Chennai---
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/article3614070.ece
Bangalore---
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3614002.ece
Mumbai---
http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/other-states/article3613986.ece
Delhi---
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3616022.ece
London---
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3613976.ece
The Hindu\'s investigative reporting on housing bias in major cities
The Hindu's investigative reporting on housing bias in major cities
Chennai---
[h=1]Chennai claims stronger secular credentials[/h]
[h=1]Chennai claims stronger secular credentials[/h]
People from around the country looking for rental housing find the fast-growing city more welcoming, but non-vegetarians have fewer choices
This is a city of tenants - more than half of the population lives in rented houses. And every year, about 15,000 new migrants arrive and look for places to live. The city has been broadly accommodative. Religion has not been a major barrier, but rent does matter. However, food preferences could make or break a deal. A prospective tenant often faces the question, ‘what are you, veg or non-veg?’ In the land of curd rice, vegetarians have it easy.A correspondent from this paper, posing as a prospective Muslim tenant, called a few house owners. In areas like Rajiv Gandhi Salai (OMR), Thiruvanmiyur and Adyar, where the rent for a typical two-bedroom apartment is above Rs. 10,000 a month, religion did not matter. The owners were prepared to rent it out to anyone who was ready to pay. But in areas such as Ambattur or Arumbakkam, which fetch relatively low rents, a few owners were a little reluctant. In their opinion, ‘Muslims consumed non-vegetarian food everyday’ and they did not, therefore, want to let out the house to them.Such cases are few and far between, said R.V. Loganathan, a real estate agent who operates in Central and North Chennai. Muthukadu Rajesh, an experienced house broker in South Chennai, also has similar observations.“I have been a broker for more than a decade and I have seen at the most four or five cases where Muslims and Christians were denied houses. But this is primarily because they are non-vegetarians.”Faiza Moumin, a media professional, who has lived in three apartments in Chennai before she moved to Kerala, found it difficult to get a house five years ago. But her recent experience was better. “Earlier I have been refused apartments because I was a non-vegetarian, and it is not uncommon. Being a single woman added to the problem. But things have changed now,” she recalled.Like Faiza, Fazul Ahmed who owns a mobile phone showroom, found it difficult to rent a house because many apartments were predominantly inhabited by “vegetarians”.Reluctance to let out houses to non-vegetarians has affected non-Muslims too.Sneha (name changed) and her family, who live in a semi-independent house in upmarket Raja Annamalaipuram, had to give up cooking non-vegetarian food to retain her rented house. “It took us over three months to find this place. The house owner insisted that we should not cook non-vegetarian food. We did not want to let go of this house. Hence, we gave up cooking non-vegetarian food. Now, we either eat out or bring food home when the owner who lives downstairs is not in town,” she said.In recent years, Chennai has been playing host to many people from North-Eastern states who work in beauty parlours, restaurants and so on. Their experiences have been reassuring. G. Pratima and six of her friends, who come from a small town on the West Bengal-Bhutan border, did not face any difficulty in finding a house in Nanganallur. With some help from their employers, they have settled in this neighbourhood. “Idli, sambar, chappatis and rasam are our staple food. We can speak Tamil too. At times we cook chicken and so far there has not been any issue,” Monica said. “Neighbours and the landlord are friendly, and we too prefer to keep to ourselves,” she added.Zubair Ahmed, an auto driver, added a note of caution. “All is not well with Chennai. A few of us have had bitter experiences,” he said.“In the last thirty years, I have rented many houses owned by Hindus. But that was after a long search. Some house owners told me that I am a non-vegetarian, would not keep the house clean, and avoided me as a tenant. I vividly remember an incident when a house owner in Kodambakkam said that in the past, Muslim terrorists used to live in the neighbourhood. Hence he feared renting out his house to a Muslim even now. His prejudice was humiliating.”A.Srivathsan, Asha Sridhar and Sunitha Sekar contributed to this report.
