Muslims suffered both ways, be it through mainstream parties or small Muslim outfits. On his part, the author argues for consociational democracy as practised in Switzerland, Austria and Columbia where communities coexist through proportional distribution of opportunities, resources, power share with high degree of autonomy in matters of education, religion and culture. Khalidi s liberty with terms such as pogroms and portrayal of the majoritarian psyche leaves a bitter taste. Such luxuries could be afforded by the NRI authors only. But certain factual errors should be considered unpardonable.
Mother tongue does find a place in most states of India.
But facts needs to be straightened a bit more. Most Urdu-speaking Muslim students do not opt for mother tongue due to its employment irrelevance. It is outrageous. Dr. Khalidi s portrayal of Muslim situation during the last 50 years remains an unfinished one due to exclusion of non-Urdu segments of Muslims. Even among Urdu speaking Muslims, the educational attainments in Maharastra and Karnataka are creditable.