PA~~S OF IDENTI'IY ; CORE CONSISTENCY

1h1s category consists of tndi vidual.s whose

experiential. self S.s at tbe oore of tae1r real.t ty cons­

truot1ons tttbetb.er ln private or publle~ That 1s to say,

there 1s no discrepancy between their perception of 1he

eollect111e self and their 1nd1v1dual self wi:tb~ the

ep1stemio realm of ethnic '\·JOrl.d Views and beliefs 1nst1-

tutiona1.1sed as communalian in the Ind1en context of

ma~ort ty-mlnPt'i ty relations~ In other \'lOrds.; aelt and

society become mutua1 extensions ot eaen other botb 1n

terms of values and norms o£ behaViour and consciousness.,

Ho,<Tever, the 1nd1V1Clual.s define their inter--subjective

existence ·tbrou(#l diverse symbols of collective notions

from oase-t11stor1e s p~e.sented separately fox- the sub-sects

·wi thtn MuslSJns and Cbr13t1ana as follot-tsl

-I-

- 166 -

167

sunrd,s(S)

S1 GoldsmS.'th Sh1 SeniO~ Se1ent1-

S2 School fie teacber Officer

S' Urdu Sb2 Ant1que leetur.Gt Dealev

s4 ovn~ I Sb' Flt-e~od Librarian sellox-o£ UrdU 11brsry

S5 Canteen Proprietor

3

Indian Chris- Anglo-Indians tiQ (1) --f.w'A..,>---

I1 Nurse

12 Priest

X3 College Librarian

14 TV/Radio Mechanic

IS social workett

s

A1 Muslc1an

A2 Police Officer

A:; P & T Cl.erk (Retd.)

A4 Teacher

AS Telegraph Linesman

A6 Typist

A7 Typist

AS Teae~

* 'lbe abb.t"evlat1ons s;, sn, I and A stand fo.r Sunn1s., Sbf..a$, lnd1an Chr1st.~ans and Lmglo·Indians respec­tt'fOlY; I ~ A are used foi" numb$l'1ng eru~~ bietorit)s ot I.e. and A.l .• f 5

For the core e-thno-natlonal.s, ttnat1ol'1" and 'bommu­

ni ty11 ar"e co-terminous real.i tie a w1 th1n the ethnic ~ame­

wor'k of val.ues. 1be two natJ.on theory of Hindu-t1usJ.1m

Communel.1 sm is a ty p1cal. ease o£ etbno-nat1onal. core

1dent1 ty. By the samo ~ogle, pan-I al.1lm1sm or pan-Christendom

become logical extensions of the self and bi s loca1 comrnuni ty •

of ~1ch the pol1t1cal. concept of a nation-state is an

eph1meral rea1.1 ty and hence of Ulusory identity. Rel.1gi.on.

along tri.tb 1ts legal• eul.tural. and moral trappings is a

terminal experience 1n l.1fe. Hence, the ego-synthssls is

nucl.eated in the etbnocentr1o core of the primary

socializing un1 t. uael.ig1onu and 1 ta t1orldly doctrines

provide suff1c1ent meaning-provinces for tne ind1vi<luals'

exS.stentiaJ. identity despite cnanges 1n objective roal.ity

l~e formation ot secular State in India.. 'Ibis may assume

e1tb.er aggt"essive or al.ienated behaVioural. overtone. Let

us examine some ethno-nat!onal case illustrations.*

'lb.e re·spontlent baUs· from a family of ePldsm1 ths

't!Jho nave been vadi tS..onall.y engaged 1n making jewelleey •.

'lb-ey be1ong to a Muslim s\lb.caste known as "SUNAR8 1n l.ocal

parlance.. From his appearance, ne must be 50 years or above

in age to l'b.1¢b his f~owing s1l;rery beard adds mnple

testtmony• Years of l.aborJ.ous worlt l1el"e 'Vi$1bl.e 1n ll1s

deeP"'"set \«"~eel eyes and l.eath~ forehead. When tbe

researcb.EW met him at work• he welcomed the change £rom

monotony and tbe 1nterviet>1 st~ted wi tb. the mal"ket Val.ue

of go~d; the respondent spoke of tb.e Great wa:u Street

Crash; the topic s:Lowl.y drifted to court jc:n-ml.l.ery • patronage

~ In the· course of presentation of ease-histories, botb direct and indirect speectl nave been foll.O\>Ied. Al.so, \"tlatever has been \'11"1tten \11-tnin brackets is emphasis added by tbe ~iter.

of Nawabs and finally on to Ule gol.d control Aot o£ 1962

and txresent day market trends.

The 1nterv1etot resumed after a break of 45 minutes

for the respondent to finis!\ his "namaz11 (prayer}. It t'laS

easy to set tbe bal.l rolling on the theme of prayers.. He

said'

I have only done religtous studies and I can wr1 te Urdu and 11 ttl.e Arabic. My fataer and forefathers wero all jewellers and I have been 1n1 t1ated into this job and like true Mual1ms my famUy doea not cheat in tb1s business. ihat is tey we remain in th1s state of hand to mouth existence. t•lusllnls suffer because they do not tol.lovr IslalO and they cannot foUow Islam because HS.ndus say tba.t H1n4\.\stan ls only for tnern. 1bey say tnat this S.s "ZambQor1yat" (denocraey) but l\1usl1ms do not tta.ve thsir' ovm. state. What about Pun:'labl$? Don• t thay have a state Of tb.eir O\m? Our law is stven by God ana not by maJlt \'1e need a p:Lac.e to foUo\~ 1t. t1y llte' s alllbi t~on 1s to do t1ll~" ( pi.lgr-ge to Mac~a) but ~ere ls tb.e money? ~lusl.Siiis in India are far more 11\ number than in PSk1$tan end in UP, next to Kashmir I \'19 are l~ad!DS~ BUt here 't1e find our language is 1n perU. I£ lanfPage goes, our cul. ture goes and Itlualims tdl.l. be· w1Qed out.. \'thy. not'l Attt:!r all. they · SaN Hlndustan 1s for Hlnclus. '\•Te aJ.a.o fought \'lith. Osndhl to drtve a\lfaY the Br~ t1sb.. and,•; sQ "-1W are w~ made to feel as 'Strsngers· ~st because we do not ~ship i.dol.s? Our l.atr its diVine anci so it is su.per.lor. We cannot .fol.l.0\'1 man made lal'ls because then t-JO are not Muslims an:y longer. And this t'ktat tbe MuSlim l.eaders do. 'l)iey wont us to give up "Shariatt (Muslim Personal Law) • Our lan@.lage, our cu1 ture and our rel.1g1on is being constantly under tbreat •. We do not want government jobs firstly because o£ no .freedom; ,.,.e don't get 1t a1so, and, we ~e paid very ~1 ttl.e. \1e can earn more u we go abroad.

170

In tb.e eo~se of conversation, the topic evol.ved

on to the ms.nori t¥ cb.aracter o£ Allgarn Musl.1m Uni verst ty;

tne ol4 jeuell.er gave a J.ooit of disgust mixed ~11th

despair:

t~e are not as!d.ng for a separate state. We are onl.y seeking equal r1S1ts to preserve, mainta1n and develop our cul.ture. After al.l.; 1 t \"1BS our tl!uslim "nawabs" and patrons ~o set 1t up-. t'berever you see the best of SJ"t, music ant1 11 terature, you wUl. find the r-tuslim stamp on 1 t. But no\f t'IS are erased. ibey t1ant only Hindus. Secularism is only 1n name. 1bey are afraid of our strength. lf tile r~u.slims a:u over ttle country joln, '~ch we are plannins to do now, our property \'hicn tb.e kings of Avadh lett for us torill be fOUght back from Hin.Clus. ibat 1s vey they ere dividing USt especiall.y 1n Luctmo"t1, as Shiaa agalnst Sunnts. l'lorse still., by call.1ng us "akal.,lyat" (mtnori ties) ,

/ tney nave degraded us·; the erstwbU.e •1ruJ.~s• of th1s countl-y. By gS. Ving quota& they \11.11 onlY tnake U$e equal to "Cbamar" (SchedUled Castes).

\•1tlen asked \mather he was 1n LUdknow ~en Gan&11 \9aS t'D.Urd~edt

the respondent dec1$'o4;

l: was here on.::J$• It vras after the Pat-ti tion, Indeed 1t was a bl.ack day" £or t1usl.ll:ns of tbts ¢0UJltrv• I teJ.t. Ula same m1$ery now ~men. Bhutto was al.so murdered. Fanatio Hil:ldua murdered Gandb.l., X remember the Banaras session of· Congroesa· Which X attended not as a "Congessi" but as an °outa1der". I \'Tas in I-tuslim Lea31e tlwse days. Now~ I don• t do any poli t1.cs. Too ol.d. Arqwa.y, in ttlat Benaras session, they deoJ.ared HindU India even before Xndependence. They will. not even a1 t al'ld eat wi til us~ NaturallY J~ had to talk of separate Mua1~s state. The seeds were SO\fn then.

171

On asked v1hether Ilia cousin vmo had m1s:-ate<l to

Pakistan was treated as second class ci t1zen tnere, he

stated:

AU lle·s· It is anti-Pakistani propaganda. My cousin 1s tnere and be is no"1 1n the a1r force. Had ne been here he could not have got into Ule po:llce even. l.eave al.one ugauju (mUi~ services). In lslam1o states, tllere· ta more democracy and equal.i ty tban 1n secular countries. becau.so I slam 1s 1 tsel.f a dem.oOX'atio and secular rel.1g1on,

:tt 1s woMb noting b.0\7 be defines secul.arism of

not only State but ev~ relJ .. gt.on.

ux come from a family of orthodox ~tuslims. My

father was· a scmool. ~acm~ and I am so declicated to my

religion and cul turo that I x-esigned my @)Vernment job~

I li.ke tea¢h1ng Ur4u~ n

You tdl.i 'be . surpt"i.aed \1e are on.ly tuo {4lusl.ims 1n th1s H1ndu C()llege-. \'1hereas if you see our Musl.im. in~StS.:tutt.ons.. tb~e ere more Htndus tbeti Musl.ims. D1seriminati.on on caste end communal. 11nes· 1a inherent 1n a HindU becau$e of caate £eelings~ Now Urdu is al.sQ being communaltsed,~ 'Urdu poat.rv is secular $G <::ompared to Hlnd1 poetry • But our Musl.im cm1:tdren study about many gods w1 th fo~ bands s.n Hindi poetry and they get coni\laod.

·· lslem haf3 no aJyths and Hinduism J.s ful1 o£ it~

SecuJ.arism is .freedom of rel.181on. Unl.ess I am a good Musl.irn, I cannot be a goOd Xnd~en. In this country, our 1dent1 ty is establ.ish.ed b'c./ rel.igi.on or caste. So why should onl.y \'1e Musl.ima g1 ve up? \'!hen

toU0\1SJ

the Conat1 tutton of the country perm1 ts us to worshtp of our otttn choice. who are Htndus to bring .1n Unlform Civ11 Code? If they try to change tb.e Consti tut1on • there w1ll be a ¢1 vU \*T~ and \11b.ethar he is a t4usl1m Judge or a constable, they wUl. • ftgbt 1 t as a bol.y wat:'' (J enact). \1e are the ml~t1est minority of the \'J'Orl.d, But bere (In lndia) ~en our numbers ~e not reoorded property b:y the ~ensus a\1thor1t1es.

H1a reeol.l.eetions on ttPatttstann were as

Partition \'laS a curse to t1usl.i.ma. Jinnah was not responsible for it. Zt was Patel and N eturu. We are a nation ot hypocrites. Th.ey say secul.ar but the country is ru1ed by RSS p.eople; our Jamat-Islamic organisation is not pol.itical.. It is a communal. party to revive Islam. It bas no anti-Hindu feeling like the RSS* Whereas evetT H1nd~ feel.s agntnst us. For any ft:!st·1Val, X call tb.-em OU.ndus) to my home. But th~ (Hindus) elt:~e take me to a hotel? Why? am I an untouehable just because I eat .no~vege~tan? :tt hurts me~ ~ey don•· t real1ee lt. An.Y\1119.• we ~on• t want their favours, l.t 1s 1mportant for us to be first t~usl1ms l:2hetber they call. us Aurangzeb Ol' ttlbat not? Only then can we be f!Ood Indians,

On the Shi.e-S\mni f:1gb.ts ile £$el.~:

SUnnis Ql"e t»t poll tic1an.a like ~b,em (Shlas). In :fact, Shi~ bring ~bad name to Islem by the~ worl<D.y habits. \IJe are more rel1g1ou$ or spiriiual.• 'lhey are; gettlng a superiority complex because of Khome1n1 • s revolution ln lren.

* ass 1s tbe abbreviated name of Rasl'ltr1Ya swayam Sevak .. a Communal1stio Htndu organisation 1n lnd1a.

Sb.'t {Sc1ent1st-euzn .. Research Officer) (Female) Age : Between 35-40 years

sne halls fl"Qlll a family of academicians. Wido\'ted

at an e~lY age. the respondent £eels tbat a woman must be

self-dependent and she expressed ha- gratitude to b.er

father \'bo always had a progressive outlook in lUe. \>!hen

asked \'betber Muslims l"emained back\'lal"d due to oJ'thodoq

of Islam the respondent declared voiceferously;

There are ortb.odox peot)le 1n every commtm1 ty. Not only among t11usl1rna. But 1 t is not ac~epted by others. In fact1 our law ls very practtcal and progressive. It allows for td.dow re-marriage and you know Hindu l,aw had to be changed to allo~1 for thia. In £act. thoU(!Jt Ule IJ),ernmGnt is keen to bring in UJliform ciVil code, ttley are changing Hindu lat'l on lines o£ Musl.im Personal. Law.

t'lusl1ma. dG not uant to ellng to themsel.ves. \'le \1allt to mu and feel at home 1n India. But tb.~a is very atrong prejudice against us. ThC>Uf#l I l'la'Ve not personaU.y experienced thta, I bave been a witness to tt. \tlhen 'the late Pres1d~t Zak1r Hussain d1edt (I had 3ust then joined th1a J.nst.1tute as a j~or sc1ent1fi.c o£ttcer) • holiday was declared, and one of my cl.ose .friends casually sald to my utter shock ttOne more f1lusl.1m dead, so l'ltlat? Hollday 1s meant to celebrate it." This 'ma a total.ly new experience to m.e because IQY family being very educated (and yet devout Mualims) t-te n~ used to bel.ieve in tnis. But U\e outside .worl..d appears to be di.fferent. From that 4~, I haVe become very careful..

tJiy daughter studies in a Christian misslonary 1nst.t.tut1on. She 1s not 1M1b1ted 11ke me. Yet, She does ask me at times some very sensible questions. For instance, hErr history

174

teaCher tbo happens to be a Christian g.Lves a very biased pioture of r.Juslims as religious fanatics, t-4\o convel"ted the peopl.e at the point of dasger; and that rttuslims were respons1ble tor dividing ttle cotmtry. i'bese create very \'tt'Ong impressions U1 the minds of our children~, We do not \'lent to remenber Pattistan. Perhaps oll. Muslims should have been sent ttlEwe. I don• t see hot., Islam and Hinduism can survive together1 so l.ong as people are prejudiced. I ad.m1 t they are conf11ct1ng religions but the Const1 tut1on does give ~eedom to ~ery c·1t1zen to wrsh1p lils religion and practice his culture. Then, wb.y shou1d Musl.1m alone be made to feel guilty for demanding their basic r1gbts?

The eth.nocentrJ.c defini t1ons seen above are

reflected 1n more caae histories as snot•.n below:

I am on~ ot the un.lucky surviving membet-s of Lueknot.,t s ruling dynasty. t4y nepb.ew is the per son runn1ng tn1s business, and I look after bis interests~ I restgne4 a government job 1n 195S beoauae of taunting and suspicion by my colleagues-~ It is not a "nafs~1yat1 bl'lat~ (Psycho1o~Q3l. affair) only. f·tuslims do -not SUffer trom fear or 1nfer1or1 ty oomplex ,-Jithout any roason. 'lbe country was d1vi<ied on very sound basis because the communities are cul. Wl"al.ly very different. \'le eat t-lhat you (Hindus} worship. So hot>:r can you even tblnk of Hindu-t<tu.slim harmony. In Luckno,., of course there is more ~obl.em for us Shlas. Our brothers (SUnni) nave let us dot·lll by ~oining hands \'11th HindUS·• ~te Sh1as are minority \d. thin a minort. ty. We cannot take out oux­ntaztastt mien \'laS granted as a rigtlt to us even by the er~bS.l.e fore1SP rul.ers.

The peroept1.ons and experience o£ the antique

deal.er are more or less echoed 1n tlle brief and candi.d views

expressetl by an old "maulanan {Islamic scholar) \'2t1o earns

h1s 11vel1tlood by selling firel•IOod and tea~hes Urdu to

poor r-tusl.tm children.

