Divided, we fall

An activist at Shaheen Bagh protesting the ban on hijabs in schools and colleges in Karnataka

We read this book in the week that the Uttar Pradesh government banned the sale of halal-certified foods in the state. Author Ziya Us Salam's Being Muslim in Hindu India-A Critical View (Harper Collins, Rs 599), hence speaks to us. In the preface, he mentions, "It took a long time, maybe more than 60 years, and a succession of leaders of various political parties, but the realisation dawned on the community that it had no godfathers in independent India".

Ziya Us Salam

The author, a senior journalist and noted literary and social commentator, presents a cynical but courageous reminder of the challenges that India's largest minority community faces under Hindu majoritarianism. Chapter by chapter, he documents crimes targeted towards the community, and instances of denial of justice in recent times.

From political marginalisation to refuting medieval history to damage done to houses of worship, and issues of jamaat and the hijab, and protests against the NRC and CAA - it's provoking to read what this writer witnesses at the grassroot level. While this book is for everyone who stands for a secular India, it is more so for the protected privileged - to be aware of certain facts. As one says, information is knowledge.