“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity” – Dickens, 1859
It would not be an exaggeration to claim that we are seeing dystopia unfold right in front of our eyes. Each morning, there is a new horror to wake up to: melting poles, Australia on fire, U.S.A and Iran toeing the line of another world war, concentration camps in China, and a little closer to home, the Indian government issuing the Citizenship Amendment Act gazette notification, an act that effectively proclaims that some Indians are more equal than others. APJ Abdul Kalam predicted a bright future for India, envisioning our nation on the path to becoming a Global Superpower by 2020, but instead, we are faced with an ever-shrinking economy and severe violations of human rights.
Gone are the days of economic and social agendas as a basis of garnering political support, fear is the new player in town. Many studies have found that political attitudes can be influenced by emotions and right wing politicians use fear and anger with incredible finesse. Resorting to finding an “other” to demonize has been a popular strategy for gaining political power. This manufactured fear of terrorism and increased immigration especially came into focus after 9/11 in the western world but the history of othering Indian Muslims goes further back. Muslims have been called the democracy’s “step-child” due to their social exclusion and marginalisation in the political and economic spheres, but now as the status of their citizenship is put under question and detention camps are a reality, the situation has undoubtedly become much worse.
Even as we look away from anti-Muslim policies, Indian movies, television programs, Whatsapp forwards, Twitter trends, all seem to be feeding the public a steady diet of misinformation, identifying Muslims as the common enemy—communalism has become the new opium of the masses. The evidence for the role of emotion in political beliefs means that emotions related to the vilified “other” would also lead to negative selective-retrieval bias. So, despite the fact that fewer than one percent of Muslims were involved in any militant movements in the last 25 years, many would still associate terrorism with Islam. This has led to a manifold increase in unfavorable attitudes about the community and an alarming rise in Islamophobic hate crimes. The Pew Research Centre in the US (2017) found that 48 per cent of Muslim respondents of a study stated experiencing at least one incident of discrimination in the preceding twelve months. Islamophobic attacks have possibly become the most prevalent type of hate crime in America, and the report stated that they have become more ferocious and extensive than other waves of hate crimes seen before 9/11. Elsewhere in the world, these crimes remain underreported, but even in India we have seen an alarming rise in lynching-based hate crimes. Jamia, Aligarh, JNU, Kashmir, Assam and Uttar Pradesh have also borne the brunt of this violence recently.
In a bid to discourage this vitriol, many voices have recently been raised that talk about the unconstitutionality of the CAA, they discuss the economic cost of the National Register Citizens (NRC) but it is equally, if not more prudent to enquire what toll this climate of hate is taking on the Indian Muslim.
CAA and the NRC can be understood through the lens of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. While the CAA tries to takes away an Indian Muslim’s sense of safety and belonging in their very own motherland, the subsequent threat of NRC also puts under question their very basic right of freedom and shelter. The uncertainty of looming statelessness, detention centers, and state violence can also lead to loss of perceived personal control. This could mean increased anxiety, loss of coping skills in times of stress, lower resilience, and an impaired decision making.
Minority stress theory helps us understand how individual, interpersonal and systemic level stressors work together in the context of social disparity to shape minority mental health. The cumulative effect of this discrimination is much more pervasive in nature. Many studies show how discrimination is linked to increased depressive symptoms and reduced levels of self-esteem. It leads to feelings of nervousness and restlessness as well as chronic health problems such as asthma and heart disease. Someone from a socially underprivileged background struggling with the mental and physical health effects of discrimination would find it difficult to attain upward social mobility, and their potential is, thus, systemically stunted. In environments facing direct violence and clampdown for longer periods of time, several researchers have also noted what they call “continuous PTSD” among children. This may be relevant for understanding the mental health concerns that could arise in Kashmir today as it sees excesses by the army, lack of accessibility to healthcare and curtailed flow of information.
Theories of intersectionality also bring to our attention the differing levels of privilege even within the community—gender, sect, caste, social class, sexual orientation, and other such characteristics would help us look at this impact on mental health as a continuum, where some Muslims will be given an even shorter end of the stick. However, even as the privilege of middle class Muslims in the rest of the country shelter them from direct violence, political life events still affect their lives in contexts such as educational settings and local neighbourhoods. Besides direct physical and verbal aggression, another emerging area of concern in minority mental health is the impact of microaggressions, and other covert forms of discrimination. Stereotypes, prejudice, racial bias as well as inter-group attitudes can contribute to lower self-confidence and higher distress both individually and in interpersonal interactions with the larger community. Allusions to the need for population control among the Muslim community, being considered illiterate or less able than others as well as having their patriotism towards their own country constantly question becomes an immense psychological weight to carry. Since these subtle forms of racism or presumptions about the community are often dismissed as unintentional or harmless, those who question them are also considered too sensitive or paranoid, which can be upsetting and discourage the community from seeking redressal.
Keeping in mind what political unrest can do to one’s mental health and capacities, there is a rising need for safe spaces where conversations about mental distress can be voiced. As the community breaks away from the fear of riots and unlawful detentions to organise nation-wide protests, it should also remind itself that it is equally important to breakfree from the stigma of seeking mental healthcare. Self-care is also a form of resistance.
Haniya Rumaney