Sh.' Firmmod Sellgr (age 60-65 years)

I resigned in 1949 as ncbapras1" of a government department 1n LuQkno't• 'lhe fault t'ras not entirel.y mine~ f-iy brother and bls famUy t.;ent to Pakistan~ t '~t to see them off tUl. Delhi and stayed baek a fel·r days more than tb.e leave sanctione<l. Whctn I came back, suddenly I found my friends (b.e meant non-Muslims} beh.aved as if Pakistan t-tas m.y personal. demend. My boss, be \'ms a t·li.sra, told me that if I snoul.d continua ln serVice, I shoul.d change my t4usl.1m name to a H tndu one. 'lben onl.y 1 realised ~ott td.se J1nnah was to gS.ve a s~se of seeurity ond home to f<tusl1ms.,. I res1gned my job 12\at daY 1 tse1.f and since then l had to set up tb.1s bUsiness.. No\'7 I am in tb1s for tbe :last 3!1 ye~s. z do not have sons.. On1y dau€1lters •. So J.n ttd s ol.<l age ,.71 tb no pens ton, I am ::;uttering to slll'·vtve decently• Our eommuna1 relations is an o·pan secret.

~e ~tbnQ"!'nattonal. core identity of Chrtstians is

shown, 1n tne foll.otdng b1ogl:'aift1es of a nurse, techn1c1an,

an unempl.oyed UlUsio1an and a tYPist (i.e•, X t', 13t A3. AS).

A fet<T ,excerpts bom others such as 15 and A1 re1nforce tbe

real.tty cons~uettons ot the pr1nc1pal. cas&-hlstor1es

presented be:tom

11 Nurse (age 45-50 years)

Quoting pro£usel.y ~om B1bl.e that She used \d Ul

much £ervour and enthusiasm during ner 1nterv10\'1, this

respondent who has been 1n government medical. serVice for

176

the last 20 years is now keenly looking £orward to tb.e next

promotion to the rank of a matron-1n-ch1ef • Asked \>Jtletber

sbe felt any handicap as a Christian• sb.e declared, Qnot

ex:aotly. Because in this profession, tbe healing touch of

a Christian is not poasibl.e for anyone el.se to given • . 1be Ul1rd da\lSlter of a Par1sn pr1est.1 the res­

pondent, is a regular Church goer • and. belongs to a

Church that broke off &om the parent organisation on tbe

1ssue of foreign. funds·~

Hindus bel1eve that we are happy and pros­perous because of forelp aidtt . Not o~ has the funds been controlled since 1 bUt many. of us do not went 1t_. You must bave seen our church premises and the fet7 ~1ck.wal.la td. th 11\compl.ete buildings ~EWe 'the congr-ega.tion worships ou:r Lo~d• We'llt we·. are a tiny Christian popul.at1on 1n tba1: ne1S1bourhood and every Sunelay• our prayer meetings or~ distuxtbed by Hindus liVing around the Ch.urcn. l'Te nave an illegal Q.ceupant on tbat land but he 1s very lnfl~~tS.al and "'e as Cbristtans ere condemned. to S\Urfer. N·ever mind, "'e sball be proud to su.fter because our· LOrd tl.imsel.f Sllf.f~ed anCl we sbaU be:w it1s Cross·~ He vtl.ll pr.otect us and so we wUl contin~e to a~uggle brave"ly but patientlY•

Q•· ''l'Vby don't you represent your Church aae th.rouS1

the l.ocal. Christian member in the Parliament or tbrouf#l

the r11nor1 tie$ Commission"?

X do not know anything about the Minorities Commission. But our Christian representative is an Angl.o-lndian and hence tb~ are still anti-Indian. They part1cu1arl.y cannot put up w1.th Indian Cbri.stians• urge £or Ind1Gni.aat1on of Christiani~.

rvty ch11ctren are both very religious. l"iy son 1s a preadler in an Evangelization Ship, and, nOYJ1 mren my husband 1s tblnld.ng of resigning his government job to become a preacher~ You know, b.e 1 s Par si ,.no got converted to Christ1an1 ty • No-r-s ne 1s a more devout Chr 1atian than even some ortg1nal. members~

We Clo not want reservations. \'le, Christians can prove our mer1t so ,._ny should I regr;-et being minorS. ty. Our Lord has said (Quoting r-tath~t, Cnapter 4, 7, 13 & 14 verses New Testament), "Enter Ye, in at the strait gate ; for wide 1a the gate, and broad 1s the tqay • tbat leadeUt to destructi.on and many there be ~ieh go in threat. Because strait is the gate. and narrow 1s the wrq, \'lhich leadeth unto life,. ,e &2W tbere be tllat f1nd. tt.

"So you .seett the respondent concluded, "1 am proud

to be a C~1st1an minortty because that 1$ the onlY tl"l..e

way to reach our Lor-d'':•

1be respondent.. a TV mechanic looked muen younger

than bis ;o years~ Hi a biography 1mpresses one as the n;tc>st

ideal case-hlsto-ry for formation and synth.es1s of ego..-

1dent1 ty on e1bnle ltneat.

:t got converted only 1n 1971 and finall.y got emancipation ~om 'Ule ordeal. of being a Hart jan. I bave suffered 1 t at school, where, we had to sit separatel.y 1n the ~ass; my .triends used to tease me as "Sahib" (Sir) ~enever X l'tent in el.ean cl.othes. In Cbr1st, we are au brothers. Even tOday foreign miss1onar1.Gs aro not col.our consc1ous l.ike our Hindus, obsesped w1 th caste. And even after becoming a Christian, we get no status

here because they say that I have becane a Christian for t-rcmt of money. Ig that was SO; ~lily shoul.d my sons and wife st1ll. remain Harijana? They are not £1t for eonvett a ion because they pre£er to remain in their old ways. P.ly sons are yet to ~crienoe the misery o£ being a har13an. Now-a-dews it is not so hard as it used to be during my time.. My w1fe never fel.t it because t1er father \faa the MLA here, and moreover She stayed at tlome .... never competed for e:tl¥ jobs etc.

PreaChing is one of the most bas1e duties for u.s, for a Chr1stian• every non-Chr1st1an 1s per<;e1 ved as a potential convert. Bllt for that also we ere accused of bribing people to become Christians. If you observe caref'ull.y; most of the converts are poor Har1;)ans; at least. 1n my case I tms very well off. so, the m1asionar1es are baVing more liability by converting tnese t-retche<i of the eartb. And, ever stnoe British days, h.ad Christians reall.y wanted to convert by force, their pepul.atlon could. have increased inoredibly • I don• t tblnk we exceed 2 per cent ot the total, SO w!\Y fe.ar such a small. and peaoe­lovtng coxnmun.1ty like udl

\'le do not get eno~ protection to preaCh 1n publlc. 1b.e ass workers dta~rb our meetings~ N0\'7 se~ \1hat b.as happened in ArunaChal Pradesh. Hlndu mlss1onar1es are ~~1tted to establ1~ sChools ~~eas, even MotbeJ' Ttr.esa was not a1lol!red to go, ?.he servloe she does is not for Cbr1at1an. X t ls non--Chl"istians who bene£1 t more and · Hindus are· afrai.d of 1t.

After all. we t-rere al.so converted £rom Brahmins upper caste - still tmy are t<Je not acceptabl.e.· Hindus mtstake us for Anglo-Indians. \1e put Indian as pre.ti.x ~ereas they bava Anglo. Irtlia is as tnU¢b our country as tbeirs (H1nduo),

119

still because we get aid from abroad, Uley tblnk t-re must go atmy • Our children don' t g~t jobs. Souttl Indian Hindus are more tol.erant. In fact South Indian Christian prefer SOuth Indian Hindus to North Indian Christians. Otherwise W!ly did tb.e chancellor of Ohand1garh Medical College refUse adm~ssion for m,y son? In fact he is al.ao a Christian, \·me.reas be call.s all. the South Indian boys t-lho failed in SOutb to Chand1garh but refUsed adtn1ss.1on. for nry son.

In Centrc:il sat'Vicest there 1s no d1scriminat1on. But at State leVel .;.. Yes it is very bad. Christians are being inc:t-easS.ngl.y d1sor1m1nated where preference is a1 ven to Hari.jans. '!hey don't give admission to our students or teachers as muc;h 1n their 1nst1 tut1ons as we give to Ht..ndu teachers and students in our sebools.

The intervt$1 coul.<t not be completed because of object1on I

raised by a member of the fam~ to proceed fUrther. But

eiten thG brief session gives rich 1ns1fJ'lts into the 't10rl.ci,.

v1el-T of the <::Oncerned resPOndent~

'lbe re~poncient. a 9Ul standard drop.oout 1s the son

of a librarian who worked 1n the American llbrary at Lucknotr. He is the el..deat o£ .five sons wh.o had set up a

l.ocal orChestra group that eventually sp1i t up. Now bis

father is dead, the Ubrary el.osed dotm due to differences

o.£ op1n1on bet~rean the Go'Vernment of Indla and the \'Testern

country that had sponsored tbe 11brary at Luclmow. 'lhe

180

respondent strongly feels lle 1s no"' orphaned 1n every sense

of the term. "Othert-lise I cou1d have easUy got the job.

Indians are very prejudiced against western countries. In

the name og sooial.tsm. they befriend Russla and 1 t wUl. be

worse £or this country0 • ile observed. He continued

furthex':

I am alienated from this Indian enVironment. and, from the paeudo Anglo-Indians here. It's years since I have been any,..nere near a Church but no one can question rrq davot1on to my Lord. I azn a God fearing Catholic. But I do not domnat1se my rel.igion. I am wa1 t1ng to get out but no money anc1 hence no chance. In fact, tb.e n genuinen Anglo-Indians ~11ll. take the first ship lf some one finances their departure.

\'To don• t even get a 11v1n.g t<Tage here. we Angl.o-In41ans cannot 11ve llke Indians- .I mean tdth no furniture except a "ch.arpoyn (o~ cot.r .. ma.de bed). t-Te kee~ our En.gl.1sb. stand~ds in taot and so we feel that we are aupertor• But we cannot afford 1 t \11th the pittance of a job that Anglo-I.ndians get 1n thts country. Ever s1nee 1957 t our quotas 1n Post and Te1egraph$ and exoise clePartments w~Ei cut Ol.lt• adding to our misery., tie wan~ to .siudy tx> come UP b~ no money. Ou,r AneJ.o­tndi.an l.eaders. are emaciated men., TbW have sold our beauti.ttQ. culture to tb.e HindUs mo stand on their head.s to become westernised like us.. \1e one& ruled this country and now 'rte beg for OQX' deeent living. 1hou~ tb.e unc\11. tured li1Jldus call us a scar on the b.1story of this country. tney st1l.l. \vallt our women. They t'eel an lnterior1 ty complex and hence become agsressive.. Britishers looked after us \1Cl.1. So our £~efathera cannot understand, how 'oze• the youtb og the community feel. - we can neittler come up b.ere because our parents are poor~ nor go abroad f"A) our original home.

181

Our problems are also 'Titllin the community. But tbat is because our leaders are boul#lt 'by tne government. 'lb1s catmtry bel.ongs only to Hindu" Altens are Muslims and us. Natlonal. 1anguage shou1d be TemU. \1/by HindS.? Becau·se the Tamilians were the original settlers. 'lhey threaten us (Hindus of North lnd1a) wltb "An~ez1 Hato" (wipe out English). But it is their dlil<lren who populate our sChools at the cost of our children. Because only Hindus ean pay money. So 1n the name of Angl.o-Indians, ~b.o servod this country as proud warriors. \'lho f~t l.oyally for British. end then for the Indians. l'Jhere are they nov? 'lbere are no Anglo-Indians now.. But you w1lJ. f1nCl a lon.g list of membership in our Assoeiat1on because of the pseudos. Tbat 1s the Eurdastans. You see thEW all over here even 1n Lucknow - I mean the Coanese, They spoil our culture 1n tha Church and 1n our scllools throu@l th.S.s 1Uegal. 1n£U ~atton into our conmnmi ty • Because of the smallness of their s1zet they join the band~1agon of Anglo-Indians and draw benef! ts from our name. Worse still, 1s tbe Xndian1zat1on o~ snal1 I cal1 it the H1ndu1sat1on 1n Ch~ches? Ligbting nagarbatn1s" (fragrant $ticks) or showing camphor to Ood; even ol.otb.lng r~~ • U\e t-1other of God 1n a "Sareett · (or tbe eostume of Indian women) 1s very ridicldOU$• I never trust Indian Christians because they sol.d tneir Gods for some material. galns-•

He~ spoke 1n a fairly b-ank manner that permitted

a pensioner, on both ns.s experiences personal.l.y as an

Angl.o-Indtan and po11ce officer collect1vel.y for Anglo­

Indians as a tobol.e. He was a mc:mber o.f tne I1!anagement

Boar4 of a prest1seous Angl.o-Indian school. of the city.

The interView· started on wi 1h the role of pol.ice 1n

controll.ing communal. r1ots in India since t947. Tb.e subject

'182

slotll.Y drifted to the status o£ m1nor1 ty communi ties.

u\<Iell.; aa far as the J\ngl.o-Indiana are concerned.

we have got a raw deal. f.t

Q. "From wnom? From the British"?

A• fiNo. not at all~ We trusted Ule Government 1n all

£ai tn ancl cb.ose to remain loyal. But now vte find let down.

'!bat is \!1by you hardly find any Anglo-Xndlans tnese

dayS'"·•

Q. 0 Do you mean to sw tbat they have all le£t

India"?

Yea. Miuation continued even untl.l 1972 and tTas 1n no -,.my on the decline from 1947. EVery year • as a tresh crop of youth come up or as people find that in Uleir tail•end Qt career; nottlitls much can be earned. tney bav~ gone a,ttay to Australia. None· to England of late,. (Later he contradicted. when be sa1d many have se.ttl.ed 1n 1m gland.)

Q• Why Australia?

~lor~ opportun1t1es,. My people (A.I.) tel.~ es~anged for tt10 reasons - no job opportu­nities and secondl.y l.enguage problem. We don' t mind Hindustan1. In fact I studied Urdu even but the -.;my H1nd1 \•Tas forQed I had to depend on my steno for everytt\1ng!t \ftly7 Wh11e tbey 'talk of el.1m1nat1ng English, their own dl1l.dren are put s.n Englisll achool.s. In fact, 1 have sudl a rush 1n my house asking for adnlissions ~1e c.:.'1tmot cope up. English is again picking up but st1l.l. ot£1c1al. corres­pondence is 1n Hindl, then l10\>1 can A.I. boys come up. oux- schools do teacb Hindi. But not tb.e Sans1tr1 tic Hindi. So they stUl. l.ook westward -· Better chances and bette:- l.Ue.

a. "What about tbetr Emigration Pol.2.cy e.g. Ra~ctst

183

attitude of B~1ta1ns or \'/bite Austr-alia policy?n

Oht B~ack aparthei-d 1s worse tnen m1 te ap~tbe14. ln my own personal. expex-ience, I had to take premature retirement because of the eol.our as well. as caste prejudice of roy coll.eagues. It came to a point where I could not beax- 1 t any more. But the rank and .fUe of PAC l.iked me and other Ang'l.o-Indien o.ff1oers more than the Ina1an officers.

A. Beeause t-te mixed vlitb them as equal.s etc. • played

and 'liOrked \'4th them \'bien en Indian officer rarely does -

not until recently. (His s.el.f-lden:ti,ty of being an Angl.o­

Indian is evident 1n tnis ClAturol.ogical. barrier that he

perceives between the Indians and Anglo-Indians.)

a. \'ihat about Muslims? Did Uley also get a raw

deal like you people?

A. Yes - 1n fact. Tttey suffered a lot because of

Part1 tion. A ttratcbful. eye is kept on them. Parti ~on -

well 1 t vraa done. '!be faul. t "'as on both Hindus and Muslims.

Q• Did Britlsh dt.V1.de bo'th HS.ndue and Musl.1ms?

A. WeU 1 t is partJ.y true. Any rul.er d1 vides -

\'/hat is tlappening no\'fl But Hindus can• t tolerate basically

the caste system is Ule fundamental. evil. here.

Q. D1ser1minat1on in job. recruitment?

I oen speak onl.y in po11ee and here there was no d1scrim1nati.On on communal. ~1nes as

184

tar as ~ecrui tment" promotion eto. ~ras concerned.. \1hat mattered ttras 1n.fluenoe and bribing - Anybody can get along trl.th money these days. But not A. I. You see i.n sel.ect1on panels even 2 Musl.ims and 1 Hindu alt. 'Ule former is al.ways conscious of be1ng picked 1f they ha"e chosen a Mus~ 1m candidate even if 1 t is purel.y on mer1 t basis. so tote nave to do tn1nss al.ways to pl.easa the Hindus.

Q. \!Jhat about your leaders and MLC nomination

after 1980?

A. Yes. we need a I1JLA or some representative always.

Otber\d.se, even the litt:Le (e.g. l.egal. backing i'or reten­

tion of Eng1.1Sh ha.s nel.ped at least some ot us to be here)

t>rould have gone.

a. Kovr do you l.tk0 speaking H1nd1?

