Segregated spaces inhabited by Muslims in India have been in the limelight from bearing the brunt of communal riots to becoming flag-bearers in protesting against discriminatory laws. However, the lives of Muslims in these spaces must not be simply relegated to these extreme situations but also be looked at in an ‘everyday’ sense. This formulates an integrated idea of ‘living every day’, one that is intricately mingled with religion and urbanism, negotiations and cultural needs (Srivastava 2022). In this piece, we explore how this integration of religion and urbanity comes together in the everydayness in a Muslim-dominated area of Delhi.[i]
Lived religion encompasses the embodied as well as the material aspects of religion, including the way members of a religious community dress, eat and act. The expression of a spiritual life in the mundane is retained under the umbrella of the ‘lived’ religion (Ammerman 2015). The space we studied is a lively, Muslim-dominated space. Situated in the heart of Delhi, the space has various intersecting areas, full of distinct shops and marketplaces overflowing with people and mosques dominating every nook and corner of the area. On conversing with a few shopkeepers in the area who sell similar items, we asked them if they worry about competition from others having similar shops. The men had replied that ‘everything, including sales, depends on Allah (God) and it is he who provides rizq’ (here, money). We can see a reflection of lived religion in the everyday life of business. When things do not go according to plan, even businessmen accord it to the ‘will of God’ as a form of reassurance. Therefore, they believe it is better to leave everything up to God instead of worrying. On the other hand, many shops in the area have also started using social media such as YouTube and Instagram to promote their products. As relayed by another shopkeeper, the promotion from social media had helped them gain a lot of sales and popularity. We see a co-existence of the sacred and profane realm, retaining belief in God but simultaneously using modern technology to gain an edge in their businesses.
Many of our respondents preferred living in the area due to the bond that they shared with the people living in the neighbourhood. It is a kind of fictive kinship or ‘relatedness’ that is not based on blood ties (Carsten, 1995). Being surrounded by people belonging to the same religious community brings about a feeling of safety, especially in the current political scenario. This relatedness translates into a communal feeling of mohalladari within the neighbourhood wherein people living together in a space, support each other through thick and thin. For instance, respondents shared stories of this ‘relatedness’ ranging from neighbours sharing food and finding kids who were kidnapped. The integration of relatedness and feelings of mohalladari among people of similar religious backgrounds makes celebrating religious festivals as well as fulfilment of cultural needs easier for the people living in the area. As there are mosques present in every lane, shopkeepers often come together to offer prayers. The area is a sight to behold during Ramadan with decor and lights spanning all open space and visitors coming here to enjoy the ‘vibe’ and food of the place, promoted especially through social media in the present times.
The embodiment of religion is also reflected in the dressing style: people are supposed to be modest, in the sense that most of their body is covered as per Islamic values. Women find it more comforting to wear their hijabs and abayas without fear of judgment in contrast to other areas. Issues such as male loitering, usage of foul language, instances of eve-teasing, and kidnappings, are seen as contrasting to Islamic values. People condemn those who do so as ‘not following the Islamic principles’. The aspect of lived religion is thus reflected in the dressing as well as behavioural aspects of people in the area. All roads lead back to having a religious mindset while carrying out the minutest tasks.
A significant advantage for people living here is the food. People do not have to worry about the meat being halal (permissible to eat in Islam) or not, as it is implied it is, due to the butchers belonging to the same community and therefore, selling halal meat themselves. The space surely is a hub for non-vegetarian food, but the vegetarian options are equally available and delicious. People have a variety of options to choose from. However, when it comes to ordering in, the delivery personnel of online platforms such as Swiggy or Zomato used to avoid entering the crowded lanes of the space or look forward to extra tips, at times, as quoted by a respondent. The preconceived notions that Muslims are frightening and anonymous figures, or simply an aversion to the community and the crowd it brings along are often the decisive criteria. The community is thus often looked at and categorised as the ‘others’ as Robinson (2005) points out. Nowadays the problem of food delivery has subsided though, partly because many people belonging to the community or areas have joined the food applications as delivery personnel. Many also prefer ordering from local shops with local delivery persons to ease the process of delivery.
