bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

In the  main commercial district of Calcutta, he runs a street food stall called  Rajib's Paratha,  where he is known as Rajib Mallick.

Since he uses the popular Hindu  name of Rajib, no one  suspects  that the man is in fact Rajab Mollah, a Muslim who has taken on a fictitious Hindu identity  to blend in  with the mostly Hindu office  staff  and  businessmen in the neighbourhood.

Sohrab Hossain, a Muslim who came to the city to do  a master's degree in English  and lives  in a  Hindu-dominated area, is known as Sourav Das by his students.

To keep up his Hindu facade,  he has  an  idol of Saraswati,  the Hindu goddess of learning, on his table.

Every morning as she prepares to go to  work as  a  fishmonger, Hasina Khatoon replaces her silver armband on which 'Allah' is embossed in Arabic with  red and white conch bangles and puts  vermillion powder on her forehead  - symbols of a married Hindu woman.

She does this to maintain her  Hindu appearance in a fish market where  her  customers call her  Sabitri Mandal,  a common Hindu name.

Rajab Mollah and Sohrab Hossain say they use Hindu identities in a  society where, as  Muslims, they would  face  injustice and discrimination.

Analysts say   Muslims of all socio-economic backgrounds are hiding their religious identity.

Anjan Basu, a  social analyst and executive editor of Pratidin,   a Bengali daily, said many Hindus looked on Muslims as similar to Untouchables, the lowest tier of Hindu society.

'In everyday life, Muslims in almost all spheres  face a communal discrimination by powerful Hindus,' Mr Basu said.

'They are denied many of their basic rights and freedoms in unjustified ways.'

Mr Basu, who is Hindu, said this communal discrimination  had  been institutionalised, with Muslims being denied employment in the government and  many private sector offices, where about 90 per cent of the jobs  were held by Hindus.

Most Muslims who have  adopted  Hindu identities believe they are doing  nothing wrong.

'Ten years ago, when my house and land in the village was eaten up by a river and I came to Calcutta in search of jobs, almost all street shops and restaurants in the city refused to employ me because I was a Muslim,' Mr Mollah said.

'Some said their Hindu customers could refuse to eat at their shops if a Muslim worked there.

'But soon I met a Muslim man who worked under  a Hindu identity to supply  water to  restaurants in the central city.

'I followed his advice, picked up a Hindu identity and soon an upper-class Hindu employed me to run a food stall.'

Nearly all of  Mr Mollah's customers are Hindus and he fears  his business would suffer if his customers found out he is a Muslim.

'I don't think I have done anything wrong because I know how they hate Muslims simply because of their religion,' added Mr Mollah, who  has employed two Muslim boys who  have also been introduced as Hindus.

Mr Hossain, meanwhile, says when his finances  improve,  he  will  shed  his  Hindu identity.

He said 29 out of 30 guest house owners refused  to take him  in  because of his religion. His situation has grown desperate, he said.

'And in a condition stipulated by my house owner, I am not allowed to bring in any Muslim-looking visitor to my house and I am instructed to display Hindu religious pictures or idols in my room.

'It pains me that I cannot tell people  that I am a Muslim.

'Sometimes I think I am doing something  morally wrong by faking this identity and probably insulting my own religion.

'I am restlessly waiting for the day when I shall be able to get out of this religious guise.'

A federal  commission recently found that  Muslims live in worse conditions in India than previously thought.

'They  live in socioeconomic conditions worse than many so-called  backward tribal people,'   said commission chief  Rajendra Sachar, a former judge.

In the state of  West Bengal,  where  the Islamic community makes up 27 per cent  of the  population, Muslim employment in the government sector  was below 3 per cent,  the Sachar Commission reported.

'As Muslims strongly feel they are being unjustifiably denied their share in developing India, grievances  could snowball  into severe anger, forcing many to resort to terrorist activities,' Mr Basu said.

Oppressed minority

Muslims make up 13.4 per cent of India's population

Number of Muslims living in India: 138m



India's Muslims forced to hide their religion to survive in a world of hatred by Hindus