A. I don't m1nd it~ We are not the l.osers if Engl.1sh

is gone. We have the stamp of a great race,. '!be others

follo~1 OlAr English ways. can• t you see lt'1

Q• Oo you mean to say that your leaders bave

encouraged mlgrat1on?

t4o it is the ottleta way. They h.e~p to settle us back. But tb.e official. language pol.tcy is d1f.f1cul. t as I told you. We tlf1sh to maintain our identity as A.X. but al.so for the chances of job opportun1 ties for eb1ldren. Our l.eaders repeatedl.y ernptlas1se that tre shOul.d l.earn Hindi and India is our l.and.

(His wife inter-vened.: "Ob I l.ove India. It is a .fi.ne

p1aee. I'm born and brought up hereft.

His daughter. nAl.so. we can• t get servants there. We have

to do a1l. the \'JOrktt)

185

Q • In spite o.f Anglo-Indians having the best of

educational ~stitutlons, \'Jhy are not many hi~ qualified?

(His immediate react1on to tb1s question 'ms 1n negative)

A, Because 50 per cent aro poor and cannot afford

to educate.

Q. But you· (Angl.o.Indian sdlool.s o£ \'lh1ch be is the

President) give scholarships? No?

A• Yes. very 1.1 ttl.e just to meet un1form expenses

etc. and evM if we give, they are rel.uctant to come.

r,tany A,I, families. ?b:lo are poor just don•t respond to our

aid~ We don•· t know why they are so indifferent like

ttl is?

Q.· Was 1t always like th1s that tbe A,l. commtmi\7

does not aspire h1~?

A. t~o, it is only since 1947. 1hose mo are l.oft

beb1ncS ere all e1ther tQo olel or too poor. What can our

leaders do? they are lilte tbis.

tiot au are metn~s.; 1hey want something 1n t'~Ulral• ~~,~ Gl''& f~ J.oving - rrant a piWty or sane ~ •. aut now wtth prohibition even tbat l.ittle-1s· epne. ~le hate Mol"arj1. We cant t stand hlm. The RSS \dlich has now come 1n give us aleep1ess nlgbts. You must nave beard of the 'l'yagt BUl. \fel.l.• tnat GUms up the interview :for you.

'.lbe eUmo-natlonal.ist Musl.lms believe basical.ly

186

S.n the viabUity of Islam to offer a powerful integrated

worl.d View oapabl.e of challenging tb.e westernization models

of modernity,.. The symbol.s evotted by Eurasians (Ang1.o-Ind1ans)

on. tho contrary, are rooted in western ethos and westernized

;form of Christ1an1 ty. 'lhe ethnocentric pre;ferences and

choice of these 1nd1V1dual.s can take many forms., If the

Angl.o-In41an scb.oo1 teaeher pr~ers non-Indian or English

coolting (A!>), the Urdu library ot~mer 1ns1ts on having a

Musl.im State based on IsJ.amic l.a'1 (55). r.tuslim ethno­

eentr1sm takes a more assertive .form than Indian Christian

ethnocentl'i.sm, characterised by a negative outl.ook, condazming

tbe oaste inhibi t1ons stUl. dominating public life 1n

India (13)4\ so. 1n the B.erger1an sense of identity, the

eXternalized core self assumefJ revivalist overtones {S4, 85),

wtlerein religion 1s perceive(i to offer a (Sh3, Sh 1) sacred

canopy, so to say • of new symbols. and netr1 hopes for Ule

••bes1eged0 l4usl1ms. 1 In this r~spect their identity

al.ternattons tend towar<ls renewal. than total. ehange. 'rheore­

t1eal1y ,- tb.ey subscribe to tb.e pol1 tiQal conoept ot an

Xslami¢. seat~ where reli,eion. 1a~1 and oul.ture t#e not

1naepaJ"abl.e institutions. In tbis 'tmy, their "minor1t1ness11

is cl.oser to Eurasians (or Angl.o-Xndians) unlike Indian

Christians. For tbe l.atter • as one o£ successfUl. symbo1s

o;f Cbr1st1an1ty in India; culture 1s ••tndlanisedt:1 but st1ll.

mth.tn tne body o£ doctrinaire (Christianity). For the

187

revival.ist Musl.ima and Eurasians on tlle contrary • Ind1an1sa­

t1on of Islam or Cbristiani ty is one of the regrettable,

institutional outgrowths responsible :for meaning break•

dot«ls in the1r respecti.ve epistemic systems o:f knO\'Jledge

resulting 1n the degeneration of the community (A2). Under

tbe existential exigencies of a secul.ar state as in India

the ethnocentric external.ization of fat th is not poli ticall.y

possible, heQce the conflict t11tb. their basic identity notions

and eonsequentl.y the Pl.enomenon of mul tlpl.e reality­

def1nitions (e.g. Urdu is a cultural issue, wh.ereas

reservation of jobs become a political concern). For the

etbnonat1onals, nm1nori ttness0 1s onJ.y an accident of

history. It is their transcendental ego than the experien­

tial self that matters, and determines vJOrld views and

identities. Hance the hallucinatory references to Paltistan

{S1) or to Br-itish witbclrawal (A3).

It is seen tllat most eth.no-nat1onal.s, for t1hom

cultural symbol. a are the ultimate "reall ty-def1n1 tiona" •

are el tb.er l.aader s of some sort. either religious or secul.ar,

of their reapectiva communi ties or holding executive posts

in some organ1sat1ons; arid so also £or those for tlbom the

formation o£ the Republ.i.o has been an unrewarcS1ng experience.

'l'tlus we have the Christian prJ.ests, a muezzin*, two maul.anas

• l"luezzin is a mat'\ \'Jho call.a out tile Musl.im prayers or Azaan five t1mes 1n a day from the mosque.

198

and the famal.e school. teacher working 1n a senool run by th.e

community 1 tself and 1n t-bicb. her father is a teacher 1n

Islamic studies. Of tne 27 the fire\fOod mau1ana (3h3) the

antique-dealer (Sh2) claim to have given up tne1r jobs on

account of Hindu 1ntol~anoe. uWhat they \<JOrsbip, we eatn

said the antique dealer very candidly and rul.ed out any

poss1bU1ty of communal. harmony because the· religions are

bas1cal.1y opposed and hence total. opposition of other

categories as well. 1be1r self-images nave been more stably

linked tdtn that o£ the COIIb"llunity on account of Ule

nunpleasant" landmarks 1n Uleir privatG biogaph.ies.

Rather tban letting. Ulemselves be trapped by 1deol.ostcal

sPl1 ts into 1dent1 ty dUanmas• tb.ey have accepted. pract1¢al

knowl.edge to be more meaningful. to· their 1ntended (;ll'o~eets

1n life,

~tusl.SJn caae.h1stor1es o1 ted abOVe are strangely

echoed by b1osraph1ca1 simUar1 ties acros9 the boundary

o£ £a1tb. Two Ind1an-Cbrist1an case histories (14 and 15) . . ·~ .

and of t\·10 Eurasians (.cases A2 an<l At) beal' amp1e evtdenee to

our claim above. So the difference of £ai 'ttl as t4usUms

and Christians are oul.y skin deep. since all. b1ogt'aph1es

are encapsul.ated 1n the dominant mode o£ bisto~J that

l.eaves some 1nd1vidual.s out of Ul.e political. circutt of the

market. 1h1s makes 1 t "meaningful" for them to renc;n., the

sp1r1.t o.f rel.ig1.ous/cul.tura1 revival.ism \'l!:tb nnat1onu as

defined by them. Xn tneir every day experiences the

popular image of a Christian 1s that of a low--caste Hindu

convert vm.o go.ve up his religion o£ b1rth 1n f3Vour o£ I

material. prosperity. Anglo-Indians enjoy a still more

derogatory status - of hybrids - and however b1~l.y educated

or \'1ell-placed they may be 'botb these ethnics suffer for

to1ant of soc1al acceptance~ Conversion to Cbr1stian1 ty is

subjectively depicted by the respondents as emancipation from

tradi tionaJ. disgraces suffered as untouchables. On the

contrary, such an "understandinS" not forthcoming on the

part of th.e Hindus l-ilO stUl condemn them \lAth t1Par1ahs" is

greo.t1y responsibl.e for their glorification of Christianity's

casteless faitb. The 'l'~V· technician• s (case IS) biography

1s Ulustrat1ve of tbis fcmlliar tale of woe of t."le converts.

If Indian Christians ~e bUgged by tne stS.EJDQ of f~tb.,

the Angl.o•lndians sufter tile irrepressible stt~a of birtb,.

The image of Christiano as "potential. proae1yt1zer" held by

non-Cbriat~ans and ptWt~cularl.y th.e Hindus, 4oes not seem

to affect the Eur-asians so much as tne Indian Cbriatians!l

For th~ .•. 1be threat 1.$ Q'Qat~ on tb.e .trQntters of cul.tt.wa1

symbo'ls, botn from witbln their own community (due t'4

Ind1genS.sat1on of Church rituals) and from tbe H1ndus

(e. S• the :future of Engl. ish 1n India). Hence their

constructs of reality tend to be Uleoretieal., This 1a

because the "eediulented0 inst!.tution of religS.on as agalnat

\'10rl4l.y experiences have yielded strong sense of security

to them in the event oz new proVinces of meanings that

190

emerged after ~947 as class praotices in the ideological.

warfare between rel.igtons and political. concept of nationalism.

The dominant categories used by the Muslim etbno-nat1onals are

definition of Hindu majori.ty as idol. worshippers,. casteists.

beet-eaters, Jan-Sanfjlis (meaning a political party of Hindu

cbauv1n1sts); for Indian Cnristians, Hindus are perceived as

caste-zeal.ots; t-b.ereas the Anglo-Indian cnoice of vocabulary

for tbe Hindus woUld be "natives" or aimpl.y "Indianan

tnereby h1gbligbting the div'iding 11ne btt-reen the

nationalities. On further anal.ys1s we :find that l'lusl.im

ethno-nationalism is a vrell organised and coherent system of

thout?Jtt based on Islamic models, more tbeoreticalJ¥ inspired

and w1 U1 unified province of meanings mere eu1 ture and

pol.i tics ere 1nsepnrabl.e. For tbe l.atter, nat1onal1 ty of

bir'th. and faith are more meaningful. than tbat o~ c1 tizen-

abt.p a$ a political. notion.

1be sectarian dimension of knowl.edge;.ident1ty

phenomenon 1s equally important i.n the deseript\on of minorit.y

orientations of all. the S\ib-groups. Seetar1an1sm is pervasive

and deeprooted :for the Angl.o-Xndicms. Wh11e al1 the a respondent o.f this group d1apl.~ sectarian .feel.ings ei Uler

l.atentl.y or manifestly 1 t is not1ceab1e oth~t1se only among

3/5 Sunnis, 2/S Sh1as, and 3/S Indian Christians.

1be formation of ett.mo-natt.onal. 1dent1 ty 1s cert~

1nfl.uenced by divi.si.ve categories on communal. l.ines. Re1n£orced

by personal. experiences either of sGl.f or of others, sueb

knowl.ed3e llas ai4ed the process o.f identity stQbU1saUon•

191

Sunnla Shtae Indian Anglo-Indians ~lltlg~&gag . '

S6 Pol.ica s.x. Sh4 Haltlm (Doowr)

I6 Doctor A9 C1v11 ser-, vant (r~.)

S7 Landl.ord Sh5 Lecturer JJ? Lawyer A10 CivU

S6 Baker servanj Sh6 Civil. IS Hospi-tal. (Retd.

89 Distt. Raoor4 servant Assistant Officer (Ret4) A11 Typist

I9 Teach~ S 10 tJrdu Academy Sh7 Ch1kkan

Clerk . \'lorker 110 College Principal

S11 La\.qer Sh8 La\'IYex' I 11 Principal.

S12 P.a.o. Raj Sh9 Chikkan {College) Committee Export

s 13 General Merchant Agent

S 14 Govt. Cl.erk

St5 Sales Manager

S16 Female LaVJYer

S 17 Lat'/Yer

S'\8 Maul.ana and Sunnt leader

S 19 Haklm or (llledi-cine man)

S20 Perfume Businessman

S21 Accountant S22 P\t1D Cl.er'k S23 Corporation

Teacber S24 Rail\'tay Fitter S25 Ci~1 SerVtmt

RQt4•} 2 6 6 '

192

Heril. "minorttyismu is perceived as a po1.1t1oal.

reality dividing the communities ~om each otber for t-bien

religion is accepted as pr~iding the ldlom of power struggle.

Thus the numerically lwge Hindu ma3ority 1s a1so identified

as 0po'~ el.i·tesn. ConsequentlY "m1n0ri ty situation" 1s

one stemming _from numer.loal. subordination leading to

deprivation '>berein organised m1nor1 ty action is believed

to be nnu;laningful.ly relevantu. The instltut1onal1zed

stereo-types of fU.ndus arG '*Hukumatwal1e" or rul.ers and

ttpatsG ~mll.~" or moneyed classes. In tne subjective category

of tbe Etnno-poli.tice.l core :l.nd1v1duals, political power

or economio controls over the market are considered to be

equal r·e::;ource value and hence synonymous re.ali ties~ In tb.e

same veJ.n• :lack of such resources. l-btch the.y perceive to

be etbn1Ca1lY determtned. creates a self•tmase of m1.nor1 ties

as second el.ass c1ttzenst Cit1zensb1p 1denttttes are thus

bound by mter1ae ethnic ®nsc1ous.ness; and tilsy firmly

be11eve tn tbe Viabll.i t.y o£ ettmi.c values to sol.ve Ule

burning issues of social inequality and social 1njust1ce,

In the~ view, ethni.ci ty and modernity are mutually exclusive

categories o£ change and compettttve model.s of oJ.ass prae­

ti.ces~ But in "pract1cal. kno\'Jl.edge" (in Gramseian sense)

they vtsual.ise 'that the ogfiei.al. machinery and the Hindu

power struQture as enmeshed "realities" addtng to tbe

r1gi<11ty of the structw~es contr'ary to tb.e democratic and

secular precepts o£ tne Indien Constitution. Hence the

etbno-politica1 core individuals bel.1eve 1n minority safe~s

for minoJ'ity prob~ema by playing up their ael.f•images of

national minorl ties as trump cards vberever reqUired. JUl.

"reality" is pol1Ucally constructed and nence pol.i ticaU.y

resolved. 1b1s is the world view o£ tbe '' indi.Vid.ua1s of

this group. Tne ease n1stDr1es reproduced be1ow b1gbl.igbt

our observations on the concerned 1denti~J E!)'QlP•

S6 BaJser.

Baking has been my tamil.y profession since the days of rrq toretather s~ We ware \'J'Ol'king for Br1t1shers.. 'ilben they left, they sold their bakery to me~ Notr I b.nve .four branches 1n Luclmow. I SUPP~ mainl.y to the Chrtat1an 1nsti tut1ons and missions and schools here. I em knO\>m as tlflaj1 Biscuit \1allall"• Yes, 1 have been to Mac~ 1 am tnankful. to God that He gavo me at l.east that satisfaction 1n llfe.

Dur1n.3 Brittsll days, there was no .. shortage o£ commodities. tihen "maida" (.fl.our) t-TaS not avaUable 1n the market I used to approach tbe Commissioner direetl.y w1121 my problem. He used to listen pat1entl.y and no question of bribing anyone in hls ot.fioe £or getting my ~rk done41 But now even to get a ration card, 1 have 'to brtbe so many of tb.em because I em a Muslim. I em harassed more. 1hey are the "h.ukumat walJ.asfl (rul.ors). So, everyt>bere corrupt1on is ~ampant. l move l'T1tb Cbri.stians also very cl.os~ly. '!hey al.so suffer. 1he Muslim J.ea.ders are hel.pl.ess~ Even U a Musl.im o.ffi.eer is made tn charge of c1v11 supp11as. ne cannot llel.p a illusl.1m for the fear of being taunted. So in order to prove bts 1mpart1al1 ty or foriarigntness. he ttrill. be more hel.p£u1 tc> Hindus than me. 1hat is the trased¥ of th1s community, the gt,lil.ty sense of ~ear.

Our la~r is made by God and hence not temporal. I~ we aoeede to common law, Wb.o knows mat commands td.l.l be issued by tb.e Govern.1lent tom01Tow'1 'lhey mw even ~ll. us not to clo "namaaz" (prayers· in Islam). 1hey are afraid of Musl.1ms marcyin~ more Ulan one wife and mu1 t.iplying so that tte can become th.e majority.* 'lheae days even MusJ.1mo are finding i. t dif£1oul t to afford l.ar ge .families. And moreover, tbere 1~ a l.aw 1n "Sb.ar1yat" that unl.ess we proVide £or 'Ute maintenano·e o£ :first wife,. l'le cannot marcy agaln~ I have six w1 ves al.l o£ them are happy and I am l.ooktns after them. Wb.y sh.oul.d the govermnent worry at all? Hindus fear tilat ~re will outnumber tnem one da;y. 1hat 1s ~Y.

