‘Muslims are very scared and fear for their lives in Modi’s New India as attacks on members of the community have risen ever since the BJP came to power in 2014’
By Imran Ahmed Siddiqui
Rustam Ali is all of 19 years of age but his words rang loud and clear.
“Zinda rahenge tabhi to naukri ki zaroorat padegi (One needs a job only if he remains alive),” says Ali, a student of Darul Uloom Deoband, the country’s oldest Islamic seminary situated in western Uttar Pradesh, stressing that safety concerns override critical issues of unemployment and price rise for Muslims in “New” India
“Muslims are very scared and fear for their lives in Modi’s New India as attacks on members of the community have risen ever since the BJP came to power in 2014. The hate crimes against the minorities are on the rise and the whole Muslim community has been demonised,” he says as the call to the evening prayer rings out through the crowded, bustling streets.
A resident of Araria in Bihar, Ali, who wears a skull cap and sports a beard, says his parents spend a sleepless night whenever he boards a train from his hometown
for Saharanpur.
This story was originally published in telegraphindia.com. Read the full story here.