Muslim Citizens versus Citizen Muslims: A Study of Discursive Strategies in Contemporary India

Indian Muslims present the observer with an almost unique case of Muslims living in a democracy as an integrated part of the Indian citizenry and not as first- or second- generation migrants. In this paper, India acts as a model first for underlining the Eurocentric misconception in theorisation on Muslim nations, and second for questioning established conceptions of political dissent and protest. The paper, consequently, seeks to provide an anti-essentialist perspective to the discussion of Muslim politics and the issue of accommodating Islam and citizenship within a context of democratic governance. The case of Indian Muslims offers important insights into the ways in which conceptual variations and conflictual understandings of citizenship can be explored in a post- colonial, democratic setting. Confronting the Eurocentric bias and simultaneously avoiding to fall into its trap of essentialisation and ‘Othernisation’ is a major objective of the paper. This is attained by showing different and intriguing conceptualisations of political action and agency undertaken by Indian Muslims.