I arn the seecnd son. in a .family o£ four. I~ father is also retir-ed from go"ernment service. 1)1y elder brother is in tb.e legal. profession. Both of us got our ~obs tdthout erq lnflue11oe and [:ILlre~ on mer·t t. But thi-s is not the case w1 tb. other Muslims. I have had rich experi.ence- t-tith Hindus, aa empJ.oyers, eol.leagues,. ne18flbours and friends. One bad h.abl t they 'nave is to taunt us. 'lbey ma_y seq 1 t 1n fun. But t'IE! .feel 1 t because of b1 tter events of history or history as l'n:"!.tten by the rulers - .firstly British and no"' Hindus.. 1hey say tbat ''le support Paklstan 1n ttockey matche211 or proverbs like, (a) ntne bomb falls in Karachi but the heart beats 1n Indla". Or, (b) "you eat the salt of H.tndustan but sing tbe praise o.f Pakistant" 'lhey t~e our rel.iglon and aecUBe us of tald.ng off time from duty to do our pr~ers.

Tbe ca~te • feeling is very strong emong Hindus. It t.s tn~tr caste pre3\1d1ce tfh1ch affects t-iuslims aJ.so._ \'1e do not get fac11ities 11ke their O't'ln

* nte folk wisdom o~ the. beker 1n hisJ'll.1l#lt1ng the re1evance of numbers as a determinant status o£ minori-ties is sadl.y l.aCking 1n mmw acaderdc theories. see lntroeluct1on~

195

caste minorities. Reservation of quotas is a must for us. Musl.1ms are under-represente<S ln Government jobs and 1n the pol.ice service. Beoau.se Hindus are more 1n interview panel., the Hindu candidates have access to some source of 1ntluence. But Musl.ims cannot approaoh the~ l.eaders because they ax-e afrai.d of bef.ng branded as oommunal.lsts and fanatics.

I am a student o£ u~ and doing nw Ph.D. th.es1s~ My chil.dren cannot learn Urdu \\bleb is their D}other tongue.; Gandbi.ji has sa1d tbat ev~: child. must learn tbrou8J1 his motil.er tongue. You are a TamUian (addressing Ule rese~oher) and you knO\'t how fanatlc you aJ~e 1n yo~ state as far as tbe national lem~ge goes, At leas.tt we (r.tuslims) do not question tb,e status of HU1c11. But ~19 want th'du to be recosnised as second language of UP. But , th.ey say that less than 30 per cent o£ the popul.atton speak Urdu,. 1h1s ts £al.se. Because I know vm.en 'tho census officer reccrds mother ton@le of the people., he pUrpose~ distorts the figure of Urdu speakers. It>. sohoola 't is the aame story., '!here is a stipulation 1n UP Cave:rnment that tf tbere are more than 10 students opting for tJrdu !.n a class; they shoUld n()J>9int an--urdu teacb.er. He.re again 'Uley enter false ligures, How can w~ queetton ihes~ 1n~st1ees wtltm we have no power in our hands?

196

o£ tbe economic l'Tar against tbe Harijans~ I am 'liVing under the threat of my chamar assistant be~Oll'ltng the section officer one ot Ulese days. so it is a very complex issue.

I come fl'om a fant1l.V of l.andlords and • zamlndars• in the v1c1n1 ty ot Luckno't't• rtr father migrated to Pakistan in 1950J after slx monUls, ba came back to take Ms .fainily * t-ty gr:-anclmother p1eaded for his staY 1n Ind1~ She could not appreciate the need £or tlluslims to baYe their OWA state. r-ty fctner stayed back re1uctantl.y. He "ras ono of the staunCh foll.owers of Jinnan. So \that­ever miss1cn 1n l-S.fe he could not ful..f11. I took a vow to fi~t for the r1~ts of Muslims in. this country. That 1s one of the reasons t-rlW I refused membership 1n the Bar of Ule Allatlabad His!_l Cour-t. I became a Government lawyer • then I \10uJ.d become tl'lelr mouUlpiece. ftly co.mmun1 ty need$ no ntore pol.1 tlcians. They need l.eaders "Jho can h~lp then.

* AMU is tne abbreViated reference to Aligarh r4usl.1m Un1versi.ty; to be ll'eferred hereafter as AMU.

197

U.rdu 1s not only a stteet and secul.ar language, but t.t is vet1/ essential far our cultural identity to bind us as a oc:mmunity. It 1s symbolic of tb.e glorious Musl1m past and our .future hopes. BY losing 1 t, f'lualims will be cruShed by Hlndu genooiae.

At present. I am .fi.gtlting so many oases o~ 11 tlgat1on b..v Musllm trustees aga1nst the State Government for Ulega'l grabbing of m1nor1ty property. They encroach on our masjld and graveyards. \~?

1bere 1a no other solution but for us to become ·a pressure p;oup as m1nor1 tie a tr11 tb.out joining a1J¥ other party bandtmgon except as Indian 14usli,ms~. We must do 1n the same way as Arab tau~t a leason to America.

Sh4 H¥38 (or Doctor o£ the Unanl System o~ Medicine popUlar emongMusltms}

"You (addressing the researcher) are from Tamf.1

NadU 'il'lere Muslims are not treated as here. In tbls part

o£ tne Ooun~y, 1 t ls <l1~t~ent•~1

' rsay1ng Ulat. the ootogenar ian aoctc>r 1ns1·t~t~

that hts data mus~ be recorded 1n wr1 tins on the spot• t\tdeh

ls reproduCed below_J.

A slmpl,.e and 1'1rs-t hand. axp~1en~ (of' minorl."W problem) is th-e PN~·jud 1o~ against Unan1 Mec11(}'-Jle,_ I do not understand~· tTnan! ~ledicine has to · be made into a t-lusl.im 1·SSU~. Xt is more aui tabl.e to the nortA Ind1axi cJ.1mate than homeopathy or all.opatb.y or Ayurveda. And 1 t is much cheaper than Ayurvedic medicine. But. government does not want Muslims to ~oy equal. righ.ts and under tne excuse of tn1$Danagement. they have nml nationalised the Unan1 Col.leges. Just compare the status o~ tbese ool.l.eges w1 tb. that of Ayurved1e mediof.na how much. patronage they

196

set. It is all. GJ01;ler that matters~ When Mus~ims were rul.ers. tbey n~ver d1scr1m1 .... nated. But gave all. encouragement to Hindu gor Ayurvedic m~ict.ne.

Ali.garh Mus1.1m Un1ver si. ty tfas set up by Slr Syed Ahmad Khan ~or Mus11zns to come up. It 1s one of tn.e few meagre resources Ute community has at its disposal to figtlt out ant1-Musl.1m attacks. Also lt gives an atmosphere ,.mere the youth of our communtv oan gat exposed tp the cul tu.ral and religious enVironment of Islam.., But now tne govarnment t-rants to seek tt because it S.s ~eal.ous and watthf\l1 o.f our actiVities_ •.

US\.lal]¥ tbere 1s a misconception that Mus1ims ar·e backt-rard because of religion. No• 1t 1s t'Zr'ong. 1ley are baeltward because no money to edu¢ate tllQ1r children. Also,. tbey are not taupJtt in the medium o£ tbe1r rnotber tongue. So the Hindu boys have an advantage over us. When lt comes to job mar>ket, they are d1s• criminated. So they remain poor. It 1s all 1nter-related4t Musl.ims ba~e a rlgbt to reservation on grounds o£ economic backward• ness.

In the above ~thnobiograpny of the "Haklm*' \'Je sat1

the uni.t1cat1on of bis exp~ience as Unant. doctor and

pol1t1cal. perceptions d&term1nlng the format1on of his

1denti ~. It ls morG vt v1(1ly brou{#l t out 1n the toUowlng

case history o£ the sixty years o1d cb.lkltan ~10rkera

199

Sh7 CbilWm 1forr.: (age~ years)

Ever since I cou1d clo any work td th rrq hands; I rem amber doing only this 0 ohikkan tt toJOrk. E1 ther 1 t 1s a Kurta or saree • btlt no·w-a--d~s all. sorts of dresses are made 1n "dlikkan". Moat o.f them I cannot identity. Look at my eye.a. It bas become J.ike t..~is ev:er since l \'laS th~ty. t~e don't get orri speci.al. benefi ta. Al.1 o£ us ( ehikl~an workers) need to wear spectacl.es at a very earlY age because we keep looking at little pieces of embroidery for more than eight holn--s.· But 1t is very expensive, 1f vre go to l):t"ivate doctors,, Xn goveranent hospital 1 t is onl.y on the basis o£ special. recommm .. datton and infl.uence tilat you oan get anytlling done. Ho~ can tolual1ms have so mucb inf1uence'1 \1U~ are not the rulers. Our hands are tied and mou'th is sUenced.

Previously \'te used to get piecemeal rate of o.,75 ps per Kurta. NO>c; I get ~. 10 per day,. But no\.,..a-days I cannot toJOrk so mucb. Ever sit'lce nAzadl" (Independence) • tne rich ftlusltul famUies l.aft India. Otherwise, they used to glve us lot o£ support and take personal. cal'e in our neal th. For arw weddings in our £am'U~es. Begums used to gtve lot o£ help. My father took l.oans from them and Begta pro9ented me v"-th "Pa¥a1s•• (ankle~ usuaUy made 1n silver>~ NoW"'a•davs we get l.oan on interest .from RastogJ.s. They are the new unawabs" ('these money-l.enders) and tbe Government ts on their slde. 'lhey make lot of money on .export but pay us so meagerly~ 1be labOur t.nspector J.s br1bed by them \'11th money. go04 food and all. h:.J.s retJ.utrem.ents. When we nave lost our 8h.ul~um.atu ~power) t<> t'Jhom can ~lEt eompl.ain? 1 lost rq husband \'h~ I '1as 45. My el.dest 4au€Jlter is a teacher1 I1\Y son is 'ttorlting in a shOp and the 1ast ~JO· f!P to school. t-1y dau8tlter does not \'tant to do ttl.ls work. She wants to appear f'or B.A. m-J.vatel.y but Sb.e is not very @)Od 1n heal.'th an;y~EJY she \'Jill tr;oy ~

200

When asked lfhlether she knO\otS wbat is happenillG

at A!J!U she replied, nt am not very familiar with t-~at Y0\1

are saying about Aligarh t1n1vers1 ty. I k.no~t there 1s one

Untversi ty llke that for filusl.1ms."

1be biogra&ny of tha cbikkan \10rker sketched above,

sho~rs the dev-elopment of her etbno-poli tlcal. core 1dent1 ty

from lter domain of def1n1t1-ons ln l>ftlch the famtl.i~ fr.tUs11m

prob1er.ns of Urdu, or Aligarh Un1verslty issue do not fS.I)lre

a~ a1.1. ~Jhereas, the other compatri-ots of her l1fe-worl<l,

the Hakim (Sh4) or for that matter the :fema1e leoturer (Sh5)

or the ciVil. s~ant ~Sh6) and the la\~e.r (Sb7) are more

vocs.terous on the "coUecti'Veu issues of Muslims affecttng

tnelr 1~ent1.ty as m1norit.1es. 1bey are 1n the "known of the

minority probl.ens (NualJ.m issues) and "l1ve" in the core of

tnetr flknO\tledgeu. Just as 'tfle Obikkan worker lives 1n the

core of her subjectiVity as a resoureel.eas employee under a

Hindu. The cl.'VU Sex'Vant (Sl\6) and tb.e l.a\'/Yer (Sl?) el.aimed

to have suffered discriminatory treatment m the h.ands o.f

Hindus in the cont$Xt of the~ oceupations - laCk o£

promotion due to 1mpos1t1on of HJ.nc11 (Sh6) or being taunted

as unpatriotic durtng lndo-Pak wars 1961 (Sh7). ibouSJ,

the baQkgrounCl and experi-ences a.f.teott.ng their knoW.edge is

dif£er~t &om 'tbat of tb.e cbikkan \'Torker • the contents are

the same i.e~. Identt.£1eat1on og sel.f arui the commun1ty as

deprived and underpr1v1J.eged as a resu1t o£ their m1nor1ty

"being"·•

201

As an ol.d c1 ttzen o£ Luckno\>t.1 the respondent

(60 years.) Ql.aims to kno~t many peopl.eJ Hindus• r>Iusl.ims.,

Punjab1.s too~ But he feel$ that the l.arge heartedness o£

Christians is not returned by Hindus.

In f'act, all our 1nst1t\.lt1ons,, l".hetber medical or educational. cater £or Ute Hind\! Ma~or1ty. . ?he staff may be Christians but it is s~ictl¥ done on the bas1a o~ merit•" 1hese institutions ~ted ''lith 1he aim of imparting educatJ.on to lndiana and not for Christians onl.y. The l.atter sacrificed a J.ot.. But they are bl.amed .fa1se]¥ for tb.e conversions. Peychologlcally • these accusations make us teel as aliens. We are also Indian.s and our forefathers were Hindus. Every leader ca~tlgates us. as. non-Indians~ It hurts us very badly~ lf we take 1 t pat1entl.y • j. t does not menn we •e accepting guJ.l. t. Xn 1947 • '~en the Oonst1tut1on was dl'aftect. lt \'1BS only Ule Cbr1st1an community tbat rejected separate ident1 ty by x-efuaing res~atione. Anglo­Indians demanded reservation on WhiCh \'las granted to . tnem. 1he Muslim demand 'me even more fortnldable tbat toolt a etumk of ihe country ttseu. But we considered it unnecessary and disgrac;etul. We believed the Hindus becatASe our religion teacbes us universal brotn~h.oocl. But cur brothers bave betrayed us., At l.east t<tben they are helping the Sch.edul.ed Castes, wh.Y not extend the same faollities to tne sebeduled caste converts among Cbrtstians m'l4 Musl.ims? On the one hand, they gtve the r13l~ to follol't arJ¥ rel1s1on al1d on Ute other hand, tttey discourage conversion by stopping tbe priv1l.eges. tJiother Teresa does not di.serlmS.nate between HindU or non..a.Sndus, ~ereas you see Ramkristma M1ss1onar1es. They also get foreign aid. 1he government ignores that. &It is a1tmys suspicious o~ on3\Y Christian m1ss1onar1es and th.o mon~ coming to them. In .fact• 1 t 1s more ncn-Chr~st1ans vbo benef1 t £rom 1 t than Cbr1st1ans.

202

Aa Christians \>Je have no cap1 tal. to stax-t arq l:Qsiness. we are economically backward. IVIost of us ax-e educated and 1n the middle class, and; excJ.uaively dependent on our jobSJ we have no' lands or tam1ly property; nor does the joint family system exi.st for ol.d Chrts~ians to get some solace. We ~r·efore need eccnomic security but because ue are voicel.ess, we can't get anything~

Another great stt~a falsely associated "11th us arises .c-om Ute caste comp1ex of H1ndus. It re.all.y perGecutes tbe Indian Cbristions. ParticularltY, in my .famil.y • my sister hao h.a4. a very sad .experience.. She went as a soCial wor.· ker t. o ona ot tbe UP villages and she was treatecl as an untouchabl.e. EVer st.n9e tnen, I make it a point to ask al1 my Htndu b'iends and guests mettler they will eat 1n ft11 hous.e or not and then onlY ogfer them some refreshments. Tb.ou&{l Luckn.0\'1 is t'Tel.l. knom ~or 1 ts "Takkaluf" for me rrq self•respeot is more important.

ihe other Christians 1n this category 1. a. 17, IS

19, 110 and 11:1 also had mor~ or less identical. Vie\~ts on the

majorityo-.'llinortty !'elations resulting 1n Uleir identity

cbaracterist1¢s. 1be lawyer (17) complains of feeling

iso1ated eY® ln tlt s ~ofessional. oiroJ.as 'tho~ he bas

many Hindu elients. 'lbe ttro college principals 19 and I 10

compl.ain o.f tnc:reaaing encroaChment of the Governt:lent into

the affair& of private mf.nority educational 1ns't1tut1ons.

n0ur Christian teacn~s do not get a chance 1n open

oornpet1t1on beoausa of caste ~avour1 tism., The onJ.y al.ter­

native is in the Cbr1st1.on institutions. Bt.lt even here the

Government interferes too much. 1n our appointment and

recruS.tment pol.1c1.es"• decl.ared the pr1nc1pal. of a 1ead1ng

female educational. 1nst1 tution o.f tbe o1 ~J. \'11th that she

added, "But don't disclose 0\Y name. I have lot o~ Hindu

friendsn.

As in the ease o£ other sectarian units, tbe Angl.o­

Ind1an ethno-political. core too is concerned tdtll the

concentration of pO\"Ter 1n tbe bands o.f Hindus resul t1ng in

human degeneration of otner minor1 ty ethnics. Tile following

case history of a ~etirEld civil. servant of th.e State

Government aznp1y illustrates tbese characteristics of eth.no­

political. core identity of the sal£ and society.

