A low-grade fever, a relentless sadness: Being Muslim in the New India that is Bharat

This is a lightly edited version of the author’s keynote address delivered at the inauguration of the 14th Goa Arts and Literature Festival on February 12.

Each time I come to the Goa Arts and Literature Festival, I am struck anew by the manner in which this festival continues to create a space for voices from the margins and explore “ways of belonging”.

The idea of identity, of belonging, has shaped much of my recent work. At the same time, I am also concerned about the dark underbelly of belonging, the forces of othering that are gathering like dark clouds over our country. On this glorious day, in this wonderful setting , it seems strange to talk about fear and I thought long and hard whether I should or not, but then I decided if not at GALF where else can one speak one’s mind, where else can one speak of one’s deepest, darkest fears?

I want to talk about fear, a fear that is very real for very many of us, one that rubs away insidiously at the idea of belonging. While I will mostly talk about the fear that Muslims in India feel, I know that fear is shared by many – by other...

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