The compounding cost of polarisation

As calls for boycott of Muslim business resound, their livelihoods teeter on the edge, threatening social and economic stability

Manesar, a quiet-village-turned- boomtown in Haryana’s Gurugram district on the Delhi-Jaipur highway, makes for a delightful day trip if you are anywhere in the National Capital Region.

Last month, however, it made news for a very different reason. A panchayat in Manesar, claiming to represent ‘Hindu society’, asked residents not to buy anything from Muslim-owned shops and businesses in the area. Around 200 people, who had gathered for the meeting, claimed that Manesar had become a den of ‘illegal migrants’ who needed to be ‘evicted’.

The call for economic boycott of the minority community, widely reported in the local media, evoked a sense of déjà vu. This has happened before in other cities, and in other states, in recent years.

In April, Hindutva groups in Karnataka weaponised even the mango, India’s national fruit. They claimed that Muslim mango farmers and sellers were monopolising the mango trade and urged fellow Hindus to launch a ‘counter-offensive’. It did not stop there. In Dharwad, Muslim pushcart vendors selling watermelons near a temple were targeted.

This June, there was a furore when there were reports that a Muslim trader had been awarded a contract in 2021, to supply bananas to a temple on the outskirts of Mangaluru. Of all the bidders who had submitted quotations, the Muslim trader had quoted the lowest price.

But such incidents are not limited to Karnataka. The toxic politics of polarisation is affecting large swathes of India. There was no respite even during the pandemic.

In 2021, a mob attacked a Muslim-owned eatery in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, which sold dosas. They were infuriated because it was called ‘Srinath Dosa’ and the owner was accused of exploiting a Hindu name. Muslim scrap dealers, bangle merchants and tongawallas have also been similarly targeted.

In 2020, five Muslim vegetable sellers in Uttar Pradesh’s Mahoba district complained to the local authorities that they had been abused and prevented from selling their goods by a mob.

Typically, the State officially distances itself from these campaigns to economically boycott Muslims. First Information Reports have been filed against some of the miscreants. However, the sustained intimidation of vulnerable communities raises questions about political will and intent.

Prejudice against Muslims is not new. What is new are brazen attempts to further marginalise Muslims trying to make a living in the country’s vast informal sector. Earlier, “open declarations for boycotting Muslims” and vandalism of Muslim businesses were not common occurrences, except during communal riots.

“Now, such calls are increasingly becoming normal,” says Khalid Khan, an academic who co-authored a study on Muslims in Urban Informal Employment. He is currently an assistant professor at the Indian Institute of Dalit Studies. “The anti-Muslim sentiment is largely an urban phenomenon though it has recently penetrated into the rural pockets of northern India,” he adds.

Amir Ullah Khan, a development economist and research director of the Hyderabad-based Centre for Development Policy and Practice, points out that marginalisation has always had two strands – deprivation and discrimination – and Muslims have faced both in the country for decades. The Sachar Committee Report in 2006 showed that the majority of Muslims have been relegated to the bottom of almost every economic and social heap.

Many scholars say anti-Muslim sentiments have heightened since the Bharatiya Janata Party government came to power at the Centre and in several states.

After the BJP came to power in 2014, it cracked down on cattle slaughter, which hit poor Muslims and people from Scheduled Castes who worked in tanneries and leather factories. Soon after came demonetisation and the Goods and Services tax (GST) which affected everyone.

Growing discrimination

Muslims were among the worst-hit because many were in the lower rungs of the informal cash economy and lacked the education or the resources to cope. The pandemic made things much worse. Exports dried up, opportunities in cities shrank, says Amir Ullah Khan. “There was always discrimination but post-2014, it has become a lot more exaggerated.”

How is the Muslim community dealing with such socio-political marginalisation and discrimination?

A recent study, on the condition of Muslim entrepreneurs in India in changing socio-political environment, by researcher Abrar Ali Saiyed attempts to answer that question. Saiyed, an assistant professor of entrepreneurship and management writes, “Our data analysis shows that Muslim entrepreneurs were trying to escape difficult situations by changing occupations, cities, or states and some of them even tried international business. Some of them ignored the harassment and discrimination rather than getting into a confrontation.”

The study is based on more than 100 interviews across 15 cities in India, and 274 survey responses representing 23 states and 56 cities and towns. The surveys and interviews were carried out between 2020 and 2021.

Many Muslim entrepreneurs “shifted their business focus from the non-Muslim areas to Muslim neighbourhoods or they changed their business location to the states or cities where they faced less discrimination,” the study says. It also notes that in the last five to 10 years, some Muslim associations and chambers of commerce have come up to help. Some examples are the Association of Muslim Entrepreneurs, Rifah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Muslim Industrial Association.

Double-edged sword

Will the economic marginalisation of Muslims eventually affect other communities?

“It is a double-edged weapon. While Muslims traders and businesses may be worse-affected given that they are over-represented among small businesses and entrepreneurs in certain segments, Hindu traders too will suffer greatly. There are deep business relations between both communities as in many instances, Hindu traders depend on Muslim labour, and domain expertise,” says Niranjan Sahoo, a scholar who has researched political polarisation in India.

Global experience shows “economic boycott of minorities backfires and impacts the entire economy,” Sahoo adds. Sri Lanka is the most recent example of the consequences of identity politics and violent targeting of minorities.

“Apart from the growing chorus of economic boycotts which invariably will influence certain sections of Hindu population and their choices in the atmosphere of hyper-polarisation, we should also keep a watch on instances of discrimination in government and formal private sector recruitment,” says Sahoo. “While there are instances of discrimination based on identity as per recent studies, the current climate of relentless misinformation and Islamophobic messaging may likely accelerate the pace. This can have a devastating impact in terms of inter-community relations and trust in the system.”

It is clear that such discrimination must be stamped out, else it would be incredibly damaging to all of India.

(Patralekha Chatterjee is an independent journalist and columnist)