format_quote Originally Posted by
snakelegs
razu,
this is a good topic and i hope other indian muslims will pick up on it and give their input. i think if i were a muslim in india, i would be concerned about the future.
meanwhile, i have some questions. i know almost nothing about south india or what it is like for muslims there. (not that i know a whole lot about the north either - but i know some).
first, is kerala still marxist? i have heard that it leads the country in literacy levels. how is/was it for muslims under the marxist gov't?
in general, are muslims in south india more secure than muslims in the north?
have their been communal riots in the south? is hindutva just as strong in the south?
thanks!
From what I know, South India has been in a far better position than North India as far as muslims are concerned both economically and financially. I am not sure if I can say south india is more secure than north india, although thank God, it has traditionally not been a strong hold for hindu fanatics. Hindutva is not deep rooted in south india. Its only recently that they (hindutva) have started gaining grounds. That kinda explains why South India has been better than North India. I dont know how it would look in future, once hindutva is well established in south.
Kerala is the state with the highest literacy rate, but I believe one of the criterion used is just to see whether someone can sign their name in english. But still Kerala, I guess is better than other states.
Apart from that Kerala has a very rich history. Since it was the hub of the 'spice route' it has been visited by very famous travelers. I know for sure the famous chinese explorer Zheng Zhe was in Kerala for a while and I guess Marco polo was also there. The most famous muslim traveler Ibn Batutah spent a while in Sri Lanka and Maldives, but I am not sure if he visited Kerala.
Whats also interesting is that, Islam spread in North India through different empires, while none of these empires were able to gain grounds in South India, including Kerala. Islam probably reached South India much earlier than North India, owing to the fact that trade between Arabs and Keralites was prevalent even during the time of prophet Muhammed (saw). Another interesting fact is that, while most of North Indian muslims follow the Hanafi madhab, South India has been traditionally following Shafi'i madhab, the reason being that most of the Arab traders were Shafi'i. South Indian muslims also have more in common with the muslims of South east asia including Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia than North Indians as trade flourished between South India and South east asian countries.
That's all I could think of Kerala for now!
As far as the current conditions of muslims in India is concerned, I was recently told about the "Sachar Committee report'. The prime minister of India had created a committee to survey the conditions of muslims all over India. This, I believe was sometime in 2005. The committee published their report late last year. The committee used all of the government resources and earlier surveys, so it is considered to reflect the conditions of muslims more accurately.
As per the report, the conditions of muslims in India is FAR WORSE than even scheduled caste. Now, anyone who knows about India, knows that for centuries Scheduled caste have been the lowest of the lowest in indian caste system. They have been relegated to do menial jobs and were not given a chance to educate themselves. The muslims have been made to beat them!!! Muslims in India are discriminated in different fields. This was the report published by the government of India. I am guessing they are taking some steps to improve the conditions of muslims, but I dont foresee a big change any time soon. There are some leaders with huge influence in Indian politics, who wouldnt want muslims to be in a better position, and sadly they seem to have a huge following as well.