The Minority Conundrum: Living in Majoritarian Times

The second volume in the Rethinking India series explicates what it means to be a minority in majoritarian times. The contributors identify vulnerabilities that encumber the quest for the realization of substantive citizenship by minority groups. The essays deal with educational attainments employment prospects in a liberalized economy possibilities of equal opportunity violence of the state and vigilante groups emerging questions of citizenship and employment linking language with the material life of its speakers and the receding political voice of minorities amidst a majoritarian upswing.Also examined is the concept of minority being inextricably bound with two allied ideas equally foundational to the vision of the Indian Republic: secularism and nationalism. The three together form a conceptual whole to the extent that none finds its manifestation without reference to the other two. The take-offs of the minority question in India include the archetypal nationalist's disapproval of the very endurance of the subject post-Independence. The secular-modernists and the Hindutva nationalists converge in prescribing assimilation-one into a modernist project the other into a national culture defined by Sanskritic Hinduism-while the pluralist vision tolerant of divergent practices follies in assuming cultures and religious observances as frozen. This along with several allied issues forms the heart of this thought-provoking volume. Review The editor Tanweer Fazal's Introduction lays out the elements of what constitutes a minority. "Minorities are contextually produced and violence is key to it" he writes. And this violence is what each essay unravels: anecdotal experiences discriminatory laws apathy the squeezing of commercial spaces and loss of language. What differentiates this book from others of a similar genre is that it does not offer broadstroke solutions but moves away from 'jazbaat' or emotions to raise realistic possibilities. -- Meera Rizvi ―Biblio: A Review of Books Published On: 2020-04-01Fazal has put together a thought-provoking volume of essays that examine minority rights in the light of secularism and nationalism both of which are foundational to the vision of the Indian Republic... In her essay titled 'The Violence of Law' Manisha Sethi shows how anti-terror laws such as the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act The Prevention of Terrorism Act the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act present a veneer of neutrality but effectively criminalise individuals based on the socio-religious communities to which they belong. Because these laws foreground guilt by association they create suspicion even towards people with no criminal record. The widespread prosecution - though not necessarily conviction - helps to solidify stereotypes that make people erroneously believe for example that all Muslims are anti-national. -- Chintan Girish Modi ―Business Standard Published On: 2020-04-25 About the Author Tanweer Fazal is professor of sociology at the University of Hyderabad. He has previously taught at the Centre for the Study of Social Systems Jawaharlal Nehru University New Delhi. As a political sociologist he specializes in the sociology of nationalism(s) community formation and identifications with specific focus on their implications on discourse of rights and entitlements. He is the author ofNation-state' and Minority Rights in India: Comparative Perspectives on Muslim and Sikh Identities (2015) andMinority Nationalisms in South Asia (ed.) (2012). His forthcoming book is tentatively titled 'Muslims Law and Violence: Reflections on the Practices of the State' (Three Essays 2020).