In recent years, India has witnessed a rapid increase in religious politics and communal hate in society. According to a recent study, this toxic ideology might have reached overseas as well, dividing Indian nationals in the United States.
A survey conducted by the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) and ReThink Media revealed that over 90% of Indian Muslims agree that Hindu nationalism is a threat to their community in the US. Out of these, 80% reported that they faced discrimination from Hindu nationalists, tying it to the “environment of intolerance” fostered in and out of India.
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The discrimination, as reported by the participants, ranged from online hate, anti-muslim remarks, and biased treatment from Hindu collegues to facing Islamophobic harassment from peers.
These numbers can be taken with a pinch of salt though, as just like most surveys, the sample space for this was far less than the whole population. Out of more than 200,000 Indian Muslims in the USA, only 950 were polled for this study, which is less than 1% of the total population.
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Nonetheless, the aim of a survey is not to be legit but to find trends that might be prevalent on a large scale. If nothing else, this is an early exhibit of hate-fueled communal politics of India permeating through the boundaries and affecting our fellow countrymen across the world.
