Among the six books Ziya Us Salam, 53, has written on the subject of Islam and lives of Indian Muslims, Being Muslim in Hindu India is probably the grimmest.

There are specks of optimism in his narrative, which discusses genocidal calls against Muslims given from public fora, the witch hunt of the Tablighi Jamaat during a global pandemic and the passion of Shaheen Bagh protests, but these are drowned by the reality of India’s treatment of its largest minority, which the book attempts to document.

However, the focal point of Salam’s narrative is the truth of being Muslim in today’s India and the community’s battle against prejudice and persecution, without any sense of bitterness against the nation.

In his book, he captures the transformation of India in a country where the survival of Muslims hinges mainly on one thing—appeasing the whims of the majority and accepting their status as second-class citizens.

In a passage, as an advice to the Muslim community facing ‘othering’ and persecution, Salam, a noted social commentator, writes: “For the Muslim community, life is all about a silent, peaceful jihad within, striving to make tomorrow better than today, everyone doing his bit to make sure the community focuses on the larger challenges of peace, and capitalises on the opportunities that it throws up.”

At other places, he turns the focus on those who, directly or covertly, support the blatant Islamophobia, among them, sections of national media. “Today, vast multitudes swear by the Hindutva hegemony. In this relentless, even violent bid for supremacy, there is no space for peaceful dialogue, for appreciation of differences,” writes Salam. “The Hindutva practitioner, in his mind, is sorting out the equations of the past.”

In a conversation with Article 14, Salam talked about his own relationship with his country.



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