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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