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An Area Of Darkness befalls A House for Mr Muslim
WSN Network

Shabana Azmi could not get a house in an area where she wanted to live in Mumbai. When she complained, a rabid media corps went hammer and tongs for her as if she has suggested something preposterous. 

This, when everyone knows that Muslim community members had been complaining for years about such discrimination, thanks to stereotyping in the popular media and a pronounced anti-Muslim stance by the BJP and other Hindutva outfits.  

Now, another Indian film actor, Emraan Hashmi, has alleged religious bias in flat ownership in a housing society in posh Bandra. 

His protests were backed by film maker Mahesh Bhatt and he has approached the State Minorities Commission, seeking its intervention on the issue, but major sections of the media engaged with the problem so poorly as if they have heard something totally peculiar and incredible. 

However, it is a commony known fact that Muslims who try to buy flats in Mumbai face discrimination. There is no end to housing societies where prospective Muslim buyers are outrightly told that the society is almost exclusively reserved for Muslims.  

The Indian Express carried out a random survey and quoted many Muslims to prove the point. Altaf Ansari, 35, a senior manager who lives in Vikhroli said, “I went ousehunting in Thane (north of Mumbai) recently. As soon as I gave my name, I was told that the building was reserved for `certain communities’.” 

Nuzhat Aziz, a journalist, too had a tough time. “It’s very difficult to get a place in Mumbai f you are Muslim. There was one landlord who was on the verge of drawing up the agreement till my husband produced his card. His attitude changed immediately. 

He took our broker aside and told him he couldn’t rent us the house as we were Muslim,” said Aziz, adding that it was a humiliating experience. A Muslim real estate agency owner, who requested anonymity, said the bias has increased since the November 26, 2008, terror attacks. “After the incident, house owners tell me not to bring Muslims. However, if it is a family person with a highpaying job, we try to convince them to allow them to stay. But if it’s a businessman, it becomes more difficult,” he said.

27 May 2009
 

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