A9 GS);lternme§ C&xil. Seaf¥11C (PCS Retd.)

I ·am the last of the Anglo-Indian civl.J. servants. My father ttas 1n tile Post and Telegraphs and tnougn we are £rom Lucknow I h.ave moved witb ray father al.l over UP. After my senior cambridge I was unemployed for one year. '1h1s was in 1947. But then I got absorbed 1n Ratl\·ro.ys after passing the competitive exams. Tnen I aPt throu(#l tbe state CivU SerVice Examination as; t-teJ.l. 1 e.ctuall.y wanted to becorae a CiVil Engineer. But tnere were some famUy requirements that necessi. tated IllY taking up a job soon, But after me you will not find any Anglo-Indian 1n tbe state Cirtl. serv-ice. None of them are coming .fort-mrd to take 1 t up. Actual.l.y • there are a b.and.fUl. now end most of them are retired. The youth of the community b.ave lett 1:he coun~. So no question of any one coming to tbe State Service. In fact. ttle £ew '<bo are l.e£t behind \'tou1d rattler take up RaUwe.Ys or Military than enter State Service.

Q. "But ~ <U.d tbey migr"ate wb.en they b.ad job security

1n Rai.l.wa,y and 'l"el.egraphs11?

204

Actually, 1t was fear psychosis •••• It \<Taa not just economic but political. and cultural identity o£ the community that t·Tas in perU. EV'en when Bri Ushers were here, the Anglo­Indian were taunted by tbe Hindus. And '~n British were l.eav1ng, we felt \i'e ere going to be uprooted. Our fear • bot<revero Ul­foun4ecl 1 t may be was rat1onal. and leg1 ttmate. Since 1gr.7, we at least fel.t ourselves to be botn po11tical and psych.olog1oal m~or1t1es, \'1e don't \-rant any aid from government excep~ providing some reservation for our youth 1n the eduoat1onol and employment ereas. But since we b.aVe no influence, ~re cannot get muob.,

Even i£ our ehil.dren accept and study HindS., stUl. their chances in open competition are very little~ We are not Br1t1shers. We opted to stay in India and "1e have accepted the Indian ways of living. Our girls do not go about in kJ1ee ... length dl'esses or pants. On 'the contrary, Hinc1us boys want smart girls \'b.O are available only 1n our community. But hOt1ever mucb \1e \>.tant to merge we are m94e to ~eel. different because of our reltgS.on, customs, conventions and habits. f.Iore than anything el.s.e, tne repeated onslau~t on Bngl1sb gives us a scare. lt is our last hope antl gtves us some confidence 1n maintaining our collective, cul.tural. identity.

With a fatall.st1c Sisbt the senior typist A11

o£ a private £1rm declaredt

Wh.at cannot be Olt'ed has to be endured. t'fe have no voice. Ever since the quotas fixed by the British in Tel.egrapns and Exc1se stopped ~or us, there has been further degeneration o£ the commun1t,r. Very £e\1 AngLo-Indians are rich enoufjl to educate their cb1l.dren £or pro.fessiona1 career. wnue previ.ousl.y, a senior cambridge stu4ent could become a senior apprent1ce, no\'~a-days, be can• t got even a peon• a job for two reasons. Firstly his qualification

205

may not be suf.ficient. But, more importantl.y, 1 t is contacts that matters. \'ihere does a tiny community l1ke the Angl.o-Indians existing on the b-inge of society go for 'these expensive affaJ.rs of bribery and influence?

A11. as a typist 1n a private £1rm wi1h British

collaboration, this middle-aged lady is also the president

og the o1d age home .for Jmgl.o-Indians.

We are the \t10l*st m1nori ties one can think. No resources, no leaders, nothing to fal.l baCk on. Even the 1mmlgrat1on rules have been made so strict that t'le cannot go~ Our youtJl nave left us and no support f.or the or(;baned el.ders o~ tbe community. What cam1ot be cured has to be endured.

She eonol.ucled w1 th a note of resignation.

For the etbno-pol1t1caJ.s.po\'1er and spoUs of po,-rer

are th.e only mean1ng£ul symbols because tbat alone can

expla1n tne soCial inequal.ity between Hindus and non-Hindus.

Professional. and educated classes among both Musl.ims and

Christians are concentrated in l.arge numbers among the etbno­

pol1 t1e1ens, many of mom are 1n government services. The

l.a,qer politicS. an 1dent1 ty-~Jpe most prevalent among t-luslims

is largely .fountl 1n this category o~ Hinori tiness. So al.so

for Angl.o-Xndians and Indian Cbrlst1ans. The erystal.l.lzation

of Minori-ty identity ls most v1v1cUy seen 1n \iOrld-View of

~e etnno-po11t1cians because, the etnno-po11tlca1 41 persona1.1t1es" among tne Christiana and ~1us11ms are £rom

206

educated. professional and mostly in government employment.

who su£fer the maximum minorlty complex. 1be uniformity is

understandable since as minorities. the subject perceives

that whate'Wr opportlmi t1es for material progress exists is

only 'throueJl competitive channels o£ modernisation; so

educat1on l.eading to profess1onalizat1on become hlaJ:lly prized

commoc11 ties gor which "pot-r~" or u access to sources of

power are itnportant prerequ1s1tes. But with Constitutional.

bacld.ng for the upll~ o£ Hindu l.a\1 castes and the bureaucratic

bias 1n favour of its impl.ementation has created not only

bottl.enecks ot power but also i.Mibitive force on the eEJJ of

the non-HindU aspt.rants to modernity. 1he1r dUemna is

between "the devU and the daep sea" as one of them put 1 t

(X7); by acceptinG tbe quota system woul.d be a bl.ot., to tneir

egot1·sm tor being down~aded with °Chamar0 ; by not doing so,

would leave them out of the rat-raoe and hence they define

the minority syndrome as a ~esli ty" ot politics, the battle

l.1nes are dra\'11'1 no longer between Hindus and Muslims (or

Christians as tbe case m.a¥ be); but between tbe Hin&1

pol1t1c1ans and -'Chamarsu on one side, pitched against tb.e

t1usl1ms. It is this :ft'ame of mind tbat makes Muslims d1s­

bel.ieve even the Census apparatus, tlj\icb. 1s accused of not

returning the actual. size o£ Urdu-speaking Muslim poJ;Ul.at1on.

SeetarianJ.sm is also viewed as a po:L1 t1oal.

phenomenon 1n tb.e ethno-politicals core constructions. 0£

J:two IC the 35 respondents, 14 sunru.s and two Sh1aa...Jhad sectarian and two AX

bias in some form or the otner. However. like m1nor1tyism,

sectarianism was also defined as on off-shoot of Hindu

domination and po.J.ltical. strategy to divide the minority

communities. The ra1l'tifaY fitter in tb.e sample S2S felt that

tile competi.tive struggl.e bet\>lee:n Sunnis and Shias to re­

ostab1ish t'bemsel.ves in the local bierarctw on par l'rith

Hindus was a sPUl.•over of international. Shia•SUXlnS. politics.

He sa1d:

1he Sh.1as enjoyed as rulers and after the1r dovm.fall• survived on the patronage of the ruling cl.ass. boUt Br1 tish and Hindus. Now l'l1th the recent elections {of 1977 after EmergenQy) and overtilrow of Conge as, the1r political base 't·zas threatened leading to erosion of their status as overlords o£ Luckno\1 cuJ. ture. \'leo Sunnis are rnuch larger in number and if at all the Janata Party has ''/On• on t>1usl.1m vote, it is 1n reality Sunni vote, at 1east in Lueknow. 'lbeir amphat1c stand on tak~ out the tJTazlas" (part of tbe I>lobarram r1 tuals) 1s a desperate bid to safeguard the cultural symbols that matter to their pol1 t1ca1 status. 1bey still tb1nk they era the Nawaba o£ Lucknow.,

'lbe etbno-poli tical sectarianism was ho'\'Iever not

so sbarply articulated as collli!lunal. enimos1 tie.s, nor tms tb.e

usage o£ cateaories identical. .tor botn. For instance. ttle

Sh1as never percet ved Hlndus and Sunn1 s as one and the same

majority,.

200

3. Eth-C1ass Cora IdentiJiY Total. = 22

Sunnls

S26 Governnu:nt truck driver

S27 Leather Cleaner

S28 Dye Mer­chant

S29 Junior Haklm (Unani

Doctor)

S30 Technic1an (Re~ima-a­

torJ

S31 lo!eat SeU.er . S32 Corporation

Foreman

7

Sb1as Indian Ango-Indians Christians

Sh 10 Lal I 12 School A 12 Car Sroker Beg1a ~eaober

(sweeper) 11' Baker's A13 Enslne Driver

Sh, 1 Cook \)4fe (Ra1lweys) ·

sn 12 Wasberman 114 Business

Sb.13 Corpora- and Factory tion Proprietor Foreman

4

I15 Timb~ Businessmen

116 TaUor

I17 Binder ( Govt. Press)

110 Painter

X 19 Mechanic

120 Lawyer

9 2

209

ihere is a qual.i tat1ve difference bett·1een etb-cl.aas

and etbnO-pol.t tical 1denti. ty as real1 ty-def1n1 t1ons of

m1nor1t1nesa. The etn-olass categories suggest a nascent

form of class oonsolousness but defined by ethnic concepts.

Accol'dlngly et.h-elass 1denti ty 1s a curious blend of tlle

transcenclental 1mpact on existential almreness of tho self

and of others. But due to the compulsions of tb.e productive

process either 1n tbe ethnic milieu o.f tne community 1tself

{both w1 tb1n nb1rad.ar1.11 and 'tnon-b1radar1" environment) or

in sel.f•employment status, the 1nfl.uent1a1 role of the

pract1oa:L knol·ll.eclge is also v1~1dl.y seen. The etb.-olass

perceptions are rooted 1n ethnically oriented economic

def1ni Uons of social relations. 'lhus besides Hindus (only

rJ.ch Hindus) 11Majorityn is also made of a sizeable number o£

"eli tea" from their own respective ethnic groups. Hence the

"t'l1nor1 ty Syntlrome0 is a projection of the explo1 tative

social rele:tioruJhlps both td thin and outside tbe ethnic

enel.ave as th.e case ~ be. Accordingly the eth-class

nreal.ity" is a mirror image o£ poverty, Ullteracy, backward­

ness. la~~ o.t contacts (or "source••) to turther tneir

prospects in \<hlatever channels of life th.at is possible.

1'b.e1r definition o:f 11mod.ernisat1onn is not necessarily one

associated witn a scient1£ic temper, western education or

tecbnological.l.y equipped skUl.s. \'lhat is "meaningful. •• is a

sel.f-respeot1ng condi tiona of 11fe tb.at coul.d afford some

respite £'rom their da1l.y atruggl.e for l.t vel.ih.ood. 1he

210

categories are theref'ore economic 1n essence but dom1nated

by ethnic overtones: 1 t does not however impl.y any kind of

de-communalised consciousness because of tne crystallizati-on

of mtnortty identities is expressed by 'trell defined notions

of depriVations affecting onl.y some indlvidual.s ,-91 thin tb.e

ethnic hierarchy. Hence the poor among Hindus, Muslims and

Cbr1st1ans are percetved as ex1st1ng 1n separated ~ettos

of 11f'e.

In the etb-cl.ass world View "real.ity" 1s segmented

botb vert1cal.l.y and norizont~y and tn the 11{#.\t of' tbe

ben1gn quotas for Ule Scheiu.l.ed Castes and backward cl.aases,

tbeir vision of "real1 ty" tend a to get h.ierarcbtcalised;

such tbat, the Hindu baek1'tardness are assoc.t.ated w:l.tb more

redemptive hopes as compared \>Jitb that of Musl.ims or

Christians. sesnentat1on of' knowledge orientation also

leads to se{9nentat1on of ident1 ty between ethnicity and

class tllou~ 1 t is not necessary that 'Ule «bt.radaris" are

the only breeding ground for the genesis of eth-elass

identity. Even skU.l.ed tecbnicians l.fto have been <le-l.inked

from tb.eir biradati occupations since long do display an

intense sense of etb•c.lass orientations. Not aU. blradaris

are well organized• nor are most 1ndiv1dua1s engaged 1n

their b1radar1 call.ings. 'lbe large chunk o£ r1us:u.m tecbnictans and skil.l.ed '\'iOrk 1n modern occupations out­

numbering ltlndus be1ong to this 1.dent1 ty category. Furtber­

more• another interesting aspect of the eth-cl.ass a~rareness

211

anch.ored 1n b1radar1 networks 1s th.at tl:ley are mobilized

into some kind of pressure gr-oups vis-a-vis otAer biradari

associations f1@lt1ng .for ret-mrds throuS'l reservations 1n

empl.oyment and education on par \<.4 tb the H1ndu low caste

bira<Saris.. For example, of the t~10 Butchers association 1n

Luoknow., one is organised purely around the b1radar1 cause

fi@lt1ng for quotas that the Muslim \~Tea-vera• (Ansari)

Association have been granted; whereas the other I1ua1.1m

Butchers Association or~ised on a poll tical platform ''11th a

regul.ar party basis seeks to achieve such demands as ri~ts

and not favours from tile Ma3c>r1 ty Government.

Nev~e.less eth-classists to some extent unlike

tbe etbno•poli ticians be11eve 1n Ule 1nev1 tabU11;y of tbeil'

minort tyisxn and therefore otter less real stance by seeklng

patronage b"om the Majority Government. Btbno-politicians

ln contrast .figpt on the equal. bUt separate basis of identity.

Thus \'bather it 1s the m1nor1ty cbaraoter of Ar1U or the

democrat1sat!Dn of Ch.urch ril#lts. the eth-class identity in

the broader I'llnority issues concerned are one of amblval.enee.

And even 1f their orientation 1s 1n tbe positive, the

def1n1 tion of the s1 tuation tdll. be more 1n existential. terms

o£ baste blradar1 causes but art1cul.at1ng econoro.1c demands

l.~e job quotas Ulan oul. tura1 grievances of Musl.1m sol.1dar1ty.

Retention of AMU• s minority character ld.U have the ethnic

overtone.& £or economic anxi.et1es of Muslim educational.

progress under1ying 1t. Stm1l.arly• tor an Anglo-Indian.

212

Engl.1sb e11m1nation will be not so much culturally disastrous

but economical.l.y; after allt an Angl.o-Indian schooled 1n

English medium becomes as good as an 1111 terata 1n a system

'~ere 1 t is not reco~ised rmy longer and hence resourceless.

so as an alternative. H1nd1 has been accepted as a resource,

but the compromise at tbatever cost 1t has been made, is not

found very rewarding 1n the practical course of experiences.

Hence the bacltl.ash effects of tbe etb.nic factors 1n knowl.edge

holding a greater appeal as meaningfUl realities to tbe

inclivi.dual.s,. 1he follovJing case histories clearly bring

forth tne ett'l•class ldent1 ty.

s21 Leattuc QeiPJE

1he respondent appeared to be 1n his late twenties,

married at the age og 18 and nott he is the fatb.er of .four

children. He beloDgs to a t<.Ork:l.ng class famUy \'1ho have been

engaged 1n tne caste profession of cleanlng raw hides be.fore

1 t is tanned. EVer since his cbil.dllood. lle coULd vi vi~

recollect the nauseating smell of leatber~ His employer 1s

also a Musl.im and a lea.di.n(J mastet 1n the .fie~d of leather

manufacture. Hls .famiJ¥, CNer since the time of lUs @J'and,­

father• has been "WOrking td'th the same employer~ No~r, only

the respondent is act1 vel.y empl.oyed and his father having

contracted T.B. comes only for superVisory jobs. nHis on.J.y

wish ts to @') for Ha3 ( pJ.l.grimage to Mecca) but it appears

to be a dream. His in.come is so l.i ttl.e and the cost o£

11v1ng is going up. The question of saVing does not artse

at all. n declared the respondent.

Hts family, 1nol.ud1ng his fatb.ert live at Kanpur.

The respondent 1s t10rklng 1n tAe Luclmo~ factory • a branch

of the Konpur manufacturer. "l>ty .father is very reJ.ig1ous.

So am 1. .No\'r I am supposed to be observing ttrozan (or

ri tua11st1e fast); even ray small ch1l~·en do 1 t. But here

because of tile o1reumstances of living al.one, I am not able

to observe 1 tt"

a. 11\'hat about others working w1 Ut yOutl?

A. "We are all. ~1uaJ.1ms here. Hindu "'Chamarsn don• t

touch C0\1 hldes. But these Cla;v s Uley have become ministers.

VIe are push.ed down. ••

Q• u~Jho?"

A. nt-te Mus1.1m Cbamars. Tiley get lot of help from the

government in education and 1n jobs. 1-bereforo, their

children can come up ~mn. But because ua are fiJusl.ims• tb.are

is nta• assub" (prejudice) against usn.

Q. uwny can• t your wife also work to make up .for the

family income?" .

