Diary Of A (Philosophical) Muslim Entrepreneur

The Muslim founder of a respected Rs 100 crore food business is forced to clarify—after a vicious Islamophobic attack on social media—that his dosa batter doesn't contain any cow bones and calf rennet, only “100% natural and vegetarian agri-commodities”. The mob attacks hapless Muslim vendors such as a bangle seller in Indore for selling to a Hindu customer. As Halal products are targeted, the bogey of “economic jihad” is added to the poisonous vocabulary of Hindutva groups. Amidst all this Islamophobia, what’s it like to be at the head of a Muslim-run business?

I asked many entrepreneurs but, at first, couldn’t find anyone willing to talk. Until finally one agreed, on the condition of anonymity. He began the conversation by quoting Faiz Ahmad Faiz:

Nisar main teri galiyon ke ai vatan ki jahan,

chali hai rasm ki koi na sar utha ke chale,

jo koi chahne vaala tavaf ko nikle,

nazar chura ke chale, jism o jaan bacha ke chale

(My offerings to your sacred streets o beloved nation, where a tradition has been invented, that none shall walk with their head held high, if at all one circumambulates, one must walk, eyes lowered, the body crouched in fear).

Here is his story in his words:

“As an entrepreneur, I face bigger biases than my religious identity. Our aspirations may have evolved but our deep-rooted biases remain the same. We don't like it when anyone new wants to break into the big league—it’s a cultural problem, not a religious one. We are patriarchal and feudal. Our set norms of how to make money were defined generations ago. We don’t accept newer norms of making money. We have still not embraced the knowledge economy.

In the larger context, this is a country that really does not love entrepreneurs. We are always met with resistance.

What happened with iD Fresh was tragic and maybe it’s a precursor to something that bigger, Muslim-run businesses will see in the next two to three years.

So profound is the impact of these vendors that Sarojini Naidu even immortalised the latter in her poem, The Bangle Sellers.

The current wave of hate you’re seeing did not start in 2014. The preparation for that was already happening in 2006 and 2007. I remember noticing systemic attacks in the comments section of articles on a particular website back then and feeling alarmed that nobody was checking the vitriol.

I have not experienced religious bias in my entrepreneurial journey apart from the trolls in the comment sections of websites where I have been profiled and interviewed. I can’t say I’ve faced any discrimination at a government department or when I go to get some work done at a government agency. My peers have always been receptive though it’s very difficult to gauge what people hold in their hearts.

We all know that challenging anything in any fashion, whether it’s through the law or a tweet or at a seminar, carries an inherent risk. In the entrepreneurial ecosystem, venture capitalists, funded companies, non-funded companies, all avoid taking a stand. They feel their careers will be stifled or may be they are too focused on making money.

You know what the official motto of the U.S. state of New Hampshire is? Live Free Or Die. My employees know my political stand, and I won’t change or compromise it. These are values that define me. I have views on the recent erosion of our privacy or how ineptly the vaccination drive was handled and I share these at the workplace. But will I tag and publicly blame the government? The answer is no.

I don’t feel scared. I do worry that we are reinventing the wheel. We will go back, so back in time, that when we wake up we will have to make up for a lot of things. Or maybe—you never know—this will become the norm. When a large mass of people accepts these kinds of intolerant behaviour, it's not an aberration, it’s the norm—especially when they are provided incentives to internalise hate. That is what I worry about.

Whether you are a member of a minority community or not, if your business becomes an obstacle in the larger dream of the big fish, they won’t negotiate and acquire you legally. They will just find a way to shut you down.

We had invented the India story in 2002-2003 right up until 2015. We had a beautiful reverse migration happening. Now we are battling crony capitalism. Everyone knows this but nobody wants to talk about it. I think we will end up like Russia.

The country has become unpredictable, quite like that Rajasthan Tourism slogan: Jaane Kya Dikh Jaaye! (Who knows what you'll see next).

I can’t imagine travelling in an overnight train with my child in north India. I remember we used to every summer—train journeys were an integral part of childhood—but my children haven't travelled in a train in this country. I feel like a lot of people aren't getting the full experience of what this country can be.

I often tell young people, “When you grow old don't save your money for the generations to come; gift it.” I find it worrying that we are creating people in this country who are single-mindedly focused on growing rich, richer, richest.

I don’t think it’s about minorities and that’s why I'm not scared. It’s all about the economy, it’s about few people who want to become richer. People should wake up and they should say, show us the jobs.”

Priya Ramani is a Bengaluru-based journalist and is on the editorial board of Article-14.com.

The views expressed here are those of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views of BloombergQuint or its editorial team.