The politics of inclusivity

Abstract

This article examines popular perceptions of communalism and apparent lack of political engagement among Muslims in Hyderabad’s Old City. The Old City is a notoriously poor, Muslim-majority district with social problems exacerbated by poor infrastructure and political neglect. Through an examination of everyday political participation, which I term civic conduct, I argue that Hyderabadi Muslims enact notions of public interest and civic virtue. Through ethnographic fieldwork conducted along networks of voluntary associations in the Old City, I argue that Hyderabadi Muslims contest the weight of historical exclusion and political negligence through expressions of civic engagement. Everyday accomplishments and aspirations perform a norm of civility in the Old City that constitutes a powerful claim to belonging. I suggest that civic conduct becomes both a means for accessing the rights of urban citizenship and a critique of exclusionary narratives.