Muslims in India have lived alongside Hindus peacefully for many centuries. Yet in the contemporary period some politicians have orchestrated division for political ends, for example, during the Godhra-Gujarat riots in India in 2002 in which there were many Muslim casualties. Critics allege that the ruling party in Gujarat, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and its leader Chief Minister Narendra Modi (now the Prime Minister of India) were responsible for the Godhra-Gujarat riots.
Within the framework of identity politics in India, where religion seems to dominate the social, economic and political spheres, this paper examines how the 2002 Gujarat riots impacted on Muslims in Gujarat. This paper is based on interviews with Muslims (aged 15 years and over) that I conducted in Ahmedabad, Gujarat in 2012. I will examine Muslims’ experiences during the riots and in the aftermath of the riots. I conclude that, in the era of identity politics when Muslims form a disadvantaged minority, national and international policy makers should promulgate policies that would improve social cohesion and intercommunal understanding in India in general, and Gujarat in particular.
Biography
Nahid Afrose Kabir, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of English and Humanities, BRAC University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. She is also an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, USA, and holds Adjunct Professor positions at Edith Cowan University, Perth and at the University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.
Nahid Kabir is the author of Muslims in Australia: Immigration, Race Relations and Cultural History (Routledge 2005); Young British Muslims: Identity, Culture, Politics and the Media (Edinburgh University Press 2012); Young American Muslims: Dynamics of Identity (Edinburgh University Press 2014); and Muslim Americans: Debating the Notions of American and Un-American (Routledge 2017). In addition, she has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals and book chapters.
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