while this discrimination against muslims is so real and true in most of india, what rarely gets reported is that it is much more so for dalits. while muslims will still manage to get places to rent/buy in pre-dominantly hindu localities it is a 100 times more difficult for a dalit to do the same. i am a muslim by name (though a complete atheist in belief), but when i recently shifted to delhi i had no probelms renting a house in south delhi. some of my other muslim friends / relatives too have had no problems in finding houses in south delhi, gurgaon or east delhi. though i am told that in parts of west delhi the situation is similar to what the author describes. but even in delhi one finds muslim housing colonies and caste based housing colonies. even though i live in a rented flat in a south delhi dda colony, i am the only muslim there. unsafe? i suppose there is an element of risk but much less than i would face in a very muslim locality with my drinking and socialising... so i am okay about it. the problem is not so much that muslims do not get a place in hindu localities, but that much of middle class india is unwilling to break out of their caste/language/religion shells.
