He said that partition affected adversely the Muslims in India, particularly in the northern and eastern states of the Indian Union.
He said that Muslims lived in India’s religiously plural society for over a thousand years, at times as rulers, at others as subjects and now as citizens.
They are not homogenous in racial or linguistic terms and bear the impact of local cultural surroundings, in manners and customs, in varying degrees
“For several decades thereafter the socio-economic impact of that event on the Muslim minority remained largely un-studied or understudied. Ad hoc government initiatives taken occasionally were poorly implemented” said Ansari while releasing a book “Muslims in Indian Cities”.
The book is edited by Laurent Gayer and Christoph Jafferlot.
“Muslims have lived in India’s religiously plural society for over a thousand years, ‘at times as rulers, at others as subjects and now as citizens’. They are not homogenous in racial or linguistic terms and bear the impact of local cultural surroundings, in manners and customs, in varying degrees” he said.
Vice president said that the High Level Committee under Justice Rajinder Sachar to collect authentic information about the social, economic and educational status of the Muslim community has become a landmark and was being used by the Government for affirmative action in different areas.
“The extent to which it has succeeded is the subject of a lively debate. Amongst the many studies undertaken, I could mention the volume edited in 2010 by Rakesh Basant and Abusaleh Shariff and the Report published last year by Harsh Mander’s Centre for Equity Studies. Both shed much light on the conceptual and practical limitations of the extant policies”.
About the current book he said that the volume adds some useful empirical data to the debate. “It is yet another example of the thoroughness and diligence of the CNRS, Paris and of its guiding light, Professor Jaffrelot, who needs no introduction to an Indian audience. It is a sociological study of the condition of Muslim communities specifically in a dozen urban centres. It explores patterns of segregation as well as of resilience. The concluding essay by the editors offers a nuanced view of social and territorial marginalisation through typologies and argues that Muslims are losing ground”.
He said that the conclusion of the book may be contested on two grounds. In the first place, any generalisation for so large a number spread over a vast area, is hazardous. Secondly, and as the editors point out, the Muslims of India are NOT a homogenous entity. Different strata of the community have performed differently. The elite of a feudal past have lost ground but some amongst them have adapted themselves well in new callings. New elites have sprung up amongst those who in the past were socially under-pri
He said that Indian Muslims were in more ways than one, sui generic. They are 13.4 percent of India’s population; at the same time, they are the second or third largest Muslim community in our world of nation-states.