This is a city of tenants - more than half of the population lives in rented houses. And every year, about 15,000 new migrants arrive and look for places to live. The city has been broadly accommodative. Religion has not been a major barrier, but rent does matter. However, food preferences could make or break a deal. A prospective tenant often faces the question, ‘what are you, veg or non-veg?’ In the land of curd rice, vegetarians have it easy.A correspondent from this paper, posing as a prospective Muslim tenant, called a few house owners. In areas like Rajiv Gandhi Salai (OMR), Thiruvanmiyur and Adyar, where the rent for a typical two-bedroom apartment is above Rs. 10,000 a month, religion did not matter. The owners were prepared to rent it out to anyone who was ready to pay. But in areas such as Ambattur or Arumbakkam, which fetch relatively low rents, a few owners were a little reluctant. In their opinion, ‘Muslims consumed non-vegetarian food everyday’ and they did not, therefore, want to let out the house to them.Such cases are few and far between, said R.V. Loganathan, a real estate agent who operates in Central and North Chennai. Muthukadu Rajesh, an experienced house broker in South Chennai, also has similar observations.“I have been a broker for more than a decade and I have seen at the most four or five cases where Muslims and Christians were denied houses. But this is primarily because they are non-vegetarians.”Faiza Moumin, a media professional, who has lived in three apartments in Chennai before she moved to Kerala, found it difficult to get a house five years ago. But her recent experience was better. “Earlier I have been refused apartments because I was a non-vegetarian, and it is not uncommon. Being a single woman added to the problem. But things have changed now,” she recalled.Like Faiza, Fazul Ahmed who owns a mobile phone showroom, found it difficult to rent a house because many apartments were predominantly inhabited by “vegetarians”.Reluctance to let out houses to non-vegetarians has affected non-Muslims too.Sneha (name changed) and her family, who live in a semi-independent house in upmarket Raja Annamalaipuram, had to give up cooking non-vegetarian food to retain her rented house. “It took us over three months to find this place. The house owner insisted that we should not cook non-vegetarian food. We did not want to let go of this house. Hence, we gave up cooking non-vegetarian food. Now, we either eat out or bring food home when the owner who lives downstairs is not in town,” she said.In recent years, Chennai has been playing host to many people from North-Eastern states who work in beauty parlours, restaurants and so on. Their experiences have been reassuring. G. Pratima and six of her friends, who come from a small town on the West Bengal-Bhutan border, did not face any difficulty in finding a house in Nanganallur. With some help from their employers, they have settled in this neighbourhood. “Idli, sambar, chappatis and rasam are our staple food. We can speak Tamil too. At times we cook chicken and so far there has not been any issue,” Monica said. “Neighbours and the landlord are friendly, and we too prefer to keep to ourselves,” she added.Zubair Ahmed, an auto driver, added a note of caution. “All is not well with Chennai. A few of us have had bitter experiences,” he said.“In the last thirty years, I have rented many houses owned by Hindus. But that was after a long search. Some house owners told me that I am a non-vegetarian, would not keep the house clean, and avoided me as a tenant. I vividly remember an incident when a house owner in Kodambakkam said that in the past, Muslim terrorists used to live in the neighbourhood. Hence he feared renting out his house to a Muslim even now. His prejudice was humiliating.”A.Srivathsan, Asha Sridhar and Sunitha Sekar contributed to this report.
The Hindu's investigative reporting on housing bias in major cities
Bangalore---
[h=1]India’s IT powerhouse is mired in social prejudice[/h]
[h=1]India’s IT powerhouse is mired in social prejudice[/h]
The property and real estate sections of free advertisement-only newspapers offer the best insight. Most advertisements titled ‘for vegetarians only’ were from areas such as Jayanagar, Basavangudi and Malleshwaram.
In the last 30 years, his firm has helped thousands of people find properties of their choice. He is one of the biggest names in the highly competitive real estate industry of Bangalore. Fardeen Ahmed (name changed) is equally well known as a philanthropist who has associated himself with several progressive and secular causes. But then, in the summer of 2009, he was rudely reminded that his standing counts for little in a city where landlords hide their prejudice behind a mask of modernity. Ahmed was renovating his ancestral bungalow in Shivajinagar and wanted to move temporarily to a rented house. He wanted a house in a ‘respectable’ locality that suited his class. But to ‘respectable’ house owners, Ahmed and his family were just meat-eating Muslims. With an army of his own employees and all the financial resources at his command, it took Ahmed several months to find a house on rent that satisfied his sense of status. He is still recovering from his sense of ‘hurt.’ Dalit feminist Ruth Manorama was reminded of her identity less than a year after she was honoured with the Alternative Nobel Prize or Right Livelihood Award. In 2007, Ruth wanted to shift her office from Jayanagar 4th Block to a more spacious building a few metres away. “It was a large house owned by a seemingly nice, English-speaking, elderly Brahmin couple," she says. But they refused to give her the house on rent. "After the award, I had been featured all over the newspapers and it was well known that I am Dalit and Christian,” she says. The couple, retired scientists with a son working overseas, explained that they could not rent the house to a non-vegetarian. “I wanted the house for an office. It is not like I wanted to turn it into a Biriyani hotel,” she says, still smarting from the insult. Dalit poet and Chairman of the Kannada Book Authority Siddalingaiah had a similar experience in upper-caste and class dominated South Bangalore. “Because of my name, most house owners thought I was a [so-called upper caste] Lingayat. But my dark skin gave them doubts. They felt no shame in asking about my caste and I felt none in telling them that I am Dalit,” he says. The negotiations would quickly end after the house owners discovered his caste.