Bombings, Xenophobia and Minorities in India

Last year, during the auspicious Ram Navami in various parts of the country, devotional fervour and peaceful processions were marred by confrontational slogans, tensions near mosques, and occasional acts of vandalism were seen.

Again a few months earlier, in Himachal Pradesh, a member of the Hindu Jagraon Manch publicly urged Muslims to leave the state, referring to it as “Dev Bhoomi.” Remarks like these, especially when amplified on social media, highlight the growing presence of exclusionary rhetoric in India’s political space.

So when security lapses like the Pulwama attack, the heinous Bisaran Pahalgam incident or the Red Fort bomb blast happen, it’s only natural that the already polarised and charged up atmosphere turns xenophobic against Kashmiris and Muslims.

And then, for some rising political voices targeting minorities appears to serve as a shortcut to popularity. All this comes at the steep cost to national cohesion and the constitutional values India stands for.

This article does not highlight the xenophobia against Muslims that has magnified in the last one decade but speaks about the root cause of of the “Institutionalised Muslim Problem” in India

Peripherisation and Exclusion

Muslims constitute15 percent of the total population, however exclusion has been their story in every sphere. Out of the 685 permanent judges in high courts there are just 25 Muslim judges i.e., 3.5 percent representation. Just one judge in the Supreme Court out of the current total strength of 33. There are at least 17 high courts without a single Muslim judge. The numbers from the administrative side are equally dismal. The seven decades of independent of India (1951 to 2020) could only produce 411 out of 11569 IAS officers. For the IPS the number is 151 out of 4344 for the mentioned seven decades. Speaking of political representation the 18th Lok Sabha has the lowest share of Muslim MPs in six decades. There are currently just 24 Muslim MPs (4.4%) in the Lok Sabha.

The numbers above suggest judicial, administrative and political peripherisation of Muslims but this peripherisation has a physical and psychological context too. The truth is, riots in the big cities in the last few decades have pushed the community into the neighbourhood of exile, also called the “ghetto”, simply because they are searching their safety in numbers. And in a “ghetto” the conversations mostly revolve around protecting life, protecting religious practices and the next meal. Life is mostly insecure and cynical in a ghetto. Precisely why the Ranganath Misra report and the Sachaar committee report (the most detailed social political and economic study of Muslims in India) advocated for the 10 % reservation of Muslims in colleges, jobs etc., owing to their dismal conditions.

A Changing Political Landscape

The rise of BJP since the 80s and the Ram Mandir movement further alienated Muslims. The double whammy to their political representation (which was almost proportional to their population in the 80s, 9 % representation in Lok Sabha as against the population of 11% at that time) was caused because they could find almost no representation in the BJP as it didn’t sync with its ideology; second, taking into consideration the charged atmosphere of the country other parties also showed reluctance (which they still do) to their candidature owing to their poor winnability. Therefore it’s not surprising that the BJP does not even a have a single Muslim MP in the Lok Sabha nor did it give any tickets to any Muslim. This has been the story of the last children of India’s partition and the bigoted story of Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas and Sabka Vishwas.

Breaking Myths and Rethinking Narratives

Much of the marginalisation is sustained by persistent misconceptions. A common claim is that Muslims are educationally backward because they study in madrasas. Yet data from the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) shows that only around 4% of Muslim children attend madrasas. In states like Kerala, Muslims are well integrated into the mainstream education system. Despite this, key scholarships for Muslim students have been reduced or discontinued in recent years, and attempts to modernise madrasas have lost momentum.

Similarly, historical narratives are often weaponised. The idea that Muslims are responsible for India’s past troubles or that mass religious conversions defined medieval periods is historically unfounded. In fact, the Mughal era saw considerable economic and cultural growth. Most reputable historians agree that the narrative of Muslim rulers as uniformly destructive or oppressive is a gross oversimplification, often employed to stoke present-day divisions.

Population-related anxieties are another recurring trope. Phrases like “they have more children” are frequently used to suggest demographic threat. However, demographers consistently find that fertility rates correlate with income and education not religion. In recent years, Muslim fertility rates have declined significantly, following the same trajectory as other communities.

Constitutional Concerns and the Question of Inclusion

Legislation like the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the proposed nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC) has deepened the sense of alienation among Muslims. While the CAA offers fast-tracked citizenship to persecuted minorities from neighbouring countries, it pointedly excludes Muslims. Critics argue that such measures, in effect, place India’s secular framework under strain. In Jammu & Kashmir, the country’s only Muslim-majority state, now UT, the abrogation of Article 370 and the downgrading of statehood have sparked concerns. Critics see these moves as undermining federalism and marginalising local voices.

Meanwhile, laws affecting Waqf properties have drawn protest from Muslim leaders, who argue that the government is asserting disproportionate control over Muslim religious institution without similar interventions in other faiths.

With bulldozer action, mob lynching, love jihad accusations, seizure of Waqf properties and calling out of desecration of Muslim universities post the Red Fort blast, xenophobia of Kashmiris etc., it’s all there. And the worst is there is absolute silence of the ruling party in condemning such vile rhetoric. But often this institutional alienation is countered by saying that “the welfare schemes don’t discriminate on the basis of religion while being implemented on ground”.

The Road Ahead

The measure of democracy lies in how it treats its minorities. In India today, many in the Muslim community perceive a growing exclusion—legal, social, and political. From the sidelining of personal laws to challenges to the Places of Worship Act, and overt religious symbolism in Parliament, a pattern appears to be taking shape.

BJP government under Prime Minister Narenedra Modi prides itself on “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas.” But slogans must be matched by substance. A pluralistic democracy cannot thrive on the exclusion of any group. The path forward must be built not on fear or division, but on empathy, inclusion, and an unwavering commitment to the constitutional promise of equality and justice for all.

Author is a youth leader and Spokesperson of the J&K Peoples Democratic Party