This week, Scroll published three stories that demonstrate the continuing marginalisation of India's Muslims.
On Saturday, Abhik Deb wrote about how the life expectancy of Muslims in the country decreased by 5.4 years during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic. This is four times more than the decrease in life expectancy seen in upper-caste Hindus during the same period. The story raises important questions about how Muslims were not only alienated from healthcare but actively demonised during the initial phases of the outbreak.
On Thursday, Vineet Bhalla explained how a legally ambiguous directive by the authorities in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar, in connection with the annual Kanwar yatra, could spur an economic boycott of Muslim vendors. With the police's track record of using extraordinary coercive powers against citizens, people have realistically no choice but to obey such advisories no matter how unconstitutional they may be.
On Wednesday, Ayush Tiwari wrote about how Hindu right-wing groups, under the pretext of "love jihad", launched a campaign in June 2023 to drive out the Muslim residents of a small town in Uttarakhand. At the heart of the controversy were two men (one Muslim) who had been accused of trying to kidnap a minor girl and convert her to Islam. The incident was proven to be a hoax, but not before several Muslim families were forced to flee their homes in Purola.
At a time when the mainstream media is largely silent on the dangers of being Muslim in India, our coverage serves as a reminder of the secular values that the country was founded on.
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