"I am somewhat used to religious discrimination in parts of the country where the muslim population is not as much, but I always took it in my stride and never bothered about it much, since I focus more on being an Indian than on being a muslim. But being bullied by my own friends is something that I never experienced or expected ever and it is mental torture," said 20-year-old Sohail, an engineering student based in Faridabad.

“It all started after the Tablighi Jamaat episode that happened in Delhi in April. Initially, when we used to discuss the episode, the reactions of my non-muslim friends was that what happened was wrong whether it was done by Hindus or Muslims, it should not have happened. And I too agreed with them. But gradually, they started talking of me and muslims as “others” and “people not loyal to India” and then it used to hurt me to hear them speak like this.”

Sohail, like many others of the minorities communities in India, has been traumatised by the backlash of the episode against him and his community. His intentions are questioned, he is called names and even threatened sometimes by the very batchmates who earlier used to share sewaiyaan with him on Eid.  They refuse to understand the fact that Sohail did not represent the whole community but had his own individuality with different opinions than his community.

"I don't believe in putting everyone's life in danger and I would never let anyone from my family attend these gatherings during a time when social distancing and isolation must be practised, even if they meant I was 'going against my religion'. At the time of the pandemic, it is essential for our safety and the safety of others around us that we don’t congregate in groups.

But my batchmates have been wrongly gaslit against me by a bunch of goons with a political background from the college. They've made memes using my photos that focus a lot on my religion and how I want to spread the virus--these have been circulated on the various whatsapp groups and I have been flooded with hate messages. It hurts me when I get to see all of the pranks being done by the people who have known me for more than two years now. 

I was used to a subtle form of  bullying earlier too but now it is in my face--at the grocery shop, I am not allowed to enter and asked to wait endlessly, since they fear that I will contaminate them or the things inside. Our neighbours were becoming ignorant of us; they said a lot about the jamaatis and in general the Muslims with an intention of hurting us. They stopped talking to us and if we happened to meet each other on the road, would simply choose to cross the road to the other side as if we were carrying the virus with us. 

Every time I have to do anything in the college group or in the neighbourhood, I have to be extremely careful not to hurt anyone's feelings or bring any religiousness in between. But my batchmates openly hurt me every now and then rather; they pick on me especially on religious background-oriented jokes and puns.

Thankfully, I don’t have to face them in person with the college not holding regular classes. But all this animosity against us, against me has started to bother me now. I don’t want to step out for anything, least of all in my traditional attire; I don’t want to talk to anyone...except a few cousins, I have no friends these days; all my friends seem to have forsaken me. These days my phone is my company and that too when I don’t check social media or whatsapp--otherwise to see your face plastered on some baboon’s meme is heartbreaking, embarrassing and shameful. At such times, I simply feel like hiding somewhere...where no one can reach me or find me.

I don't know how to fight this increasing intolerance because every day I just fear that someday I might be the one dying due to this discrimination rather than contamination."