I'm just a visitor here, but I can believe that Indian Muslims may have a raw deal in some areas.
In professional Mumbai or Delhi society, no one seems to care much. You are a banker, a lawyer or a programmer. For the most part, you get your job or start your business via your own professional connections. Personal and professional life is separated very much like it is in the west.
Outside of this fairly narrow circle, family/family friends/clannish identity is more or less merged with your professional identity. Want to start a business? There is a good chance you share a last name with your investors and business partners. Want a bank loan? Better be connected to the loan officer. It's also helpful if you are connected to the various government workers who's permission you will need to start your business [1], and you'll get better service if your supplier is your second cousin.
The value of your network is a superlinear function of it's size. If Muslims have a smaller network, they are probably disadvantaged.
[1] I recently met a guy who wanted to start a business selling eye tracking devices. He scrapped the idea because he needed 34 licenses.
Not always. I saw some long article about how outsiders can do better, when you need to be tough. Jews in Europe could lend money, and they would be able to put on their "bankers hat" much easier when they needed to collect debts. There were anecdotes of Chinese-Malays, who would wear Malay clothes when socializing, and traditional Chinese clothes when they were collecting debts; so that their debtors knew not to expect any sympathy.
A well-cultivated network might be valuable, but most people's extended social networks have a lot of deadwood.
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I'm just a visitor here, but I can believe that Indian Muslims may have a raw deal in some areas.
In professional Mumbai or Delhi society, no one seems to care much. You are a banker, a lawyer or a programmer. For the most part, you get your job or start your business via your own professional connections. Personal and professional life is separated very much like it is in the west.
Outside of this fairly narrow circle, family/family friends/clannish identity is more or less merged with your professional identity. Want to start a business? There is a good chance you share a last name with your investors and business partners. Want a bank loan? Better be connected to the loan officer. It's also helpful if you are connected to the various government workers who's permission you will need to start your business [1], and you'll get better service if your supplier is your second cousin.
The value of your network is a superlinear function of it's size. If Muslims have a smaller network, they are probably disadvantaged.
[1] I recently met a guy who wanted to start a business selling eye tracking devices. He scrapped the idea because he needed 34 licenses.
Not always. I saw some long article about how outsiders can do better, when you need to be tough. Jews in Europe could lend money, and they would be able to put on their "bankers hat" much easier when they needed to collect debts. There were anecdotes of Chinese-Malays, who would wear Malay clothes when socializing, and traditional Chinese clothes when they were collecting debts; so that their debtors knew not to expect any sympathy.
A well-cultivated network might be valuable, but most people's extended social networks have a lot of deadwood.