An Ordinary Man's Guide To Growing Up Muslim In India

An Ordinary Man's Guide to Growing Up Muslim in India by Neyaz Ahmad Farooquee is a personal account of growing up Muslim in India and of the ways identity can be reduced to stereotypes. Beginning with the Batla House encounter of 19 September 2008, Farooquee reflects on how a single event altered the way his own identity was perceived and examined.

Drawing on his childhood in Bihar, his move to Delhi in search of better education and the uncertainties of adolescence, the book considers the distance between an ordinary life and the assumptions imposed upon it. With humour and a sardonic perspective, it examines identity, stereotypes, life in a ghetto and the everyday disappointments that shape a person.

About This Book

Farooquee’s story moves between his upbringing in Inderwan Bairam in Bihar's Gopalganj district and his later experience in Delhi. His childhood was overprotected, while his adolescence is described as undisciplined and shiftless. His migration to Delhi was driven by an ambition for better education and a different future.

The Batla House encounter becomes a defining point in this narrative. Living in Jamia Nagar, close to where those killed in the encounter had lived, Farooquee found that his individual history could be overshadowed by assumptions attached to being Muslim and to his neighbourhood.

The book uses this personal experience to explore larger questions about identity and belonging. Its tone combines humour, reflection and criticism as it considers what it means to be seen as an individual when social stereotypes can reduce a complex life to a single label.

What You'll Discover

• A personal account of growing up Muslim in contemporary India
• The impact of the Batla House encounter on one young man’s life
• Childhood and adolescence in Bihar and later life in Delhi
• The experience of migrating for better educational opportunities
• Questions surrounding Muslim identity and social stereotypes
• Life and perceptions associated with living in a ghetto
• The tension between individual identity and imposed assumptions
• Humour and reflection on the disappointments of ordinary life

Perfect For

• Readers interested in contemporary Indian society
• Readers interested in identity, stereotypes and belonging
• Readers interested in Muslim experiences in India
• Readers who enjoy personal and reflective narratives

Why You'll Love This Book

An Ordinary Man's Guide to Growing Up Muslim in India offers a personal perspective on identity, stereotypes and belonging through the author’s experiences in Bihar and Delhi. Neyaz Ahmad Farooquee combines humour and reflection to examine how an ordinary life can become defined by assumptions about religion, neighbourhood and identity.