“For many house owners, we are dog-eaters, prostitutes or drug addicts,” says an office-bearer of the Naga Students’ Union who did not wish to be quoted. During the ‘Justice for Richard Loitam’ campaign in April, hundreds of students from the North-East took to the streets alleging that Richard was the victim of a hate crime. Several agitators had told The Hindu that they are treated as foreigners in Bangalore. Most complained they could not find a house on rent.Bangalore’s real-estate industry has several prominent Muslim names. All of them denied the existence of an apartheid-like system when The Hindu spoke to them. None wished to be quoted on the controversial subject.Seven Raj, the proprietor of the well known Sevenraj Estate Agency, says, “These things are very much there. But as far as possible, I don’t do business with communal-minded people.”“I don’t have a religion and I don’t ask my clients theirs,” he says. According to him, the most guarded areas in the city are also those endowed with the best infrastructure. House owners in Jayanagar, Basavangudi, Malleshwaram, Sadashivnagar, Indiranagar, Rajajinagar, Upper Palace Orchards, Koramangala and J.P. Nagar hold some of the worst prejudices, says Seven Raj. “In these localities, neighbours gang up against an owner who dares to rent his house out to somebody from a lower caste or a minority community,” says M. Paari, a former Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike Corporator. Paari feels that much of the blame for segregation should go to agencies such as the Bangalore Development Authority. “A caste-wise survey of some of the residential layouts formed by the BDA will show that all the prime plots have gone to upper-caste applicants. Dalits and Muslims get allotments only in EWS (Economically Weaker Section) colonies,” he says. Paari’s claims of segregation are borne out by a study conducted by the NGO Jana Sahayog in 2004-05 titled ‘Anthropological Study of Slums in Bangalore.’ Isaac Arul Selva says, “Eighty-five per cent of Kannada-speaking slum residents were from the so-called untouchable communities. Sixty-five per cent of non-Kannada speaking residents were from communities considered untouchable.”The property and real estate sections of free advertisement-only newspapers offer the best insight. Most advertisements titled ‘for vegetarians only’ were from areas such as Jayanagar, Basavangudi and Malleshwaram. The true meaning of ‘vegetarian only’ emerged when this reporter contacted some of these owners. “This is a Brahmin layout. We do not want any SC/STs,” said a woman before slamming the phone. “No Kashmiri Muslims. Other Muslims are ok,” said one owner from HRBR Layout. Another owner from HSR Layout said, “We don’t mind Muslims but we want only clean Muslims.” Lawyer Byatha N. Jagdeesha says, “Vegetarian only is just the code to say Brahmins only. If they put out what they actually mean, they can be booked under the Indian Penal Code and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.”Keywords: Sunday Story, Bangalore housing, Muslims housing, Muslims accommodation, social discrimination, Bangalore real estate
In the last 30 years, his firm has helped thousands of people find properties of their choice. He is one of the biggest names in the highly competitive real estate industry of Bangalore. Fardeen Ahmed (name changed) is equally well known as a philanthropist who has associated himself with several progressive and secular causes. But then, in the summer of 2009, he was rudely reminded that his standing counts for little in a city where landlords hide their prejudice behind a mask of modernity. Ahmed was renovating his ancestral bungalow in Shivajinagar and wanted to move temporarily to a rented house. He wanted a house in a ‘respectable’ locality that suited his class. But to ‘respectable’ house owners, Ahmed and his family were just meat-eating Muslims. With an army of his own employees and all the financial resources at his command, it took Ahmed several months to find a house on rent that satisfied his sense of status. He is still recovering from his sense of ‘hurt.’ Dalit feminist Ruth Manorama was reminded of her identity less than a year after she was honoured with the Alternative Nobel Prize or Right Livelihood Award. In 2007, Ruth wanted to shift her office from Jayanagar 4th Block to a more spacious building a few metres away. “It was a large house owned by a seemingly nice, English-speaking, elderly Brahmin couple," she says. But they refused to give her the house on rent. "After the award, I had been featured all over the newspapers and it was well known that I am Dalit and Christian,” she says. The couple, retired scientists with a son working overseas, explained that they could not rent the house to a non-vegetarian. “I wanted the house for an office. It is not like I wanted to turn it into a Biriyani hotel,” she says, still smarting from the insult. Dalit poet and Chairman of the Kannada Book Authority Siddalingaiah had a similar experience in upper-caste and class dominated South Bangalore. “Because of my name, most house owners thought I was a [so-called upper caste] Lingayat. But my dark skin gave them doubts. They felt no shame in asking about my caste and I felt none in telling them that I am Dalit,” he says. The negotiations would quickly end after the house owners discovered his caste.