NEW DELHI: While a little over 12% of Delhi’s population is Muslim, six of the 70 assembly segments have a Muslim population of 40% or more. These include Ballimaran and Matia Mahal in Old Delhi, besides Okhla, Mustafabad, Seelampur and Babarpur. Five other constituencies – Rithala, Shahdara, Seemapuri, Babarpur and Mustafabad – also have a significant Muslim population. The community may apparently play a game changer in the Delhi polls next month.
This time, a majority of Muslims want Congress to play the trump card. Over the past 11 years, the AAP successfully won over the Muslims, long considered a traditional Congress vote bank. However, the community has overwhelmingly voted for the Congress in the previous edition of the Lok Sabha polls.
The banes plaguing the Muslim-dominated areas are no different from those witnessed across the capital. Yet, Muslim residents say it is ‘prejudice’ that affects them the most.
A resident of Karawal Nagar, Faheem Iqbal, an auto driver by profession, said, “Sometimes, I feel just because we are Muslims, officials do not care to enter our lanes and care about the hygiene. This is why everyone says, ‘Musalmaanon ke ilaqe kabhi saaf nahi milte (Muslim areas are never clean).’ There is not a single house where a child is healthy. Every second person falls ill. A putrid smell hangs in the locality. We don’t know if it is because of the garbage dump or the stray cattle.”
“It is very unfortunate; it seems that we live in a slum,” Iqbal said, adding, “This time, my family has been praying that we get a different government and Congress may prove to be helpful for us.”
Meanwhile, Okhla resident Nabeel Siddique said, “You should see how people react when asked to come to Okhla! They always have an excuse for not coming here. Why? Because Okhla is considered a Muslim-dominated area; the lanes are congested with zero policing, lack of sanitation in most lanes especially in market areas.”
Another Okhla resident of Huma Usmani said, “It is sad to see a university area facing traffic and sanitation problems. We as a society are responsible somehow. We have been writing to the administration to assign a police official in this area but we haven’t got any response in the past five years.