What does it mean to be a Muslim? What does it mean to be an atheist? What does it mean to not want to be a Muslim at all?

These are questions that I have struggled with throughout my admittedly short life. My relationship with my “religious identity” is one of mostly violence. My parents are secular, they are atheist and an inter-religious couple. They never brought me up as either Muslim or Hindu. In fact, I did not even know that such divisions existed until my first day of school. I introduced myself to a boy in nursery and I said my name, “Zafar Habib” and immediately what was meant to be a handshake turned into my hand being grabbed and my fingers being bent forcibly backwards until I screamed. 

According to a report by the Center for the Study of Organized Hate, Instagram is actively being used to promote extremist content in order to glorify anti-minority violence, especially against Muslims. The organisation tracked and analysed 1,023 Instagram accounts of individuals and groups that are involved in cow vigilantism. Around 30% of these accounts uploaded posts in which they shared videos of violence against Muslims who were transporting cattle. They confirmed the “Muslims” identity of these drivers by asking their names on camera. Once again, it doesn’t matter if I declare openly that I am an atheist, my name is something I cannot escape. But then I find myself asking, should I escape it? Then again, can I afford to keep it in this political climate?

Somehow, I find myself more ready than ever to keep it, to fight for it. India was established not on the basis of supporting a particular community or religion. According to our constitution, “every person who has his domicile in the territory of India and (a) who was born in the territory of India; or (b) either of whose parents was born in the territory of India; or (c) who has been ordinarily resident in the territory of India for not less than five years immediately preceding such commencement, shall be a citizen of India”.

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