“For many house owners, we are dog-eaters, prostitutes or drug addicts,” says an office-bearer of the Naga Students’ Union who did not wish to be quoted. During the ‘Justice for Richard Loitam’ campaign in April, hundreds of students from the North-East took to the streets alleging that Richard was the victim of a hate crime. Several agitators had told The Hindu that they are treated as foreigners in Bangalore. Most complained they could not find a house on rent.Bangalore’s real-estate industry has several prominent Muslim names. All of them denied the existence of an apartheid-like system when The Hindu spoke to them. None wished to be quoted on the controversial subject.Seven Raj, the proprietor of the well known Sevenraj Estate Agency, says, “These things are very much there. But as far as possible, I don’t do business with communal-minded people.”“I don’t have a religion and I don’t ask my clients theirs,” he says. According to him, the most guarded areas in the city are also those endowed with the best infrastructure. House owners in Jayanagar, Basavangudi, Malleshwaram, Sadashivnagar, Indiranagar, Rajajinagar, Upper Palace Orchards, Koramangala and J.P. Nagar hold some of the worst prejudices, says Seven Raj. “In these localities, neighbours gang up against an owner who dares to rent his house out to somebody from a lower caste or a minority community,” says M. Paari, a former Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike Corporator. Paari feels that much of the blame for segregation should go to agencies such as the Bangalore Development Authority. “A caste-wise survey of some of the residential layouts formed by the BDA will show that all the prime plots have gone to upper-caste applicants. Dalits and Muslims get allotments only in EWS (Economically Weaker Section) colonies,” he says. Paari’s claims of segregation are borne out by a study conducted by the NGO Jana Sahayog in 2004-05 titled ‘Anthropological Study of Slums in Bangalore.’ Isaac Arul Selva says, “Eighty-five per cent of Kannada-speaking slum residents were from the so-called untouchable communities. Sixty-five per cent of non-Kannada speaking residents were from communities considered untouchable.”The property and real estate sections of free advertisement-only newspapers offer the best insight. Most advertisements titled ‘for vegetarians only’ were from areas such as Jayanagar, Basavangudi and Malleshwaram. The true meaning of ‘vegetarian only’ emerged when this reporter contacted some of these owners. “This is a Brahmin layout. We do not want any SC/STs,” said a woman before slamming the phone. “No Kashmiri Muslims. Other Muslims are ok,” said one owner from HRBR Layout. Another owner from HSR Layout said, “We don’t mind Muslims but we want only clean Muslims.” Lawyer Byatha N. Jagdeesha says, “Vegetarian only is just the code to say Brahmins only. If they put out what they actually mean, they can be booked under the Indian Penal Code and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.”Keywords: Sunday Story, Bangalore housing, Muslims housing, Muslims accommodation, social discrimination, Bangalore real estate
The Hindu's investigative reporting on housing bias in major cities
Mumbai---
In Mumbai, a ‘no rent, no sale’ policy
In Mumbai, a ‘no rent, no sale’ policy
What’s in a name? Ask a Muslim buying or renting property in the city that never sleeps. Mumbai, which prides itself on its cosmopolitan character, is divided on religion, food habits and language.
When radio jockey Yunus Khan wanted a house in Gorai in suburban Mumbai, he was told it was a “Sena type” area — a reference to the saffron political party Shiv Sena.“Agents told us it was not possible to get a flat in Gorai,” Mr. Khan told The Hindu. “They said Muslims are not preferred. I am married to a Hindu woman. So they suggested purchasing a flat in my wife’s name. But living anonymously is not possible. Letters and bank statements will be in my name.”Mr. Khan’s brother faced the same problem, while looking for rental accommodation in suburban Kandivali’s Charkop area.What’s in a name? Ask a Muslim buying or renting property in the city that never sleeps. Mumbai, which prides itself on its cosmopolitan character, is divided on religion, food habits and language.A “few locations of south Mumbai like Walkeshwar, Malabar Hill, Peddar Road, Breach Candy; western suburbs like Vile Parle, Bandra, Borivali, Kandivli and eastern suburbs like Ghatkopar, Sion and Mulund are out of bounds for Muslims,” says Mehul Ved from Ace Realtors, member of South Metrocity Association of Realtors.“Walkeshwar is totally out for Muslims, except perhaps a few buildings,” said Sanjay Mundra, a south Mumbai realtor in premium housing. “People are refusing to rent or sell houses to Muslims all over the city,” remarked another agent. “I have had dealings in Juhu, Bandra, Peddar Road and Colaba. Around 95 per cent of owners flatly refuse Muslims. They give excuses: a flat is not empty or relatives are coming.”In Walkeshwar particularly, the unwritten code of barring not just Muslims, but non-vegetarians is rigid. The vegetarian-non-vegetarian divide is “a big issue,” say property agents. “You can’t rent a shop or start a pizza outlet for non-vegetarian fare. On a couple of occasions, the neighbouring shops put up a board urging customers to boycott the shop. It’s difficult to survive,” Mr. Mundra said. Speaking of Muslims as “that community,” he said, “They dress in a certain way. If there are three or four burqua-clad women in a lift, it gets uncomfortable. I am not against any community, but certain communities are rough. They are not concerned about etiquette or hygiene. The [discomfort] is psychological. They can have three or four wives and a lot of children. It can get very crowded and noisy.” Mixed marriages too raise the hackles. Housing societies object to Muslims staying in the homes of their non-Muslim spouses. There is a perception that the Muslim upper crust is “less radical.”However, unable to draw a line, these societies refuse all Muslims. In 2009, Hindi film actor Emraan Hashmi protested the alleged refusal of a housing colony in Mumbai’s plush Pali Hill locality to give him a flat.He complained to the Maharashtra State Minorities Commission. “Many societies,” said Mr. Ved, “have a by-law that [mandates] a seller or lessor to check with the society before planning to sell or lease to a