
Neha Jain ’21 is an Economics and World Politics double major at Hamilton. She was born and brought up in Mumbai, India. Photo courtesy of Neha Jain ’21
From Where I Sit is an ongoing column associated with the ESOL program that aims to share the stories and experiences of international students.
My grandparents lived in Pakistan before they migrated to India during the country’s partition in 1947. They spoke fondly of their childhood in Pakistan and were even able to visit the homes they grew up in long after crossing the border. They often describe ‘Pakistanis’ as affectionate, considerate, respectful and beautiful people. Growing up to stories about shared customs, traditions, languages and food between ‘Indians’ and ‘Pakistanis’ has led me to believe that we have more similarities than differences. For this reason, I have never understood why
some
individuals in both countries have turned against the other, redefining themselves in the process.
How do we define
identity
in India today?
The 1947 partition of India culminated in the creation of Pakistan, an intended “homeland” for Muslims in South Asia. The decision to create a secular India, however, has long since enraged Hindu extremists who had advocated for a homeland for
Hindus
in the region. Some subsequent Indian governments have even been complicit in Hindu fanaticism and the mobilization of religious violence in the country to achieve this. This polarization of Hindu and Muslim communities in South Asia, following the partition of India, has reduced an individual’s
identity
to a function of their religious affiliation as opposed to a broader amalgamation of all of their personal characteristics. In the process of
identifying
individuals by their religion, Hindus and Muslims in both countries have disregarded customs, languages and traditions that they previously shared with one another.
The growing anti-Muslim sentiment in India has created an unsafe working and living environment for Muslims in the country. Hindu extremists have even exploited the current global pandemic to propagate their
islamophobic
beliefs. Muslim gatherings have been viewed as a means to “educate” Muslims on how to infect Hindus with the virus. Media outlets across the country have accused
all
Muslims of intentionally spreading Coronavirus to Hindu communities by coughing and spitting on medical personnel, the police and in food and water supplies. As some Hindus scramble to paint themselves as victims of ‘corona jihad,’ all Muslims in the country have been victimized by Hindu violence.
Covid-19 has served as yet another opportunity for some Hindus to portray Muslims as the ‘enemy.’ The entanglement of the virus with islamophobic views has deepened the religious divide in the country. India will successfully fight the destruction caused by the virus; however, the country may never heal from its redefined religious-political identities.