• ISBN13: 9780199489916
• Binding: Hardcover
• Subject: Politics and Current Affairs
• Publisher: Oxford UP
• Publisher Imprint: Oxford UP
• Publication Date: April 16, 2019
• Pages: 336
• Original Price: INR 995.0
• Language: English
• Edition: N/A
• Item Weight: 1000 grams

Close to the turn of the century and almost 45 years after Independence, India opened its doors to free-market liberalization. Although meant as the promise to a better economic tomorrow, three decades later, many feel betrayed by the economic changes ushered in by this new financial era. Here is a book that probes whether India’s economic reforms have aided the development of Indian Muslims who have historically been denied the fruits of economic development.
Maidul Islam points out that in current political discourse, the ‘Muslim question’ in India is not articulated in terms of demands for equity. Instead, the political leadership camouflages real issues of backwardness, prejudice, and social exclusion with the rhetoric of identity and security. Historically informed, empirically grounded, and with robust analytical rigour, the book tries to explore connections between multiple forms of Muslim marginalization, the socio-economic realities facing the community, and the formation of modern Muslim identity in the country. At a time when post-liberalization economic policies have created economic inequality and joblessness for significant sections of the population including Muslims, the book proposes working towards a radical democratic deepening in India.

Maidul Islam teaches political science at the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta, India.