India’s Muslims Still Bear the Brunt of Hindutva Chauvinism

Review of The Many Lives of Syeda X: The Story of an Unknown Indian by Neha Dixit (Juggernaut, 2024)

Neha Dixit’s book The Many Lives of Syeda X: The Story of an Unknown Indian is a cross between a novel and a historical account, based on interviews conducted by Dixit, an award-winning journalist, over several years.

The titular character is a real working-class Muslim woman living in Delhi, having migrated from the city of Banaras in the state of Uttar Pradesh (UP). Dixit charts the course of Syeda’s life up until 2020, as she navigates the rise of Hindu supremacy and a climate of increasing hostility toward Muslims in late-twentieth- and early-twenty-first-century North India.

Since its launch in Delhi this August, the book has caused a stir among Indian audiences. Dixit is known for her various investigations into atrocities and scandals involving the Hindutva right. She has long been a target of the clampdown on journalism under the rule of Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Her retelling of Syeda’s story is no less daring.

The title itself is indicative of the book’s nature, invoking a combination of universality and anonymity. Instantly we are told that this is not a novel, and yet readers will find themselves as engaged with the narrative as if they were reading a work of fiction. However, interspersed direct quotes from Syeda jolt us out of the narrative, serving as a powerful reminder that Dixit actually spoke to the people whose stories are at the heart of her book.

Neha Dixit…