refusing Muslim buyer story...I have myself seen (a) A Tamil landlord refusing "egg/fish eating" Bengali family (in Chennai) (b)Bengali housing society refusing a Marwari family (in Kolkata)(c) a landlord in Hyd refusing a large family of 7 members (too much water consumption) and so on !
ReplyDeleteThe height was when a Bengali aquaintance expressed passionate support for the LTTE against the Indian IPKF...when asked why - his response was that it was a "rice-eaters" (Bongs and Bams) vs the "wheat eaters" Punjabi IPKF !!
I guess we are a deeply parochial society - and we have the regrettable ability to slice and dice society to its lowest common denominator (from simplistic Hindus - Muslims to the complex Iyer - Iyengar ).
Jai ho ...