potential Muslim buyer.Dr. Zeenat Shaukat Ali, Professor of Islamic Studies at Mumbai’s premier St. Xavier's College, wanted to buy a house in 2005-06 in Pali Hill, Bandra. “Not one, but many agents told me Pali Hill is restricted. I was shocked. My children are very secular. I found that many localities are out of bounds for Muslims,” she said. Terror attacks have compounded biases, leading to their being further demonised. The 1992-93 communal riots, which saw large-scale movement of Muslims to ghettos, were a watershed. The entire area of Mumbra in Thane district was formed after these riots. Mumbra, Govandi, Bandra (East), Nagpada, Bhendi Bazaar, Zhaveri Bazaar and Mahim, to some degree, are well-known as Muslim pockets. Although such discrimination is rampant, no Muslim wants to come forward to file an official complaint, said Naseem Siddiqui, the Commission’s former chairman. He even endorsed segregation to avoid disputes. “I have myself told Muslims to find places in Muslim localities.”Gujarati and Marwari home owners are known to exclude Muslims on the basis of food habits.The Hindu called an agent in the Gujarati-dominated area of Santa Cruz. When told that a Muslim tenant was looking for a place, he said, “Then I will have to find out. I will check if the society owner is comfortable. Otherwise, [the tenant] would have to go to a Muslim area.”Keywords: Sunday Story, Mumbai housing, Mumbai accommodation, Mumbai house on rent, Muslims housing, Muslims accommodation, social discrimination
When radio jockey Yunus Khan wanted a house in Gorai in suburban Mumbai, he was told it was a “Sena type” area — a reference to the saffron political party Shiv Sena.“Agents told us it was not possible to get a flat in Gorai,” Mr. Khan told The Hindu. “They said Muslims are not preferred. I am married to a Hindu woman. So they suggested purchasing a flat in my wife’s name. But living anonymously is not possible. Letters and bank statements will be in my name.”Mr. Khan’s brother faced the same problem, while looking for rental accommodation in suburban Kandivali’s Charkop area.What’s in a name? Ask a Muslim buying or renting property in the city that never sleeps. Mumbai, which prides itself on its cosmopolitan character, is divided on religion, food habits and language.A “few locations of south Mumbai like Walkeshwar, Malabar Hill, Peddar Road, Breach Candy; western suburbs like Vile Parle, Bandra, Borivali, Kandivli and eastern suburbs like Ghatkopar, Sion and Mulund are out of bounds for Muslims,” says Mehul Ved from Ace Realtors, member of South Metrocity Association of Realtors.“Walkeshwar is totally out for Muslims, except perhaps a few buildings,” said Sanjay Mundra, a south Mumbai realtor in premium housing. “People are refusing to rent or sell houses to Muslims all over the city,” remarked another agent. “I have had dealings in Juhu, Bandra, Peddar Road and Colaba. Around 95 per cent of owners flatly refuse Muslims. They give excuses: a flat is not empty or relatives are coming.”In Walkeshwar particularly, the unwritten code of barring not just Muslims, but non-vegetarians is rigid. The vegetarian-non-vegetarian divide is “a big issue,” say property agents. “You can’t rent a shop or start a pizza outlet for non-vegetarian fare. On a couple of occasions, the neighbouring shops put up a board urging customers to boycott the shop. It’s difficult to survive,” Mr. Mundra said. Speaking of Muslims as “that community,” he said, “They dress in a certain way. If there are three or four burqua-clad women in a lift, it gets uncomfortable. I am not against any community, but certain communities are rough. They are not concerned about etiquette or hygiene. The [discomfort] is psychological. They can have three or four wives and a lot of children. It can get very crowded and noisy.” Mixed marriages too raise the hackles. Housing societies object to Muslims staying in the homes of their non-Muslim spouses. There is a perception that the Muslim upper crust is “less radical.”However, unable to draw a line, these societies refuse all Muslims. In 2009, Hindi film actor Emraan Hashmi protested the alleged refusal of a housing colony in Mumbai’s plush Pali Hill locality to give him a flat.He complained to the Maharashtra State Minorities Commission. “Many societies,” said Mr. Ved, “have a by-law that [mandates] a seller or lessor to check with the society before planning to sell or lease to a potential Muslim buyer.Dr. Zeenat Shaukat Ali, Professor of Islamic Studies at Mumbai’s premier St. Xavier's College, wanted to buy a house in 2005-06 in Pali Hill, Bandra. “Not one, but many agents told me Pali Hill is restricted. I was shocked. My children are very secular. I found that many localities are out of bounds for Muslims,” she said. Terror attacks have compounded biases, leading to their being further demonised. The 1992-93 communal riots, which saw large-scale movement of Muslims to ghettos, were a watershed. The entire area of Mumbra in Thane district was formed after these riots. Mumbra, Govandi, Bandra (East), Nagpada, Bhendi Bazaar, Zhaveri Bazaar and Mahim, to some degree, are well-known as Muslim pockets. Although such discrimination is rampant, no Muslim wants to come forward to file an official complaint, said Naseem Siddiqui, the Commission’s former chairman. He even endorsed segregation to avoid disputes. “I have myself told Muslims to find places in Muslim localities.”Gujarati and Marwari home owners are known to exclude Muslims on the basis of food habits.The Hindu called an agent in the Gujarati-dominated area of Santa Cruz. When told that a Muslim tenant was looking for a place, he said, “Then I will have to find out. I will check if the society owner is comfortable. Otherwise, [the tenant] would have to go to a Muslim area.”Keywords: Sunday Story, Mumbai housing, Mumbai accommodation, Mumbai house on rent, Muslims housing, Muslims accommodation, social discrimination
The Hindu's investigative reporting on housing bias in major cities
Delhi---
House-hunting for a Muslim in Delhi can be a long and excruciating exercise?.
