Abstract:
This paper examines the effects of socio-political processes on economic preferences in Mumbai by focussing on the case of Muslim ex-millworkers. The argument of this paper is that the feeling of karahiyat [Urdu: nausea, disgust, hate, etc.] combined with suspicion, in terms of terrorism and mafia, creates barriers for Muslims’ employment and self-employment opportunities. The argument is substantiated by using the survey data of 924 ex-millworkers and in-depth interviews with 80 ex-millworkers collected during 2008-09 and 2010-11. The findings presented in this paper suggest that economic liberalisation in India is not contributing to the dissolution of social institutions such as caste, religion, and gender. This paper concludes that Muslims in contemporary Mumbai face a combination of unfavourable exclusion and unfavourable inclusion.