A. ttNo, in Musl.im fa.mU1es. We observe "purdah" (or

confinement of women to tbe household) and alao children

need ner attent1on".

Q. "But m~ t4ual.1m women have g1ven up "Purdah"?

A. Yes., b.lt 1n my nb1radar1° very £at~ go t11thout it.

Peop1$ 'd.U make fun of mo.

( 'lbe Publ.1c Sel.f superceding his individual. private

self is vlvid.ly seen 1n the above statement.)

214

Q. Do you marry on1y within your biradar1?

A. \'~O do not normal:cy marry outside. \'le :follow our

B1radar1 panehayatl rules (or conventional. 1~1).

Q• Not the rul.es o£ Shar1at?

1\be respondent could not follow 'tbat "shariat" meant thereby

indicating the superiors. ty of the nb1radar1u over the

communal identity as an off~sb.oot of his everyday life

exper1enees.

No. 'lhese days religion has become redundant to many~ There is corrupts. on and f1~t1ng everywhere~ Just see ~bat bas happened ln t-loradabatl; here 1n Luckno\'Tt Sn1as .f1Sit \d.th Sunnis, ~e Government ft§l ts w1 tb1n 1 tself and the leader remembers us o~ at ts.me ot el..ect.ions~ There is b1ack money eYery\1bere and govez-nment can't contro1 1t because its

'elections sre \'10n only w11h tbat money.

a. Do you have any union for workwa in your faotortl

No• f1rstl.y most of Ute ~.orker;t are from o1d .famU1e$ knO\'n to the 0Iflal.1k" ~employer). Also, be has \'mrned us against union actiVi t:y and has told tbat ~atever our troubles; he \1U1 sort out. But \'b(m t'le ask for increased t7ages, he turns a deaf ear. X heard that Governmen~ t'llll. start a l.eather factory at Unnao. But one needs money to bribe the "babus" (off1o1als) to get a job th.ere. 1 ~~a little capita1 to st~t rrq ovn shop and gs.ve up this "gUJ.am1" (slavish) eldstenoe. But ~ere can X go?

Q• 'Why don• t you ask Musl.im "netas11 (l.eaders) or

some rich MuSJ.ims?

A.'~ 'lhey :Look after their "stomactls" ( t1Ellfare) and

n gadd1 n (power) • \'lho wants to hel.p Ule poor'l

'lhe respondent is llli terata in tb.e formal sense wt can read l.ittl.e Urdu. However he denies the need for Urdu on

grounds of rel.igion or economic progress. It is a matter of

pex•sonal. clloioe and he bel.ieves that reading o£ Koran can

be done 1n Hindi or Urdu as \'1el.l. 'lhua he is ind1f.ferant to

the cause of Urdu as a collective Muslim issue. His 0 real1 tyn

is f:luslim pov~ty and not. 1(glorance because he lives it,

kno,,rs it and is part of 1 t.

ibe '5 year~ old respondent \10rks in a posh

shopping area of tbe city• but lives 1n the old city infested

td th Moharram r1ots. His consciousness as a skil.led t~ch­

nician is h!@lly coloured by his awareness as a Muslim. 1be

ot..ner of his firm is a migrant H1ndu (Punjabl) 1n the city,

~o ones belollged to the present Pakistan. 'lhe respondent

claims Ulat he has an inherent hatred to~mrds Muslims and

he is of the opinion Ulat 'the l.oeel. Hindus are not so

prejudiced against l1usl.1ms as tne Pun3abl aettl.ers.

I just. eaJmot understand ~Y we are penal1aed for Ule .faul.t of frtUsl.iln leaders and some Hindu fanatics,_ Why should tile suspicion be against U.s even after 35 years have passed since Partition? ~le do not get jobs 1n arrrt:~ or pol.tce. We dont t praise Pakistan. On th.e contrary, l'benever Ulere ts war between India and Pakistan, you find aJ.l tbe spies are usual.l.y non-Muslims. Hindu communal.tsn t>10rka under the gulse o£ secul.arism. We are assured of al.l. our rights as citizens o.f th1 s country. But \ihen tie malta efforts to come up on our own (not \d th the hel..p of

the Government), jealousy buUds up among the Hindus and 1mmecU.ate1y they ttstagen a riots. Police is usually on tne1r side and so al.so tbe ottie1a1 mach1nery. Naturall_ t• we are crushed and burled alive again. \He is perhaps recalling the Part1 t1on episode.) 'lhat is what happened 1n Aligarh. As a community r~uslims are well kno"a for Ula!r skills both as craf~s­men and 1n technical. uortt as wal.l.. Xn Al.igat-n, so far, the market depended on ~1usl1m technicians. But a fetr Hindus ttlo t<tere acquiring 0d1p].cmastt became jealous and that• s how the riots took place. \tie do not wish to r.anain aloof but so fer no confidence has been inspired in us to come out of our isolation. ·

In Luckn0\'7 too,. major1 ty o.f skUled t1orlter s particulax>l.y motor mechanics and techni­cians are Muslim~ But 1£ you see 1n government jobs. mostly the techn1c1ans are iU .. ndus, Why? Because.. ft.r.at of all 1·1usl1tns don•· t appl.y for tear o£ not gettitlg sel.ected; secondly we preter to be 1ndepend.ent. I.t 1 ned been a government servant during the Emergency, may be I ~ul.d have been a victim of r.ompul.aory sterl.ization. It is our l.ead~s l<llO are to be blamed• Qnce they get rich or power£ta.. the;, don't remember l"eat of tne conwuni ty. lll}r father 1s n1msel.f a cl.ass IV government employee. He was a~ed during tb.e Sn~geney rul.e b.ere.

Q• Just nol'1 you said that Musl.tms don• t get govern-

ment jobs! But your .fatb.er is in one?

A. Yes., but be got it before 1947, when tb.e British.

appointed on the basts of merit. Al.so • at that time,

th.ere was no reservation £or anyone.,

Besides HS.ndua; the respondent considers Shias

al.so to be h1f#ll.y communal (he means sectarian) against

tb.e Sunnls. 'lhe overl.apping of hls Sunnl and I-tuaJ.im;

2f/

1dent1 tq is clearly d1seemible 1n his statement•

When our oun br<>Ulex-s do not ~in \'lith. us. hot'l do you eJCpect Hindus to unde-stand us. Actual.ly S\1as fi~t against us because they are not hard trorklng like us SUnnts. ibey think themselves to be Nawabs (rul.ers) s:tUl~ 1h~ ~d rather sell sOllle old vessaJ.s and jet'1e].s· than wortt t'11.th their hands. N0t1• su:nns.s are coming up. Ulrou3t hard \iiOrlt an<l beoOJl'ling r1cb.er. \Note Ule con~adtot1on 'wi tb his earlier statement th{lt. !-tuaUms are not given a chance to come Up). Henoe Sbias1 emvy, and show it by abusing our oal1t;bs~

He got into serVice when H1ndu-Mual.iln rel.ations

were at ita l.owe·st ebb 1. e., 1n 1947. Al.l the members o.f the

intervieW> boat"d t'lare Hindus·• At tbat time

a majority of tile techn1clans were tliuslims beoau:~o ot the polluted nature og the job concerned because we bad to maintain those vehicles 1n vbi.ch Ule c1 ty' s dump waa oarrt.~ S1noe the low castes t>rere not te~bniQalJ.¥ qualified those days, 1 t was maW.y a Musl.tm job. That is the secret of Mu.sllm majo~i ty in tbese jobs-~ Otber-­ld..se, 1n those deys there was 1ot ot mutual. mlstr~t and su.spic1on. But not-1 due to the apee1al encouragement ~ ven to Ule sohedul.ed c:astes, our profession (note the etbnic-oum­ocoupational. 14ent1'!:Y wbidl is obaracteristic ot Ule ~tb-olassist) is no more open exoJ.us1vely' to ltlusllms.

On Al1garh Un1Ver$1ty and 1ts minority character

he opine at tti.£ nat1-ona1i.se4.1 then a1.1 .faeil.i ties to our

community, such as, the opportunity to l.earn Urdu ma.v be

218

stopped." (The t~m "facllit1es" indicates "benefits" not

nresources". Tb.e underlying empb.a.sis is on tbe progress

of the coiiii!1Utl1 ty; dUrdu" is not perce1 ved as a nresourcert

factor in the sense of pol1t1.cal \'leapon to confront the

major1 ty l'kli.ch is a characteristic notion oi' tile etbno­

poltttcal core identity. On the contrary. it is mater1al1y

beneficial. for Muslim progress.)

On MuSlim Personal Law his views were as

i'oll.ot'ls: "Unless we a:re good r~uslims we carm.ot be true

c1 tlzens". ( 1be ettmocentrtc overtones are unmistakable. )

nAl.so; if \·re let the Government toucb it we are not sure

vmat td-11 nap pen in :fUture. n (The sense of peop1ehood

appears to be an essential. pre-requisite .for his sense of

sel.f·seeur1.ty.)

sn 10 LW. Baas (?-tuslim Stmepers)

As a 0 b1radar1", we migrated to Lucknow upon tbe downfall of the Mo~al Court at Delhi after Bahadur Slleh Zafar. Along \91th us six more funct1o~1es of the Court callle. In 1947, t1b.en the ne-1 government offered special hel.p to sohe4uled. castes; many Lal Be~s became Ba1m1k.ls (or Hindu Har1jans). 'lbeir :reasons were t'\;zo-fol.dt Firstly, to acquire lle\zt status aa speoJ.al. ci. t1zans because 'Ulere was too mu$ prejudice against l4usJ.1ms 'those d~ll~ 1hey also wanted priVileges granted to IiEWtj.ans. But those o~ us t'bo remained l.oya1 to our rel.igion, are suffering no~t. There ls disor1m1nat1on between a Musl.im m-reeper and ~ Hindu sweeper~ I:f I mention DlY name as uMoh.ammad" I wi.l.l. not get any job; \lklereao, i.f I say "Ch.aman LaJ.tt I \11Ul. get tna quota. 'Ibis 1.s tbe tragedy of be1ng l.Oyal. to our o\1.n re11glon. 2

219

Also., the l-atlies in our fi!usl!m svzeeper castes do not work• \D'll.ike tne Balm1k1 \<TOmen. So they are better ogt than us. We have no trouble from Hindus as St.teh. It i.s the rich po11t1cians both Hindus and Muslims and the Government ~S.dl d1$Cl'lmf.nates against us.

It 1s seen that in the eth•class concept of r-ta~or1ty, tAe

communal factors arising out o£ ethnle nuances are taken-for­

granted unl.ike 1n the ethno.-natlonal. de.f1nit1on. But the

economic category of welfal'"e arislns out o£ wealth ls used

as a criteria to defino I>iajori:ty that 1ncl.gdes not onl.y some

Hindus bUt also some 1nd1 viduala from thelJ' own respecttw

pr1mordial communities. So Majority signifies rich Blndu,

Muslim or Christian~

ibe respondent was not aware of tha controvers1es

pertaining to AMU and t'iuslim Personal Law. In fact• he

adln.1 tted the importance of 1be1r cmventlona1 and customary

lal'T ,.mereas his ignorance of "Sh.eriat" was moat efteot11tely

surfaced when asked. on the rules o~ divorce and al.tmony ~

He sa\1 no threat to the Muslim Law il"om the Government.

"The f.la.ul.anas {religlous leaders) do not botht.r to teach. us

the • sttar1at' tt t he said. ~e Lal Begis are 11\e ldeal-type

o£ "B1radar1" bound ~1usl.ims under the etb.-cl.ass category.,

'lheir perceptions aJ'e conditioned by the existing occupa­

tional ttrea.U. 't1es" acros.a etbnic bol.D'lda.r1es and 1dent1 ttes

are accord~gl..y devel.o ped. Bes1des weavers. Ulo state

22.0

government has made reservatJ..ons £or a:u baola~rard cl.asses,

and tne S\'Teepers are proVisionally classified as scheduled

castes, or untouchabl.es \'bleh is understandabl.y enough not

reeogrd.sed 1n I slam or ·Christ1an1 tu. Hence onl.y Hindu

e~taepera are pr1V1.loged to merit by official. quotas, \!Jhat

ia most a1gn.1£tcant 1n the e-ttt-class identity is the

pex-ception of the gap on comnuna1 lines Ulougb. the n actual. u

gap 1 tsel..f is not balle,ed to be so wide. 'l'his is because

of tbe presence ot at>teepero among Hindus toot suffering

more expl.oitative indignities on account of tile oeste

factor. fllfe (i.e. the Lal. Beg1s) are also p~t of the

Ba1Jn1k1 Union here and since my "b~a<iar1tt "rorks 1n tlosp1tals•

we have joined the EntTGePex'S tmion and get equal. treatment.

Of course. 't'Je can't aspire to hold executive posts 1n it.

Nevortbeless our Hindu coll.eaSJes do not d1sor1m1nate against

us". It is also \oJOrth noting that tbe respondent• s son got

admission 1n the Univeraity in 1968 purely on basis of

merit. So b.e £ee1s that things are not so bad.

Sectarianlsm 1n tne .form o.f Shia identity ''~aS very

strongly projected. u\1e are all Shias and aoma of us are

wasikad~s. n ( Tnat is pens~on 1\ol.ders ~om th.e trusts of the

erstvbUe Nat>tab' s property. An4 even among Sbias_. 1n Luckno'~

Lal Begis are onl.y about s.ix .families t-11th lese than SO

members 1n all•) So ~e £ear attack &om sunm.s - not so

much .from Hindus. We have made a separate masjld (or p1ace

o.f worsb1p) f'or oursel.ves because \'te had enough money to

make one. We are not treated as untouchables and so \'te can

go to any r-tasjid unlike the Har1jan sweepar \'JhO cannot enter

the temples of caste Hindus".

Like the Lal Begl a • the Muslim wasnermen too are

deeply 1nvol.vcd with the life-uorlds o£ a biradari

ext.atence. Coneequentl.y 1ndiViduat1on of 1dent1 ty to a

~arge ext~t. is moUl.ded by the inter-communal. context of

tb.e eubjects being. Tne resPondent concerned ( Sh 12) t-ras

therefore found to be part o.f the typified real11Qt 1n sp1 te

of the n suspens1.on of pre-eoneel ved riot1onatt that the

researcher attempted to exercise. 14

The interview began with b1o mother depl.oring

tbe dot-mfal.l. of the Nat>mbs mo patronised the "dobbiesn

( washet-men) because tb.ey were keen on good and neat·

appearance. 1he mtbjectl.ve dimension of the respondent• s

identity \'ia.S Ql.early eVi<hmced 1n bia statenentl

Dobby work is eona1dered dirty onl.y 1n India. Abroad tney ere not treated as l.Ot<r caste people. In a ~ray it was ~od that w have democracy because at :least even. the u ~anta" (masses) can aspire £or equal. r1st\tS·• But men Hindu dobbies cml have back~mrd c1ass pr1v11eges ~ not we? Should I change D\1 kSIIle to Bant1ar1 Lal. ~t because I can get a decent l.ivi.ng? H~t'l 'can 1 £orget 11\V comnunJ. ty.

(It 1s wortfl noting that be talks o£ community and not

of Isl.am or rel.igion as cntol.ogical. symbol.s •. }

Tne Indian Ciu-lsti.an eore ldenti ty of tne etb­

class pat:tex'n 1s .1Uus~ateci by the follotd.ng biographical

sketch of a thirty-three years old scl1oo1 teacher.

112 .SdJ,gol:.;~PQcher (Age 25-30 years)

'lha respondent t'JOX'lte in one of the mission schools

rWl by th.e t-1ethod1sts.. He 1s the second gen.eration o£

converts in his famUy, but has retained h1s Hindu surname

for "pra0Dat1C r.easons" as b.e put it such as (a) it is

difficUlt to get a b.ouse as a Cbr1sttan. Since most landlords

are Hindus. they favour their otltl caste men, (b) also the

surname ts ol.almed to indicate bis upper caste baCkgr-ound.

prtor to conversion so that the outl.ook o~ Hindus is not so

oontemptw>us.

As Q. community• Christians suf.fer for £aulta o~ their om as well as tnat of others. Many o£ them are very strongly influenced b.V the laVi~ \10stern ways of living \'b1Ch tho Anglo Indians and our miaslonaries 1ndul.ge 1n. Since many of them cannot attord, their \'JOmen aro .forced to t~k ro® ttng 1n lack of attention to the children.. 1he1r educational as well as standards· o£ behaV1ow is not GO e;ood and many o£ tnem therefore do not get su1'f1c1en'b grades to go tor h1gner studies. So Cbristtans ar-e either teach~s or preacbers. Al.so. the Chrl.stians 1nstttu"t1ons have beCome as corrupt as eovernment of£1ces, \be chUdren ot poor Christians cannot get adm1ss1on 1n these school.s because our sChools \iant to make money~ So, the nba.nias" (Hindu businessmen) sen<l tfie1r children and benefit ~om our institutions,. Many o~ the poo~ Christian na~ onJ.y primary sehoo1 1.1 teraey or not even that.. Near1y 70 per cent o£ the eommuxnt.r 1s l.l terata but you m~ not find Christian engineers and doctors. Why?

