Indian Muslim(s) after Liberalization

Description

Close to the turn of the century and almost 45 years after Independence, India opened its doors to free-market liberalization. Although meant as the promise to a better economic tomorrow, three decades later, many feel betrayed by the economic changes ushered in by this new financial era. Here is a book that probes whether India’s economic reforms have aided the development of Indian Muslims who have historically been denied the fruits of economic development.

Maidul Islam points out that in current political discourse, the ‘Muslim question’ in India is not articulated in terms of demands for equity. Instead, the political leadership camouflages real issues of backwardness, prejudice, and social exclusion with the rhetoric of identity and security. Historically informed, empirically grounded, and with robust analytical rigour, the book tries to explore connections between multiple forms of Muslim marginalization, the socio-economic realities facing the community, and the formation of modern Muslim identity in the country. At a time when post-liberalization economic policies have created economic inequality and joblessness for significant sections of the population including Muslims, the book proposes working towards a radical democratic deepening in India.

About the Author

Maidul Islam teaches political science at the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta, India.

Reviews

"Maidul Islam presents a serious analysis of the Muslim predicament in the era of economic liberalisation. He gives a good overview of literature and sheds light on the contemporary debates on Muslim politics." – The Hindu

"The book is indeed provocative in multiple senses. First, the author engages himself to explore the problems of the Muslim minorities and their identity formations in liberal-cum-neo-liberal India. Second, in order to unravel the complexity of identity, the author explores the theoretical possibility of investigating Muslims from the location of socio-economic and political marginalization of group identity. This is a feat in itself as such analytical framework was unthinkable three decades ago. Third, the book is a serious attempt to understand Muslim questions in terms of their democratic rights as citizens of India...Above all, the book is an important intellectual exercise to understand Muslim problems in a progressive theoretical context." – The Book Review

"Well-researched publications since the Sachar Committee Report, 2006 are few and far between. The Sachar report brought together authentic empirical data on Muslims—the largest of the Indian minorities—and wrote analytical perspectives on social, educational, and economic levels in comparison to other socio-religious communities (SRCs). Indian Muslim(s) after Liberalization by Maidul Islam, therefore, is a welcome addition. It is topical and relevant to the contemporary social and economic growth discourses of India..this book highlights multiple concepts and issues on the status of the Muslim community in India and makes the reader think." – Economics and Political Weekly

Table of contents

List of Tables ix

List of Abbreviations xi

Acknowledgements xv

Prologue: Muslim Identity Formation in Neoliberal India 1

1. The Muslim Question in the Neoliberal Regime 55
2. Imag(in)ing Indian Muslims in Post-liberalization Hindi Cinema 91
3. Indian Muslims and the Politics of Affi rmative Action 150
4. Political Articulations of Indian Muslims in an Era of Globalization 187

Epilogue: Towards a Radical Democratic Politics in India 236

Bibliography 280

Index 305

About the Author 313