Role of Indian Muslims in the Post-Independence Era
Why this topic at all? Indian Muslims- unlike those Zoroastrians who came from Persia (hence, ‘Parsis’) and settled in India- are not those Muslims who have immigrated from abroad and become Indians. On the contrary, we are those Indians who have become Muslims by accepting Islam. We are as much ‘sons of the soil’ as anyone else is. My ancestry, for instance, traces its roots to Gujarat and not to the Arabian Peninsula. So when we speak of the role of Muslims in developing India, we are actually speaking of the role of those Indians who have accepted Islam. On the face of it, discussing the role of those Indians in developing India who have accepted a particular religious ideology in their personal lives seems utterly uncalled for. Why single out Muslims and enquire about their contributions? While this can definitely be a lame academic exercise, the way winds are blowing in our country these days makes this discussion uncomfortably pertinent. Muslims are asked these days what they h