I shudder even now when I think of the incident of my husband, a media relations executive, being called a terrorist.Five years ago, in Dwarka?s Sabka Ghar Apartments here in the Capital, we were not able to get our favourite news channels on cable TV. My husband had been calling the cablewallah without much success. One day he tersely asked him what was preventing him from giving us the channels? The cablewallah shouted back, ?Chup be, terrorist! Bada aaya mujh par chillane wala (Shut up terrorist, dare you shout at me!).Shocked and hurt, my husband and I went to the Dwarka police station and met the Station House Officer. He called the cablewallah and asked him why he had used the label of terrorist. Was it our Muslim names? The remorseless response was, ?Sir, muh se nikal gaya (it was a slip of the tongue)?. The SHO made the man sit in the police station for almost the entire night and pacified us with the assurance that such ?elements? were everywhere. We left the place somewhat placated. But could we blame only the cablewallah? Our house hunting experience in Delhi and Noida confirmed that the educated class did not think any differently. In early 2007, Yusuf and I went house-hunting in Delhi and Noida. We looked at almost a hundred houses in all four Delhi zones -- South, West, East and North. We thought we were lucky to find a house in Greater Kailash-II, the posh South Delhi area with rich, educated inhabitants. It belonged to a former Mr. India. We paid a token amount and decided to shift some luggage. We went to receive the keys to the house, and to our shock found that the landlord had changed his mind. He wouldn?t even let us in. Instead he returned our money stating blandly, ?We have sold the house.?How can a house be sold in just three days, we asked, and wondered why he hadn?t informed us. He had no answers. I asked him bluntly, ?You don?t want us because we are Muslims, right?? He refused to answer my question. It was insulting, and we protested. In response, he asserted, ?My son is a former Mr. India with a lot of connections.? So instead, we had to be careful. South Delhi areas with dense Muslim populations are Okhla, Abul Fazal Enclave, Zakir Nagar and Batla House. They are typical ghettos. In East Delhi, areas like Laxmi Nagar and Darya Ganj in Central Delhi where Muslim population is thick, getting a good dwelling was extremely difficult because people, fed up with insecurity and exclusion elsewhere, finally come here. The houses are awfully expensive as a result. The landlords know Muslims prefer these areas, especially post-Babri demolition and Gujarat violence and rents have risen. And we, being educated Muslims, avoided living in ghettos. The search in Delhi yielded no results. So we headed for the National Capital Region. In Noida, people were openly prejudiced. Most of them seemed to think Muslims cook bombs in their kitchens. Others who didn?t want to be labelled ?non-secular?, hid their intentions behind ?we don?t want non-vegetarians? or ?late night entry at home?. We had almost finalised a house in Noida Sector 10 through a property dealer. It belonged to an old couple. We were ready with a month?s security and advance rent as the dealer advised. At the premises, we found another party talking to the landlord, negotiating a lower rent. The aged owners didn?t seem convinced, but also didn?t seem to know we were Muslims. The moment we revealed our religion, the old man?s wife rushed inside, and called her husband in. Ten minutes later they came back with some cash, apparently taken from the other party. The owner apologised saying, ?I am sorry?my wife had fixed it up with the other family and I didn?t know about it. You were late by just half an hour. We have otherwise no problems in keeping Muslims.? We could see he was lying. The property dealer too apologised. ?Sir, please don?t mind, Noida has reservations about Muslims.? Finally we got a house in Noida ? in Nithari village. It belonged to a retired Army officer. He warmly welcomed us and said (quite unnecessarily), ?We treat Muslims as our brothers and sisters.? But we refused it as the house was bang opposite the house where the killings of children had happened, and the house, on the top floor, overlooked the drain into which the bodies were thrown.Out of the blue, our non-Muslim friend, a former General Secretary of the Press Club of India, a freelancer with a Pakistani newspaper and with known sympathies towards Muslims, handed over the keys to his Dwarka house. He said Aligarh Muslim University, where he (and we) studied, taught him to love ?Mian bhais?. His unclean house was empty for four years, with no power and offered hard water. We didn?t want to go so far, but we had no choice. Living under the scanner made us uncomfortable. Meanwhile, the hard water made us think of moving. There are two Muslim-populated posh societies in East Delhi. Abul Fazal Apartment in Vasundhara Enclave and Punjabi Saudagar in Mayur Vihar. They are given only to ?educated, liberal and secular Muslims?. That?s why we were readily offered a house in Abul Fazal. We shifted from Dwarka. Living among the community has its pros and cons. Like it or not, you get into a sophisticated ghetto. When people know that you live in Abul ?Phajal? Apartment, their jaws drop. Some just can?t avoid muttering?ohhh Mussalman!? Abul Fazal Apartment is branded as a ?Mini Pakistan?. Cut to last year?s World Cup cricket matches.Abul Fazal Apartment with 99 per cent Muslims put up a huge plasma screen to watch the World Cup semi-finals against Pakistan and the finals. Drummers were brought in, women and children painted Tricolours on faces. At every Indian six or boundary, the drummer beat his drum, kids and big boys danced the bhangra and women would shout ?wooow!?. To a Pakistani six, the residents would shout, ?Out, out!? Residents of nearby Anekant and City housing gathered at our place, surprised and also happy at Muslims making merry at Indian cricketers? triumph.After India won the World Cup, laddoos and soft drinks were distributed at the society?s expense.Keywords: Sunday Story, Delhi accommodation, Delhi housing, Delhi house on rent, Muslims housing, social discrimination, Indian cities housing, Delhi real estate, Muslims accommodation