This area is also a well-known food hub in the country, with many shops famous for their food delicacies, attracting people from around the world. With the rise of social media as well, the space has simply gained popularity over the years. Thus, this space, although theological in appearance, constantly re-configures itself into various other forms of space (Ahmed, 2023). Along with the age-old famous non-vegetarian restaurants and dishes ranging from fried chicken, butter chicken and seekh kebabs, there is now also an attempt by many to ‘revamp’ and modernize the space by bringing in the cafe culture, introducing ‘shisha/hookah’, Indo-Western fusions of food such as ‘chicken popcorn’ or simply cafe foods such as pizzas, waffles and pancakes. Thus, while the space has become an amalgamation of numerous food aesthetics, many natives of the area feel that the place is being unnecessarily ‘romanticized’ and ‘exoticised’ by tourists and visitors who enjoy the aesthetics of the place while turning a blind eye towards the suffering of the community. The congested lanes give them a feeling of being on an adventure or a mission rather than focusing on the hardships of the residents of the area. The latter on the other hand, have to pre-plan their movement. Especially during exams or interviews. Adding to this, the frequent heritage walks have also commercialized the area in many ways, wherein ex-natives of the place conduct tours by taking a certain fee, adding to the element of exoticisation while hardly acknowledging the hardships of this space. While the romanticisation is adding to the commercial sales of the place, the ideas about the community behind the space remain stagnant.
From being fearful of the non-vegetarian-eating Muslims or the overpopulated lanes of the area to visiting these places to accomplish an exotic ‘adventure’, the perceptions of the outsiders vary. As Sameera Khan also discusses in her paper in the context of Mumbai, Muslims are almost uniformly referred to as ‘threatening’ due to the men having beards and a ‘weird’ appearance, who oppress the women and their mohallas are tagged as ‘unsafe’ (Khan, 2007). Thus, such presumptions make things difficult and uncomfortable for passersby at times. They usually lower their sight to even avoid looking at the non-vegetarian food being cooked around. The fear surfaces for those who have only heard dreadful and unsafe things about Muslim-populated areas like the one we are referring to.
However, such assumptions and bifurcations reside among the community as well, which are only visible when one crosses paths with the mundane. The educated elites of this space wish to shift outside this crowded area, being embarrassed of living here and associating themselves with this space, rupturing the sense of the ‘community’. As for them, this intermixing of the religious/sacred and the everyday/profane is not conducive. This is something that they want to escape from. Similarly, another set of residents felt this place to be the safest. The breadwinners travel to their workplace in peace, knowing that his or her family would be safe among the people of their community. They feel ‘physically secure’ residing in a neighbourhood which is dominated by their community.
Thus, while it is a segregated space, it is also a space where people have built their own socio-cultural lives. Muslims here are not aloof from the outside world as interactions between Muslims and non-Muslims often take place. Further, the area retains an aura and is historically and culturally symbolic. The romanticization of this space also becomes a way for people in these localities to find solace in an idealized version of the city and its past. It is visible how religion defines how people of a community conduct themselves. Or how the sacred seeps into the everyday, mundane lives of Muslims in a segregated space. Hence, with all kinds of stereotypical perceptions or negotiations perpetuated, this space is much more than just an echo chamber. It opens up a new social reality each time one enters into the hustling and bustling lanes of this space.
References:
Ahmad, G. (2023, January 4). ‘Persecution,’ Cry Thousands of Uttarakhand Muslims Facing Displacement. Clarion India. Retrieved January 30, 2023, from https://clarionindia.net/persecution-cry-thousands-of-uttarakhand-muslims-facing-displacement/.
Ammerman, N. T. (2014). Finding Religion in Everyday Life. Sociology of Religion. 75(2): 189–207.
Carsten, J. (1995). The Substance of Kinship and the Heat of the Hearth: Feeding, Personhood, and Relatedness Among Malays in Pulau Langkawi. American Ethnologist. 22(2): 223-241.
Khan, Sameera. (2007). Negotiating the Mohalla: Exclusion, Identity and Muslim Women in Mumbai. Economic and Political Weekly. 42: 1527-1533.
Robinson, R. (2005). Tremors of Violence: Muslim Survivors of Ethnic Strife in Western India. India: Sage Publications.
Srivastava, S. (2022). Masculinity, Consumerism and the Post-National Indian City: Streets, Neighbourhoods, Home. Cambridge University Press.
[i] We are withholding the name of the place to protect the identity and privacy of our field and respondents.
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Kritika Banerjee is pursuing a Master’s in Sociology from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. Sarah Shaan is pursuing a Master’s in Sociology from the Delhi School of Economics (DSE).