The 2020 Riots and Their Aftermath

In February 2020, Nasreen and her husband Tofik were living in Shiv Vihar, a growing neighborhood in northeast New Delhi. However, that month, anti-Muslim riots broke out, leading to a violent attack on Tofik. A mob pushed him from the second floor of their building, according to a police report he filed from the hospital.

Though Tofik survived, he sustained a permanent limp and required nearly three years to recover before he could return to selling clothes on the street. Following the riots, the couple relocated to Loni, a more remote area with less infrastructure and fewer job opportunities but a larger Muslim community.

“I will not return to that area. I feel safer among Muslims,” Tofik told Reuters.

Rise of Muslim Enclaves in Delhi

Interviews conducted by Reuters with about two dozen individuals revealed that many Muslims in Delhi are choosing to relocate to Muslim-majority enclaves for safety. The violent 2020 riots and an increase in anti-Muslim hate speech have intensified this trend, with Muslim neighborhoods like Jamia Nagar now overcrowded.

There is no official data on this segregation trend, but experts confirm that Muslim enclaves are growing. Muslims account for approximately 14% of India’s 1.4 billion population. In Delhi, Jamia Nagar has long been a safe haven during communal riots, but the area is now struggling to accommodate the influx of Muslims seeking refuge.

Real estate agents like Raes Khan note that most Muslim clients now specifically request homes in Muslim-majority areas like Jamia Nagar, fearing violence in mixed communities.

Impact of Islamophobia and Segregation

Raphael Susewind, a political anthropologist from the London School of Economics, attributes the rise in segregation to increased Islamophobia under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has governed since 2014. Six Muslim community leaders interviewed by Reuters corroborated that segregation has risen, particularly following the 2020 riots.

Modi’s government introduced a controversial law that eased citizenship access for non-Muslims, which sparked widespread protests in 2020. The violence that followed left at least 53 people dead, mostly Muslims, and more than 200 injured. A Delhi government report blamed BJP leaders for inciting the violence, though the party has denied these claims.

Surge in Anti-Muslim Hate Speech

While India’s National Crime Records Bureau reported a 9% decrease in communal riots between 2014 and 2022 compared to the previous decade, hate speech against Muslims has escalated. The Center for the Study of Organized Hate, a Washington-based think tank, recorded 413 incidents of anti-Muslim hate speech in the second half of 2023, up from 255 in the first half of the year. The think tank found that BJP politicians and affiliated groups were often involved in promoting such rhetoric.

During Modi’s third-term campaign, he referred to Muslims as “infiltrators” and suggested they posed a demographic threat to India’s Hindu majority due to their higher birth rates. BJP officials defended these remarks, stating that Modi was referring to undocumented immigrants, such as the Rohingya Muslims.

Life in Muslim Enclaves

Muslim-majority areas like Jamia Nagar have seen a construction boom, with developers adding extra floors to accommodate the rising demand for housing. However, other Muslim enclaves lack essential infrastructure, such as schools and clean water, according to a 2023 study conducted by British, American, and Indian economists.

After moving to Loni, Nasreen and Tofik’s income was halved, and their 16-year-old daughter Muskan dropped out of school due to inadequate resources in their new neighborhood. Despite these hardships, Nasreen remains resolute about their decision to relocate. “I’ve lost faith in them,” she said of her former neighbors, who she claimed were part of the mob that attacked her husband.

Segregation and the Future of India’s Social Fabric

The segregation trend is not confined to Delhi. Across India, Muslim communities are becoming increasingly concentrated in Muslim-majority areas, even among the upper-middle class. Mujaheed Nafees, a Muslim leader from Gujarat, noted that many Muslim families now prefer to live in segregated neighborhoods, fearing threats to their safety and property.

As segregation deepens, it raises concerns about the long-term impact on India’s social harmony. While some, like Nasreen, find security in Muslim-majority enclaves, others face a difficult choice between poverty and insecurity, as the story of her neighbor Malika shows.