Christians are also victims of social. injustice and persecution. 'lhe Hindus 1n tne government are h1£#llY suspicious o~ tb.e Christians and their converslon. · So they be11eve they oan stop 1t by cutting of£ the privileges due to SchedUled Castes once they get converted. Thls again perpetuates our poverty. \'lho says there is no Caste favouritism among Christians? In my o~ m1ss1on., the· top authorities discriminate a lot between one Christian denomination and the otber. A Catholic stands 1eas cna~ces ot getting a job 1n our school (Methodist) as compared to a H1n4u. Upper caste Christians do not treat the lO\', caste converts as brothers of .faith,, they stm believe 1n the hierarchy so the minority problem ts most acutely faced by poor Chr1stians.,

Voicing her op1ni.on of the Christian leaders. tbe

baiter's wife (I 1') claims auU'lorltatively=

Unts.l. ~ husbandt s business (confectionery) was not .fairing trel.J., the priests neve.r bothered to l.ook: us up.. N0\1• t-re are \'lell oU and give neavy donatS.Ol'lS to tne Chur¢h• So tbey eo me 'd tn a broad smile greeting r:o.a "hello Mrs~ • ". n ~ They aro very veedy; an,y amount you gtve them will not satisfy their appettte; because they l1ve so lavisbly .. Foreign missionaries vbo brougtlt me up as an orphan• were not so Sl'eedy arui selfish as ibe Indian priests. ~e,y sacrificed a lot to help us·~ I know of priests who refUse to come for tbe fUneral o£ poor Cbr1at1ans. r-ty b.usband bad to assure them o.t money and then only they came •.

1\gainst the ePVernment she t-tas o1/en more Vehementla'

bitter than against Hindus.

l: topped the 1nterV1~ .for government press workers. But I never got tb.o appom"tment letter. .Instead• a Hindu, who bad lot of

in£luence was taken 1n my place. At least bad I been rteb than I ooul.d nave bribed someone. Poor peopl.e su.f~er a lot '1bether Christian or H.1ndu.

A 12 Csg %'91U!£ (Age 3G-35 ye~s)

The d1.s1l.lusioned Anglo-Indian car broker 1s the

son og a motor mechan1c~ A h1gtl schoo.l drop..out, he

attributes the setback m his ec.tuoational. career to th.e

prejudice against Anglo-Indians by the Goanesa. The

eltpertenoe has ldt a deep...rooted disgust in h1m, that be

does not even go to his Church wntch Qoanese patronise 1n

large numbers.

ibe Anglo•lndians had such glorious tradi t1ons v.n1dl llavo been polluted by tne 1nfl.Uit o~ Ooanese into o\,lr comm~1ty. We are the "~rst among all the minortttea. 'lhe so-call.ed representative of our community tn the legis­lature is not bold eno~ to votee our grttevencaa. He is afrald ot losing h.1s seatt 'lb.o l.eaders of the community are more wrr1ec1 about ensuring the future of Engl.1sh thinl(ing 1 t to ba the most e&aentia1 symbo1 of our uni'tY end identity. But tbey do not real1s~ how lmportant 1t 1s for every Anglo-Indian to make a 11 Ving., Our economi.c status is very bad. 'lbe riQb. .1\ngl.o-.Indians have migt"ate4 and. settl.ed do-wn a.broadt! For us here• there tf3 absolutelY no threat to our st)fl.es of life,.. But ho'1 4oes 1 t matter "mettler I see Hindi or En.gl.1sh movies t>lhen 1 nave nothing to eat. Xbis happens beeause of tb.e psaudo l.eaders \•1ho el.aim to be Anglo-Indlan re~ resentatives; they Clre sel.£-nomina~.. ihe commtml ty does not recognise any benetJ. ts of their l.eadeJ-shiP• As such, tbey are stooges of tne Majority and "1'1l.l do tbt:ngs on1t.f to pl.ease them. l£ only every ri.en Angl.o-Xndian ~cSJtf." ~tribute some ehari ty to educaw

the Angto Indian children, it ~ hel.p us a lOt• In the o¢¢.t1ngs ot tbe Anglo Ind1an Assoo~ation. they teU us to stew back 1n India. arid set educat.ed and work here. But our parents li.Ve on meagre income or on pension. HO\Ir can we afford good education? As far as jobs are concerned, l9e stand no chance at all. in open competi t1on. \'/hen ue represent this problem to our "leaders" they react bad]¥ by accusing our youth of 1etbargy, and frS.vol.ity. So \l~ere do \9e go?

In thta job of car-brokrage, the prospects are ve:ry unsteady arul moreover one has to be a cut-throat businessman to make money. In fJJY job t.here 1s no caste or communal. favouri ttsm only crooks can survive and make money. The youth• part1cul.arly of this generat1on are just aJ.ml.essl.y l1Ving :from day to day l1ke a rudderless shtp. Our elder-s and leaders have let us down. ihe Government does no·t depend on AngLo-Indian vote. So '\'by bother about us?

The engine driver (of Indian Ra11'11~s) (A13).

empnaat.ztng tbat he n1s last o£ the vanishing species" because

Anglo•lnd1ans are not art:! longer seen ln tllis job. He

regrets Ule degeneration of lli.s commtmity due to betz-ayal

by the Br1 ti$1, their o'~ :leader a and the Government. He

recol.l.eoted fond memories of a glorious past when Anglo-,

Indians t·~a tho backbone of Bri tiah administration unlike

now.

The ath•cl.a.ss eore gl'oup are very confident and

1mprassi.Ve 1nd1v1d.ual.s. tt~appedtt 1a the appropriate

l.inguist1c ~pression used by JnalV respond.ents for whom the

matert.a1 handicaps 1n l.1.fe is not <.'lue to anachronism o£

rel.lgj.on but due to the exp.l.oltat1ve leadership botb within

226

and outsi<ie thei.r respect1ve community • They 1n fact uphold

tnelr trad1t1ona1 values as proViding some sense of security

and anchorage \'ben human goodness has fe.Ued. It is in

the same VG1n1 that their defence of parochialism, \'1b.ic:b

1n rnost casas also otters the eeonom1e sustenance for the

individual, is rationalised within a fatalist frame ot

mind,

Tb.ere are 21 individuals aJnong tho 230 '~ose

ontological. assumptions do not ack.n.otAedge a real.ity called

'tho Minor11?/ Syndrome4t Hence their core identity is one of

de-m1nor1t1ze<l consciousness ot communal existence. tftlat

they believe s.n is ~at Berger calls as subjactivation

of religS.on and not objectivate it into rel.fications such

as tbe Majorl ty and minor! t1es.' In ethel' ttrords to talk o~ commtm.al.1$1ll as a phenomenon of inter-group confl.1ct is not

a reality but a myU\ played upOn the minds of tbe common

people by tbe :Leaders; acoording to t.b.e \'JOrld-v1et-1 of the

Secularist core respondents,. 1beir secular sel.t image

co1ne1dea w1U1 their secular notions o~ pub11c 1Dlage as \'Tel.l.~

Hence emerges the secul.ar core identity as dtametrieal.l;y

opposed complement of etb.no-national. 1dent1 ty • 1he

Lof secul.arist.s• construc!-fmajors. ty-m1nori.ty differences are

not d1v1~ve categories of conf11o't sur.faoed by super­

fi.cial.i ties of ileterogcnou.~ :fai tbs. In other words they

perce1 ve that onl..y the £orm and not content that

discrimlnates a. MuSl.im and Cbr1st1an from a Hindu. Even

this form is an ideological. artifaot devised by politicians

from al.l \'lalks o£ life, they bel.1eve. Xbis dichotomy

between the two aspects of real.1 ty, ona phenom.enal and tho

* other real are cJ.early understood by the seeul.ar1sts 1n

def1n1tlon of minority situation.

The oase-h1stor1es c1t.ed belo11 amp~ Ulustrate

our cbaracte.rlsation of the secul.ar eore identity prof ilea

SI'-3 S cnoo1 Teaeb~· (Private)

S'4 Arehiteot

S35 Beedi RoUer

S36 Scb.ool Bus Driver

s-,7 Barber

S:58 Factory \'lorker

S39 AIR P.roducer·

s4o tJiusicS.an

841 nMest.tu·1" (Government)

Sbias Indian Christians

Sh t4 Rese-ardl 120 JlQa 1n Off~o~ Schoo1

Sh 15 Scrip~ X21 Tatlor writer

1~2 Teacher Sh16 Journalis"

(Political 'Papet'

Urdu)

Sb17 fl.Ayah" in iliu.slim College

Sb.1B Zardoj1

Sll19 Cnikkan Worker

S42 Dri. ver ( Govt. )

s4' Journa1.1st (Urdu D~)

11· 6

.Angl.o­Indians

A14 'Xel:ex Operator (P & !)

1

~· Phenomenal. to the researcher and real. to the respondent as they believe 1 t because o£ the topic of resaarch.

S34 Ar9hit§s3( ( self•empl.oyed) (Age ~45 years)

l atutlled 11'1 government Inter Cc>Uoge harte. Stnee I t.zas a SQ04 student Ulrou~out, every­one liked me. In t1lY family • my uncles and forefathers \'1Gre all. Gandb.ians end \'Tare 1n the Co!\Vess Party f:rom the beg1nn1ng. Even n0\'1 you will find a portrait of Gandh1 in

my house. we are v~y different from o~er Musltm families. We follow our religion and at t11e same tim.a,. respect tne rel.igion of others as \1el.l. I nave more Hindu friends than Muslims~ ·VIe mix .freely, eat in each. other' s house,. My sons study in an Engl.1$ medium school. 1hougb some people may fi~t for Hlndt, and others for Urdu, English 1a important for technical education and also for 1:1-a.ining abroad. I \•rant to sand my sons far higher studies to Amex-ioa and so X work hard, tne secret of sueeess. I don• t bel.ieve ln this minori. ty nonsense.

Q• But do you feel. your son also has chances of

success 11lte yourt

Q

No, this is a vary wrong impression tbat Musl.ima suffer handicaps 'because tbey are orthcaox or becaus:e of Hindu prejUdJ.ce. Muslims ~e 'th.eir o, ... n enemy. The f·'tul.l.ahs (priests) and pol1tleians exploit tne masses in the name of religion. And after Partition, religion has beeome a very sensitlve issue, perti.Cll.arJ.y for tl!uel.J.ms. I am a sel.£ .. made man. I never suffered art:! b.e.nd1eaps of that nature. Ar\Yone ~mo wants to make an offort and eomes up can defin1 tely do so. Bottever the onl-y problem is corruption and brlbery. As en areh1 teet. 1 lmow how muc::h problem I face to get tbe oement permits and tha auUlor1satton o.·f 111:1 plans. ibese days \'b.at matters 1.s in£1uence and money and o£ course. 1.f one can manl.pul.ate a cert1fioate as a schedUled caste nothing 11lte 1 t~

"Y"ou .feel. tb.at tb..ere is no H1ndu-ftlusl.im probl.em.

But tb.e rlots k~p occurring regul.arl.y. \'Jb,y does 1 t

happen?·"

It ts all politics. There are l.eaders 1n all. parties,. ~sides RSS and Jamat Isl.am1, even the so-called secular national parties have vested interests 1n perpetuation of th:e communal issue. It is tbey ~ create all tlleae. Peopl.e of course get pa1d for it, or give vent to their pent-up :frustra­tions due to poverty and illiteracy by participating ~ ~t.

On the m1nor1 ty cbaraoter of Aligarh t-lus11m

University his viet-7$ are as .follo,1s:

It 1s incorrect for r·1usl.ims to demand it. In fact. even if thE!Y retain itt it 1s on:t¥ the llU'l.uent1al rzluslims who get 1n and th.ere again the Sl\1a-Sunn.1 poll tics 1s al.BO spreading. I was there myself in early sixties~ It was not a hotbed o1 politics as t t is no"'• I believe 1n the nat1analisatlon of all educational 1nst1 tutes no-t just AMU. Particul.arl;V the religious missionaries must be lc;ept away ~om our educational centres. 'lb.ey distort religion ~ su1 t their convenience.

I do not see ~t harm can Uniform Civil. Code do to tha re1ig1on oJ: arq community. l\1uel.im Personal Law is not anything special. onl}r to Muslims. It i.s just a code ot conduct. I suggest tbat the best 1n each religious l.aw sb.ou:Ld be taken and made into one :raw .for all religton. Thou@l I studied 1n Aligarb, I have more nor:PMusl.1m .ft-icmds and we are l.ike brothers. So I cannot bel.S.evo such a thing cal.l.ed comrm.ma.l hatred 1s possible.

He has been a resident of Luckno,., .for Ule 1ast

twenty ·five years ever since he :left his v1l.l.age at the age

230

of fifteen. His family does not 11 ve m th him at Luckno't't

becaUse he cannot afford a snel ter for them. He \1aS not

very familiar m th the communal. issues pertaining to HllldQ.­

Musl.im relations tb.~u~ lle knetf of the recurrent riots of

Parti t1on1 and, o£ the t-tusl1Dl demand £or second language

status to Urdu in UP. As an illiterate, the respondent feJ.t

diffident even to face the intervietn

You better aSk our l.eaders and other poll• t1cians. '.they ore edt1eated but I do not kno~1 anything• I am so busy sar.ttng out the problems o£ my tam.Uy. My tatner-t s brother 1s fit#lting over a land whiCh bel.ongs to us; anc1 I have two daugt>.ters of marriageable age. One has been engaged but eince 1 have no money, I am nc>t able to perform her marriage. 1be$e 'tn1ngs bother me a lot. I have notil1ng to do \'11th U1ndu.J.1ual1m probl.em. 1his 1s all. "sb.iyasi• (pol.it1cs) in which poor peopl.e get beaten up and are locked up 1n the "thana" (Police Station). Our maulana stws ju.st a stone's tbro\1 ~om here. t'ibY don•t you ask him? He tdll. be abl.e to give you better information,.. You are all. educated people, vfAY aroe you asking Uliterate like me? He will tell you about Shia•Sunni f1S'lt nere 1n Luelalot~.

The respondent. ra'Uler seemed cynical about every­

thins; 1n .faot, he rated Ht.ndtrMusl1m communalism on par

w1 tb. the Shia•Stmni sectarian animosities o£ Luoknow. He

was not onl3 1nd1fferent to bo'fh but believed them to be

"non.-.real•• to tile extent that 1 t is "poll tical u • "mean1ng­

l.esa" and hence a 11\Y'tb as far as his projected intentions

~e concerned. It is most suoct.nctl.y brouS1t out 1n bis

perception of tne Al.1ge.rh uru.verst.ty eont.roversy over its

mtn01'1ty character. Ill nave heard of AMU. My nephett used

to ~10rk there. I do not ltn0\'1 1f he 1s still. there.. \•Jben

I cannot afford to send my son there• ,my anould I be

concerned '11th it?·•t

He \'13S found readily articulate on his work

si tuatf.on. even thou€tJ. nort very entb.us1astieally. ax get

about Rs,10 a day. 'lhere we dont t nave any Hind:u-Musl.im

feel.ings. But most of the l'lOI'kers are £1ual1ms because the

"t1al.1k" (o~mer) is a Musl.im." ('lbe taken-:for-grantedness

is very :3tr~$.ng i.n the above statement. )

t•Jh.en asked ~hletb.er b.e keeps his "rozan (ri tua1

fast) or does at least b.ls u jumma namaazn (Friday Prayers),

he decl.ared empbatical.ly.

Namasz pade.ya ma:?.doorl kare? (Do I pray or work) I don't got a ch.am.ce to do my prayers everyday, Of course; I manage to do namaaz on "ld" \l1usl.1m .fest-1val.). Othert-tise, rJ:JY God is her'1l.. (H.e says gestioul.at1ng towards bis heart) and no one can def\Y it. You must never bel.1eve tne "namaa.z1s" \ ttlat is those wl'lo pray regularly).. Those who have l.eisure and money can also laVish on God~ I am a poor t.nan.

lT1\'atizat1on o.( ~eliglon is a oharacteristic

perception of th.e Core Secul.arista and they do not .find 1 t

meanlngf\11 to coll.ect1Vi.se their beings. Some o£ them are

very de,out even to 1 ts r1 tual.isti.e core but not al.l.. The

barber (S37) for instance makes no secret of the faot that

lle goes eVCfWY ·nu.lr $day to the tomb of a saint as a Si€Jl

of contrition for betng b1essed ~th a cni1d near~y 5 years

'hfter nis marriage. He \1as more sentimental on this theme

Ulan on Hlndu-Muslim problems or on the problem. of sal£ as

a Musum. H1s subjectiVity was ethnically de-polit1o1sed

though. not· de.-communal1sed~ He ls saVing money to undertake

pilgrimage to Haj.

S37 DAfbA£ (age around 40-45 years)

Q,,, Do you follow the Si:\ar1at clo sel.y?

