Muslims of India are no Blacks of America

Race is indeed an issue in America.

Some political liberals who compare Black-White race relations in the United States to Hindu-Muslim relations in India need a reality check. Every society has fault lines, but they are not the same.

The history of Black Americans is unique; they were brought to the United States as slaves, families were torn apart, and they experienced official segregation until the 1960s. 

Unofficial discrimination persists even today. Nothing comparable like mass enslavement and legally enforced segregation has ever happened to Indian Muslims.

Yet many political Liberals in India treat Muslims as the primary example when arguing for social equity. 

Their claims rest on weak assumptions, such as the idea that Muslims do not feel safe in non-Muslim neighborhoods. They would if they assimilate, but most don't and it remains exclusively a self-imposed self-isolation self-identity issue of the Muslims. 

Would those same liberals send their daughters into Muslim neighborhoods wearing skirts? Would they, themselves, openly express their progressive views there?  

Islamophobia is a media's creation. The fear is not unfounded. Non Muslims, be they Hindus or the happy-go-lucky Parsis don't feel secure in Muslim dominated areas. The progressive Muslims too fear fatwas. 

The fundamentals must be understood before spitting out verdicts.

Muslims did not enter India as slaves. Many arrived as conquerors with a religious mission, converting people as they expanded their rule. That desire to convert the "infidels" very much exists even today and is openly taught by the Muslim clergymen. 

Muslim dynasties governed large parts of India for centuries. The non-Muslims suffered forced conversions and the destruction of places of worship.

It was the Muslim leaders that demanded a separate and exclusive Pakistan. After partition, the Indian Muslim politicians continued to use a victim narrative for political advantage demanding seperate civil laws. 

Contemporary liberals often amplify a casual narrative, speaking for Muslim communities without adequately considering causes of social and economic disadvantage of the Muslims. 

Part of the problem is cultural: the girl child education is very poor and some parents do not teach children that social respect is earned through personal achievement and contribution, rather than by claiming perpetual victimhood. As a result, many Muslims lag behind economically and adopt the stance: "What has the country done for me?"

In India, Muslim communities must take primary responsibility for addressing their own problems.

Practical steps start with building a positive reputation. Identity politics and constant explanations for backwardness are not solutions. 

Muslim leaders should celebrate and promote role models who have succeeded by engaging with wider Indian society - people such as the Khan trio actors, shenai ustad Bismillah Khan, tabla mastero Zakir Hussain,  archeological expert KK Muhammed, ace tennis champ Sania Mirza, cricket captain Mohammad Azharuddin, Air Chief Marshal I.H. Latif, former Supreme Court justice A.M. Ahmedi, India's UN representative Syed Akbaruddin, software king Azim Premji, president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, etc. 

Regularly citing such examples positively would give youth icons to emulate. Unfortunately, the assimilating and mixing Muslim greats are looked upon as incomplete Muslims. 

After partition, India’s overwhelmingly Hindu Constituent Assembly rejected the idea of a state exclusively for Hindus. 

India’s cultural secularism has deep roots; for example, the Cheraman Mosque, one of the earliest mosques in the world, was built with the support of a Hindu king. 

That spirit of accommodation by their Hindu brothers, combined with Muslim contributions across fields, should be emphasized by Muslim parents to their children so they recognize India’s inclusive character and their own potential.

Muslims should discard baseless anxieties, avoid ghettoization, and strive for greater assimilation. They should see themselves as a large, confident community - the “second largest majority.” Ordinary, hard-working Muslims ought to reject self-styled spokespersons who promote victimhood and instead assert that they constitute about 15% of India’s population, a whopping 200 million in strength, are indigenous to the soil, and wish to contribute actively to a modern India. 

They can emphasize that they do not require special minority privileges to participate and prosper. They are capable of self-reliance and of providing charity and guidance across communities, not only to the Muslims, but anyone deserving. 

That constructive, self-confident stance, rooted in achievement and public service would be a truer source of Muslim pride than being quoted as convenient data points by liberal elites with whom they have little in common.