Christophe Jaffrelot & al. publish « Muslims in Indian Cities: Trajectories of Marginalisation »

Muslims in Indian Cities: Trajectories of Marginalisation
Edited by Laurent Gayer and Christophe Jaffrelot
May, 2012

While the quality of Muslim life may lag behind that of Hindus nationally, local and inclusive cultures have been resilient in the south and the east. Within India’s cities, however, the challenges Muslims face can be harder to read. In the Hindi belt and in the north, Muslims have known less peace, especially in the riot-prone areas of Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Jaipur, and Aligarh, and in the capitals of former Muslim states—Delhi, Hyderabad, Bhopal, and Lucknow. These cities are rife with Muslim ghettos and slums. However, self-segregation has also played a part in forming Muslim enclaves, such as in Delhi and Aligarh, where traditional elites and a new Muslim middle class have regrouped for physical and cultural protection. More information.

Christophe Jaffrelot is CNRS research director at CERI where he served as director from 2000 to 2008 and teaches South Asian politics and history, Arguably one of the world’s most respected writers on Indian society and politics, he has published many works, including The Hindu Nationalist Movement and Indian Politics, 1925 to the 1990s; India’s Silent Revolution: The Rise of the Lower Castes in North India; and Dr. Ambedkar and Untouchability: Fighting the Indian Caste System. See his publications.