INDIA: 50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE PREVIEW: MUSLIM COMMUNITY

Описание: (6 Aug 1997) Eng/Hindi/Nat

With the creation of Pakistan in 1947, India's Muslim community suffered a terrible blow.

Most of the educated, elite Muslims fled from India, leaving behind a void that's never been filled.

The Muslims who stayed behind struggled to rebuild their lives amid the suspicion and hatred that lingered in the new predominantly Hindu republic.

Today, Muslims are India's -- and the world's -- largest minority.

But they're still struggling to find a collective voice 50 years after India became a secular republic.

This train, called the "Compromise Express" is the only line between India and Pakistan.

Twice a week, Pakistani Muslims arrive to visit long lost friends and relatives.

Most of these people fled in the communal riots that shook India following Partition.

They left behind a community of Muslims ravaged by the violence, but hopeful that independent, secular India would provide well for them.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"Partition was a tragedy for the Muslims of India primarily because a living community was trisected. And also because a large chunk of our educated middle class and upper class, they simply went over to Pakistan."
SUPER CAPTION: Syed Shahbuddin, Editor, Indian Muslim Magazine

Today, India still houses 120 million Muslims.

It's the world's second largest Muslim community and the world's largest minority.

But 50 years after Partition, Indian Muslims remain largely marginalised.

As a whole, they are less prosperous, less educated, with less opportunities than their Indian counterparts.

Indian Muslims are at the bottom rung of every major socio-economic indicator, including literacy, income and job opportunities.

And the fact remains that Indian Muslims have a distinctly different cultural identity.

In the confines of the Old City, far from most eyes, they still celebrate holidays like the Prophet Muhammed's birthday with pomp and pageantry.

Nazib Qureishi is a sweet-shop owner in the old part of India's capital.

His family once catered sweets to the Mughal emperors, but today, life is far from majestic for him and the others who work the alleys of Old Delhi.

Men like Qureishi have prospered partly because they live in Muslim enclaves and cater to Muslim tastes.

But even for him, communal politics and suspicion taint whatever prosperity he's earned.

SOUNDBITE: (Hindi)
"The politicians use us to fight for them and fine, we oblige. Things have gotten better here slowly between the Hindus and Muslims. There's no hatred in anyone's heart."
SUPER CAPTION: Nasiruddin Qureshi, Sweet Shop Owner

The fact is, Hindus and Muslims remain largely isolated from each other.

In old enclaves, Muslims have preserved their traditions and identity, but at the cost of being marginalised.

They lack a collective voice. They have no national leaders.

This is partly because like many minorities, they have resisted integration with India's mainstream.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"A minority community anywhere in the world tends to be more conservative. Because it's always apprehensive that something very essential, something which pertains to its identity may be lost in the process. Therefore, the pace of modernisation in the Muslim
community has not been as fast as many of us would have liked it to be."
SUPER CAPTION: Syed Shahbuddin, Editor, Indian Muslim Magazine

For wealthy Indian Muslims, things are not much different.

Upper class Muslims still have a lesser share of jobs and influence.

And lingering suspicion from India's Partition still colors their existence.







Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter:   / ap_archive  
Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​
Instagram:   / apnews  


You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...