Zainab S. Qasi 
New Delhi: Walking from Jamia Millia Islamia University to my home in Zakir Nagar, I observe the hustle and bustle of an area that long existed and continues to exist on the peripheries: of both, the capital city and simultaneously, of people‘s imaginations and perceptions of the city.
As someone whose parents migrated to this region and have been living here for the more than 20 years, I have internalised all that it has offered me so far. On one hand, I have absorbed regional segregation and its complexities, while on the other, the confidence in my religious, social and political identity.
I have derived the idea of ‘self’ largely from where I come from, this marginalised space which otherwise occupies a minimal position in our thinking and discussions.
A board reads ‘Welcome to Jamia Nagar’ in Hindi, Urdu and English. Photo: Zainab S. Qasi
Jamia Nagar, one of the most populous Muslim “ghettos” in Delhi, rests in southeast Delhi, on the banks of Yamuna, and is dominated by localities like Zakir Nagar, Jasola Vihar and Shaheen Bagh, among others.
The area was born out of the immigrant influx of the late 1990s and has since grown from a thinly populated area to a heavily crowded one, with people from different classes and even neighbouring cities finding refuge here.
Sachar Committee, established in 2005 to study the social, economic, and educational status of Muslims in India observed in 2006, “Fearing for their security, Muslims are increasingly resorting to living in ghettos across the country.”
However, Muslims in Jamia Nagar are turning to an area that lacks basic facilities – clean drinking water, green spaces, sanitation, overpopulated apartments etc – but at least promises them safety in a closely knit community and protection towards their religious identity.
In search of a representation
This population reflects the neglect that Muslims faced by the state, more so under the present rule of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). They have no choice but to be comfortable living on their own in these community spaces where they perhaps feel better heard and represented.
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Having said this, Jamia Nagar has derived its identity from multiple things. With a dominant Muslim population, the educational and social institutions, culture, and most importantly, the dietary choices have shaped the perceptions of this region.
Muslim food choices have been marginalised because the community has always been targeted for the “inhumane” slaughter of animals, specifically cows and buffaloes. The rising Hindutva has worsened this stereotype and Muslims have been killed and lynched on suspicion of carrying, eating or selling beef.
Even popular cinema and arts have largely failed them.
Bollywood still misrepresents Muslims; Qasais (butchers) who wear kohl in their eyes and a skullcap on their heads, ready to butcher goats, cows, or buffaloes is a common scene in mainstream cinema where Muslim men usually and unsurprisingly play the antagonist.
Such a representation often is developed within and progresses in the overpopulated areas, or ghettos, if one might bring the stereotype home. One associates the inhumane slaughter of the “sacred” animal with the Muslim traders alone, reducing their identities to solely what they produce, distribute and consume.
A culinary discourse
Amidst the stereotypes and prejudices, Jamia Nagar has grown as a hub of food culture; different eateries are offered on different streets, shops and stalls. Usually crowded in the evenings, the place offers a wide range of food choices for customers.
However, the uncomfortable issue at the heart of this food culture persists – the nonvegetarian options. Particularly, the selling and buying of beef and buff food items have come under scrutiny from the state while, at the same time, being an object of romanticisation by outsiders in the region – an extension of the glorification of the ‘Muslim aesthetic’.
The growing vegetarian nationalism in Hindutva’s India has further complicated this idea. The “pure” and “impure” binaries of food are growing more prominent, these binaries have been culturally constructed and do not inherently exist, which further maintains the social order and distinction in nature, observes Kaashif Hajee.
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The polarisation of the masses as ‘protectors’ and ‘slaughterers’ of the cow has implanted deep communal divisions. With a rising number of ‘protectors’ and a promise of the same by the BJP, Muslims in ghettoised spaces suffer the most as it directly links to an integral aspect – their livelihood.
Jamia Nagar as a segregated Muslim space carries these energies forward and bears the brunt of its religious identity along with the constant marginalization of its lifestyle and choices by the state authorities.
Food in gullies of Jamia Nagar, Delhi. Photos: Zainab S. Qasi
After a ban on buying and selling beef in different states within India, a complete polarisation of the masses took place – Muslims, Dalits and Adivasis were associated with the ‘slaughter of sacred animals’, while upper-caste Hindus became ‘protectors’ of the same. Unsurprisingly, it is the Muslim ghettos that have been targeted the most for serving beef in multiple shops, have come under surveillance and persecuted for it, reducing Muslim identities to those who sell and consume a particular kind of meat.
It is also not surprising then how upper-caste Hindus take a god-like position, being the ‘protector’ of the animal, while the blame for its killing falls on marginalised groups. As brahmanisation of food takes place, all other food items are discarded as “impure” or “polluted”, and are associated with caste-class distinction.
On the other hand, a complete overturn of perceptions takes place the moment Muslims and their existence are linked to biryani and tikka kebab culture alone. In doing so, people are inclined towards the food of this region for what it sells, conveys and represents – the Muslim culture.
Amid glorification of the Muslim food culture, an ignorance has grown on the part of those who are in a position to voice against the innumerable lynchings and killings of Muslim traders but choose to turn a blind eye.
They seem to be enjoying a certain “Muslimness” of the area but are ignorant to what goes on behind the process of making, producing and selling that food. It represents an extension of the glorification of Muslim architecture, Qawwalis, songs, clothing etc which otherwise are romanticised. Meanwhile, they will also shun Muslims whenever they inhabit an alternative personality – one that does not sit well with the state and its followers.
In the lanes of Jamia Nagar, Delhi. Photo: Zainab S. Qasi
So, a “good” Muslim constantly and passively serves you his/her culture through food, art, music etc., while a “bad” Muslim raises his/her voice against the injustices inflicted and becomes a villain for demanding the authorities to preserve that very culture.
Vegetarian nationalism impacts the larger framework of employment and dignity of Muslims in India. Unfortunately, “ghettos” of the country also become a sight where the many complexities of identity formation come together and alone bear the brunt of the same.
Jamia Nagar has always dwindled between the multiple perceptions of different viewpoints. The food in the area is just one of the many pillars of the region which is under debate and direct attack. It cannot be equated with the larger identities of people living here.
The idea of carving out a metropolitan capital in Delhi largely fails in such areas where food becomes a challenge and takes on religious identity, constantly cancelling out people based on their dietary preferences.
While discussing Jamia Nagar, one cannot also not ignore that even the areas surrounding Delhi. Muslims have been lynched and killed based on mere “suspicion” of carrying beef.
In the last 10 years, Haryana has seen a rise in these mob lynchings. In 2023, two Muslim men from Bharatpur, Rajasthan were burnt to death. Similar incidents took place in West Bengal and Maharashtra, where cow vigilantes assaulted and beat Muslims on mere speculation of buying, selling, and eating beef. In June 2023, a 55-year-old disabled Muslim man was killed in Bihar.
Meanwhile, the documentation of the oppressed (DOTO) database found 206 such incidences involving more than 850 people, of which the majority remain Muslims, alongside Dalits and Christians.
Jamia Nagar as a “ghetto” then becomes the microcosm of the larger politics of the Muslim identity and any insider can see it clearly. These different challenges come together in the form of basic amenities like food and reflect the more prominent machinery at work within the country, which again, approves some and negates the existence of the others by shunning their existence, one thing at a time.
Zainab S Qazi is an editorial intern at The Wire.