~ "I do try my best to seq five times pr~er and

observe its J"ules etc. to the extent possible. T1mea are

changing and our prophet has h.imsel£ said that you must

change wS.Ui changing Urnes"•

Q• so do you think unlform o1vU code cannot be

harmful. to ttlual.ims?

.{"1be respondent was ignorant of the !luslim

Peroonal La"tt issue and requested to be bri.eted on 1.t. 1b.e

explanation was illustrated by ol ting polyganv tnat ts

legalised by Shar1at but not by Civ11 Lal·t. Viet-ring the

gap as imaginary and "non--existent" the respondent

declar~

Shar1at was made to suit tbose times vben 1 t wa.s essential. for I sl.am to spread,· NOt-1 we must think of reducing our popUlation not in<:rease 1 t~ nor can arq one P l.eave al.one Mus11ms.. afford two wi vas theee <lays. 'J.bis custom preva11s among rich pel"sons "1hether Hindus or Mu$l.11ns.

\fuether Hindus or Musl.ims the educated ones ~e £or~etting th.elr brothers. '!hera is a Musl.1m. barber mo has become a doctor

ana empl.oyed now 1n Al.igarh Universs:w. Now he .feels ashamed to even recognise us. t have tau~t th.is profession to many Hindu boys too. But they b.ava started a separate union. }1usl.ims have a separate Salmani Union. . It ts all pol.itical.. In fact; "men my father died • I l1as only 13 and the eldest 1n the famUy. It \•zas a Musl.im Qureshi (butcher) and a Hindu u pand1 tn (Brahmin) mo bel.ped nw g~y to survive. Even at tile heit#lt of Partition, \'19 were friends. Musl.1ms \'lere misl.ed by their l.ea<lers and now some of them ~o ha:ve gone to Pakistan regret. Because, the Pun,jab1 tlluslims took dovm upon UP l1usl.1ms. 1'-1usl1m probl.em is mainl..y poverty; nearl.y 90 per oent o£ the community is poor.. I don't say there are no poor peopl.e among Hindus. Tney also suffer~ But many of them benefit by the reservations ~icb. is denied to large number of Musl.i.ms•· 'l'bis 1s ~ Hindu barbers are so sel.fish to start a separate union.

I have customers ~o are Rastogis and staunch supportel-s of Rss party. But no one tells me that I am a 8 Paktstan1"• 1bey are rrq good fr1ends~ After all~ 1s not the Sbia-SUnnl problen of Lucknow a nu1sanee to Htndus from our side?

'!here 1s one Cuptajl (a Hindu) mo has utenstl. shop neal" my house. One c:tay ne bad a heart attaCk en way to his sb.op and ~e sent for me to hand over his purse conta1n1ng ~. 10 .ooo. I brought him to IItV saloon and got the doctor to g1ve nitn first aid. In l'eblrn• be refused to take artY payment for the vessel.a I bad to g1 ve rrq daugtlter in her marriage.

The barbex- concl.uded very sentimentally, nnie hindoovon ko kai.se boora kah sakta?" (How oan I talk S.ll.

of Hindus?)

S43 A veteran journal. 1st of a 1ead1ng Urdu DaUy •

'the respondent recollected n1s stay \d. th GandbL at th.e

Sabarmat1 Ashram. ll\·11 tb. so mueb difficul. ty we won tb1 a

freed an; but nov1 1 t appears our leaders are \>:Orse than the

Brittsb."• He J.ett hts second year- B.A. 1n mid 30s to jo1n

the Congress much to tbe nnnoyance of his pro-BritS.sb

taluqdar father and l.at~ PaJ"ticipated 1n the Quit India

t4ovement.

My father was one of U1e ri.cbest landlords near AJ.l.ababad and was pro-Br1 tish. \ie were not on talking terms untU b.1s deaUl recently. Once I was even about to lose rrt:1 job beoause l coul.d not obl1ge tbe communal. "1ishes of the po11t1cal. party ~ich rWl.s my newspaper. · But n0\'1 communal polities has gone out of control•

Gan4b1,11 always insisted on Hindustani which the masses apeak. natther pure Hindi nor Urdu. Now it is made into a communal. issue. Hot"' one baa to express h.1msel.f 1s left ~ the individual.

We don't be1ong to Luckn0\'1 as sudl tnt a nearby d1str1ot. My father bas mango orchards tnere~ Hy mc;rther died \1hen I \\'as ~ust five. My father married again and everyone 'WaS indulgent totro:rds me. I never used to read Koran (Hol.y Book) and always asked very inconvenient questions; thou~ I do bel.1eve 1n God. As £er as I am ~onoerned tbe onl.y minorities in thls countt7 a-e Har1jans. I have seen them suffer and their problema alone are tbe real. burniilg issues., 'lhe rest 1s poll tics. My interest in science h.as also taken me far ~om my pe.opl.e., I know most o£ the t.Jlusl.1ms bave th1s paranoid of being 1n Hindu country. But t t is a pol.!. t1oal. legacy and pol.i t1c1ans tbr1 ve on the riots.- I am too busy that hardly get tlm.e to th.ink of mysel.t' as f.lusl.im and my director as H1ndu •.

Sh 18 Efnb!:o1det;t gg GgU . and SAxe£ Lace ( 20 years old)

I was a student of a private Muslim scnoo1, left etudtes in the 9th standard, because no money to study furtb.er. Moreover I had to earn. Our family 1s going through tou@l time after my sisters marriage. We had to p~ a heavy dO\'J7:'Y• Other\'11se she woul.d not have got married.

Q.~~~~ But, I ihou@l.t Ul.ere is no dottry systen 1n

Isl.am?

Yes, but no one follows the correct sayings 1n any ~el.ig\on. Each does t1bat is oonven-1ent and distorts the truth. No rel.ig1on can ~eacn bad Uli.ngs. After allo all of them are different roads to Ule same god. But the so­cal.le<l leaders,~ lfpupdits" and ttmuUahs" create trouble. ibe Shia,..Sunni riots here are again faJ.se interpretation of Islam deviced to fUl. the POckets of some leaders.

~e resPOndent's perception of aMajorit,r 1s

defined in exclus1vcly secul.ar categories as all. tllose vno

have power and money, \1hether Hindu, I·1usl1m or Ha.rijan. HS.s

perception and eventual 1dent1f1cat1on of se1f is part of

the minority syndrome 1o[51.call.y means lack of money and

absence of opportun1 ty for sel.f-1mprovament wether Hindu

or Mual.im~ creating Ita short a fatalistic t«>rld View due to

alienation o.f sel.f from society.

Continuing the same re£rain the Christian ayah

bemoaned on h.~ eol.ourless past.

My husband \•ras a drunkard, I t'las married when I \'laS only 16 and I am living 1n Lu.olmot'{ ever s1nce. Be was a peon 1n the post office: and I uorked as a cl.eaner in ••bar a angrez1 sallabs" {the English boss). f·1y husband c.'iled of drini(ing, leaving me a 't'li.dow at tbe age of 25. Ever since then, I onl.y kno~T o£ one thing 1n 11:fe • surv1 val struggl.e. I bad two children then. But later only one son surv1 ved and he also ran a\qay. I do not ltnow tmere he is not-t. I am now a pavement d"mll.er or some time sleep 1n the sohoo1 "mere I mrk. I jUst asked Ule parlah priest to g1 ve me a house, at least a servant quarter to live. But his w1£e refUsed because she wants people to \•Tork 1n her house. I have a job in the school and moreover I am too old to t"10rk in any bodyi s llouse. Even at school (it is under Christian management run by a £et., 1ad1es) they have no consideration for my age, 'rb.GY jUst treat me as a young "cb.aprasi"• I am 1n fact thankful to a Hindu famUy "~o giVe me snel ter 1n winter. 1hose cbUdren are -very fond o:f me and give me £ood also. Even our priests don't give milk po\'JdGr or c1otb.es which. th.e foreign m1ss1onar1es send for poor Christians. 'l'he Br1t1shers were much better and cared for their servants. X am too ol.d anti Ul.i.terate to tell. you \liby Hindus and Chr1st1ans f1ght. You ask some others.

This was h.er un1n~ested resort to the researcher' s request

tor an 1nterv1.e\'1 \<rl:tb her~

EVer since I qual.Uiai as a sohool teacher • I am in this Corporation school. ibat is,. for the last 35 y~ars~ And I also live in a non-Christian neiBttbourhood and X have Ule 1ove and .frtenclshJ.p o£ al.:l. My ~l.a'\'1S stay 1n Christl an l.ocol.1 ties \1llioll is .ful.l o:f jealousy and enemlty. At school. I don't even real.1se tbat I am fran a m1nor1ty community. For Xd or D1wal.i. (I•iualim and Htndu :fest1val.s respects. vel.y) • even U l don• t cel.ebrate non...Chr1st1ana come to rrq house to GE"eet me

and g1ve me S\'reets. Ev~y year t·1h.an the Sh1a-Sunn1 riots occur they and even the Bl.ndus take snel ter 1n li1Jf nouse!- 1he curfet'1 fd£ects the l'rork of eonmon man, and• of course. the entire life is paralYsed b.ere. MBX\V teenage gi.rl.s oome to rq b.ouse for tu1 tlon and ~ husband escorts tnem baCk home. We <ton' t thlnlt Qf \1ho is a Hindu or a Muallm. Very rarely I let nwsel.f become triendl.y with Christians.

1b~ Government and 'the mass media 1s usually not discrlmtnatory • MSAY people say tbat caste .favour1t1sn 1s rampant but i.t was not there t·ben I got this job in 1949 nor is L t there in the mun1o1pal school. wnere I ~k. One Ullng t'Btidl tbe Government can do is to bring 1n economic categ<?ry for reservations. 'lbts will o~ turth.er the cause of national lntegttatlon besides uplUt1ng the backt-Jard peopl.e wbo Qt"e .found 1n an rel1gtons. Al.so part1cul.arly among Indian Cbr1st1anst the girls get qualified more than 'the boys and so marry outside the community. Natural~• ~ t 1s a regrettabl.e tb.lng. Our val.ues b.ave degenerated by tb,e EDttr'avagant wqs of the A,nglo-Ind1ans and they made t«>men the main bread wtnners. '!he Cbristia.n boys too have been spo.Ut an:i.do not study. So our glr1s merry lilndu boys so Ulat they can have a comfortable li£e~

As far as Indian Christiana were concerned, we were not in favour of Bri t1sh. rule unlike the An&J.o-Indi.ans and tbey a1l-tay s had a tmpe:-1orS. ty complex. They have been malnl.y x-espcns1ble tor the do\m.fal1 of Indian Christians. It 1s a aln to aoeuse tne Hindus or go'Vernment. 1 am very impressed by 'tla.e bard\:JOI'ldns nature ot Hindus. ln nu o\'ln ra.mUy, X have an Angl.o-:tndlan nurse marrled to on,e o£ 11\1 nephews and the marriage is on the rooks ncru. So a1so ~ of rrq nephews mo got into the company of Angl.o­Ind1an boys have become good•.fo!'-noth1ngs. We are eu'Lturall.y close to Hindus. Naturall.y if we try to convert w1 th fal.se pr~se no one 't'tUl. l.ike J.t.

She fuJ.l.y approved o£ H1nd1 as the national.

language but feels tnat importance should be g1ven to Engl.ish

for teobntcal education and to Urdu as Ule language o.f the

Lucknowas~ She is 1n favour o£ nationalisation of aU.

schoo1s and colleges so that students are not narassed b.Y

excessive fees and bribes and d1scr1m1nat1on of syllabus.

"I~ wUl al.so stop communal. indoctrination 1n many

school. a"; she said by ~ of coneJ.uslon.,

In hls 1ate ttarties, this respondent was 1n charge

ot the telegaph section of the postal department. L1ke

the case of the ol.d school teacher above (122), h.e 1s put

up ~ a Hindu l.ooal1 ty and is very thankful to their

friendLy nature.

1bey look aitQ.r fi1!I sen when be is sick because my t:11.fe t.s also a 't'10rk1ng woman. so long as I have been conscientious and hard \10rking they aU: 11ke me~ Nor have I been denied pro­motions in its course. Government is very fair 1n these tntnga. If Anglo-Indian boys have not made Ule grade,, 1 t is not the .fault of the Government or Hindus. 11\t the ~o Indian boys and their parent$• They do not give much importance to studies but spend on dr1nks • partie$ and el.ubs ao that no money is l.eft to spend on educat!Dn. Natura1l.y Ule boys become drop outs so that they can mel(e quick money. Anglo-Indian ,scb.oo1s and the Churcb gives them l.ota of a1d but there 1a no aspiration 1n tbe communi. ty. '!hey st1l.1 1ong £or a home t>Jhj,ch they have never seen nor wUl. be acce,pted there 1n the ev-ent of reachi.rlg 1 t. Even during Ule Br1 t1sb d~s. Christians and AngLo Indians

never studied ~ond Senior Cambridgo; very few were 1n IAS and other professions. After 1947; the premium on education has been going up. And thougll tDat\V Anglo•Indians J.ett the country in a panic, those \-ho stayed coul.d nevar compete '11 ttl the educated Hindus.. 'lb.ey were given additional help of reservation t1U 1957. Evtm then, tiley ware in deep slumber. Even now it is not too late. r~aey go to De£ence Serv1ee·s \'mare specialised quali.f1oat1on 1s not required. 'lbey do '~eu and are selected. But \!bat h.as affected the community 1s the trauma ot Br1 tisn w1 thdrat-tal• Aotua.U¥, 1 t is the hall.ues.nati.ons that bas bugged this community.. Even now, some keep straying out 1n tr'1¢kl.es.

Of <;0\U"se. I never £aced arq setback as I told you. Moreover, I was goOd tn sports and the ~ & T sponsored .for .fUrther deveJ.opment of rrq tal.ent. 1b~ eOUl.d have easilY sent some Punjabia or HindUs and I1Will1ms. They did not. lnstead tbey s.ponsored rrq name. I know also ~ery little o£ th.e CQD."U\Ulity~ Firs'tly I did not 11ke 1 t much.. I used to bate the enViron­ment of lethargr 1n the AngLo Indian houses. Me¥ be, tbat t>m.S one of the reasons for nu mcwrlage to an lndian Cbrtstian girl despt te protests ~QD my family~ Reservations must ba abOlished for all lncl.Uding Har1jans. Economic bas1s must be Ule onl.y criteria~ I am confident o£ facing an open competltlon.

1 Un<ierl.y1ng this argument is tbe kno,fl.edge-1dent1 ty thesis o£ B~ger and Luetanann .from their book SociAl, Cf'st,ru~s otrl}AA&tz, Pe1icans • 1966. Tb.e · e eq,uacy o mean gs proVided by tbe syt11bol. of religion (for tbe concerned respondents) shoul.d not be tn1sta!ten for causation 1n the \IIeberian sense. 1be "h1ddentt .factors may not be avaUabl.e to the researcb.er in an 1nte:rV1e~1 s1tuat1on. Xt is onl.y a desortpttve linkage between a certain ktnd of experience and a eonconuni tant perception. Also see, P • Berger "Pbenomenolog and Stu.cly of ldentt -tytt • ~~ iournf!l. R' §o~loaz .• 1966. The t~rn °besiegecls s sugges · ve of a paranoid salf•tmase lihicn has found a sati.sfactory outlet ( s.. e. lite-world) 1n tlle \'bole­sale acdeptsnce o"! rel.1g1on as theory and practice. Pr~bablY the term 0 besieged MUSl.1ms" for sel..f-soc1ety identity art1cul.at$.on can be due to tlle traumatic ~perience of partt t1on displ.actng famU1ea of those \-bo mJ.srated and creating a vacuum 1n tbe f4usl.1m soolal structure and hence ol.ass compo~1.t1on itsel.f .•

2 "Mohammad u and "Ch~an Lal n epitomize the ll®.~ privileged status \1•~• the perception o£ tbe respondent) of the indiVidual Musllm as can pared to the pr1 vtleged statt\s of be 1ng a Harijan enjoying ~e benaftta og spec1al. quotas. 1be two naJnes ~v be consS.d~ed . as 1dent1 ty-types of etbnic symbols 1n Indian poll ty ~erein the pol. icy o.t Reservations £or onlY Hartjaas preva11s.

3 . Peter B(ll-ger, Oii!Qj,~~~op, London, 1967 t fit'st publisheuas7 r';:, ar m City, Ne~r YoFkt 1964. By sUbjectiVe se · ar sa on. Berger means, "the 1oss o£ ~ecU.bU1'ty ~ rol.tgi.on at the level. o£ lndivi•

· dual. exper1mce0 (P• 121)~ Hat1ever ~enomenologtcauy vlevted, the conoep~ scope of tile phrase 1s questf.onable., In this essay by seeul.ar, 1t is meant privatization of rel.igion be lt atheism, agnost1cism or dosnat1c rel.1g1osi.ty• it 1s conatdered en end in ltsel..f and is not considered as instrument of resource or pOwer ~ achieve an en4~

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