I shudder even now when I think of the incident of my husband, a media relations executive, being called a terrorist.Five years ago, in Dwarka?s Sabka Ghar Apartments here in the Capital, we were not able to get our favourite news channels on cable TV. My husband had been calling the cablewallah without much success. One day he tersely asked him what was preventing him from giving us the channels? The cablewallah shouted back, ?Chup be, terrorist! Bada aaya mujh par chillane wala (Shut up terrorist, dare you shout at me!).Shocked and hurt, my husband and I went to the Dwarka police station and met the Station House Officer. He called the cablewallah and asked him why he had used the label of terrorist. Was it our Muslim names? The remorseless response was, ?Sir, muh se nikal gaya (it was a slip of the tongue)?. The SHO made the man sit in the police station for almost the entire night and pacified us with the assurance that such ?elements? were everywhere. We left the place somewhat placated. But could we blame only the cablewallah? Our house hunting experience in Delhi and Noida confirmed that the educated class did not think any differently. In early 2007, Yusuf and I went house-hunting in Delhi and Noida. We looked at almost a hundred houses in all four Delhi zones -- South, West, East and North. We thought we were lucky to find a house in Greater Kailash-II, the posh South Delhi area with rich, educated inhabitants. It belonged to a former Mr. India. We paid a token amount and decided to shift some luggage. We went to receive the keys to the house, and to our shock found that the landlord had changed his mind. He wouldn?t even let us in. Instead he returned our money stating blandly, ?We have sold the house.?How can a house be sold in just three days, we asked, and wondered why he hadn?t informed us. He had no answers. I asked him bluntly, ?You don?t want us because we are Muslims, right?? He refused to answer my question. It was insulting, and we protested. In response, he asserted, ?My son is a former Mr. India with a lot of connections.? So instead, we had to be careful. South Delhi areas with dense Muslim populations are Okhla, Abul Fazal Enclave, Zakir Nagar and Batla House. They are typical ghettos. In East Delhi, areas like Laxmi Nagar and Darya Ganj in Central Delhi where Muslim population is thick, getting a good dwelling was extremely difficult because people, fed up with insecurity and exclusion elsewhere, finally come here. The houses are awfully expensive as a result. The landlords know Muslims prefer these areas, especially post-Babri demolition and Gujarat violence and rents have risen. And we, being educated Muslims, avoided living in ghettos. The search in Delhi yielded no results. So we headed for the National Capital Region. In Noida, people were openly prejudiced. Most of them seemed to think Muslims cook bombs in their kitchens. Others who didn?t want to be labelled ?non-secular?, hid their intentions behind ?we don?t want non-vegetarians? or ?late night entry at home?. We had almost finalised a house in Noida Sector 10 through a property dealer. It belonged to an old couple. We were ready with a month?s security and advance rent as the dealer advised. At the premises, we found another party talking to the landlord, negotiating a lower rent. The aged owners didn?t seem convinced, but also didn?t seem to know we were Muslims. The moment we revealed our religion, the old man?s wife rushed inside, and called her husband in. Ten minutes later they came back with some cash, apparently taken from the other party. The owner apologised saying, ?I am sorry?my wife had fixed it up with the other family and I didn?t know about it. You were late by just half an hour. We have otherwise no problems in keeping Muslims.? We could see he was lying. The property dealer too apologised. ?Sir, please don?t mind, Noida has reservations about Muslims.? Finally we got a house in Noida ? in Nithari village. It belonged to a retired Army officer. He warmly welcomed us and said (quite unnecessarily), ?We treat Muslims as our brothers and sisters.? But we refused it as the house was bang opposite the house where the killings of children had happened, and the house, on the top floor, overlooked the drain into which the bodies were thrown.Out of the blue, our non-Muslim friend, a former General Secretary of the Press Club of India, a freelancer with a Pakistani newspaper and with known sympathies towards Muslims, handed over the keys to his Dwarka house. He said Aligarh Muslim University, where he (and we) studied, taught him to love ?Mian bhais?. His unclean house was empty for four years, with no power and offered hard water. We didn?t want to go so far, but we had no choice. Living under the scanner made us uncomfortable. Meanwhile, the hard water made us think of moving. There are two Muslim-populated posh societies in East Delhi. Abul Fazal Apartment in Vasundhara Enclave and Punjabi Saudagar in Mayur Vihar. They are given only to ?educated, liberal and secular Muslims?. That?s why we were readily offered a house in Abul Fazal. We shifted from Dwarka. Living among the community has its pros and cons. Like it or not, you get into a sophisticated ghetto. When people know that you live in Abul ?Phajal? Apartment, their jaws drop. Some just can?t avoid muttering?ohhh Mussalman!? Abul Fazal Apartment is branded as a ?Mini Pakistan?. Cut to last year?s World Cup cricket matches.Abul Fazal Apartment with 99 per cent Muslims put up a huge plasma screen to watch the World Cup semi-finals against Pakistan and the finals. Drummers were brought in, women and children painted Tricolours on faces. At every Indian six or boundary, the drummer beat his drum, kids and big boys danced the bhangra and women would shout ?wooow!?. To a Pakistani six, the residents would shout, ?Out, out!? Residents of nearby Anekant and City housing gathered at our place, surprised and also happy at Muslims making merry at Indian cricketers? triumph.After India won the World Cup, laddoos and soft drinks were distributed at the society?s expense.Keywords: Sunday Story, Delhi accommodation, Delhi housing, Delhi house on rent, Muslims housing, social discrimination, Indian cities housing, Delhi real estate, Muslims accommodation
The Hindu's investigative reporting on housing bias in major cities
You can fix the infrastructure, clean up the air and water, maybe even address corruption but how do you fix the people????? Religion, caste, north-south...I don't know what is wrong with our people.
The Hindu's investigative reporting on housing bias in major cities
ashdoc;464468Chennai---
Chennai claims stronger secular credentialsIn areas like Rajiv Gandhi Salai (OMR), Thiruvanmiyur and Adyar, where the rent for a typical two-bedroom apartment is above Rs. 10,000 a month, religion did not matter. The owners were prepared to rent it out to anyone who was ready to pay.
WRONG. I tried it myself in Adyar. The broker asked me to say I am vegetarian. I refused. The first qn asked in a lot of places was whether I am vegetarian. The article is right in the sense my religion did not matter as I am a Hindu.
The Hindu's investigative reporting on housing bias in major cities
nyc2ncr;464483You can fix the infrastructure, clean up the air and water, maybe even address corruption but how do you fix the people????? Religion, caste, north-south...I don't know what is wrong with our people.
To analyze this we have to go back a few thousand yrs. Some of our religious books such as Gita pays too much importance to one's food habits and the impending doom if one violates the code in any form.
There is a clash between our ancient ethics and contemporary ethics. Older generation might feel it is ethical and rightful to preserve one's purity in choosing their environment.
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Old-Spice2
- Posts: 1898
- Joined: Wed Jan 17, 2007 11:38 pm
The Hindu's investigative reporting on housing bias in major cities
layman;464487WRONG. I tried it myself in Adyar. The broker asked me to say I am vegetarian. I refused. The first qn asked in a lot of places was whether I am vegetarian. The article is right in the sense my religion did not matter as I am a Hindu.
Non-vegetarian cooking smells, especially fish and seafood. Vegetarians may not like the smell if they live nearby. Many years back when I was hunting for a house in the Bay Area, I shortlisted a house. It was nice and fortunately the Chinese neighbor was cooking lunch when we were there. The smell was too much, like the smell you find in the microwave after a Chinese heats his lunch in the office. We moved on, can not live in that house with doors and windows locked.
My boss in the old company used to eat some Vietnamese food that used to smell. I first asked him not to eat in the cube and use the cafeteria. He did not listen, then I shot an email to HR. Different people have different tolerance level.
In Delhi it is difficult to get a house on rent if you are a North Indian. They prefer only Madraasis as they are weak and will not create trouble. All kind of bias exist in India. With Muslims people have added fear of terrorism. What if the person turn out to be like the students in Batla House? In Bangalore it is difficult for single women to find an apartment. Owners start thinking about, call girls and "dhanda" (profession). Common man is afraid of Police and court ka chakkar.
It has nothing to do with our ancient culture or Gita. Fix the Police and justice system, then everyone will come forward and cooperate.
The Hindu's investigative reporting on housing bias in major cities
Old-Spice2;464492
It has nothing to do with our ancient culture or Gita. Fix the Police and justice system, then everyone will come forward and cooperate.
My personal belief is this won't happen. We keep blaming the police, justice system, Govt for our shortcomings. While "the system" is certainly lacking in a large way, a large number of Indians have no sense of right or wrong, no ethical or moral center, which manifests itself in many ways, including the examples in this thread. Whatever happened to just being good and decent people.