In an interview to The Wire, prolific author and journalist Mr. Ziya Us Salam discussed the kind of discrimination that Muslims now face in India. He says, 'This is something we have not faced since 1947'.

Mr. Salam discusses his personal brushes with discrimination and how he believes that the existing social fabric is being torn apart by 'religious extremists espousing the cause of Hindutva'.

Furthermore, he talks about how Prime Minister Narendra Modi, by his statements during the anti-CAA/NRC protests, displayed to the world that he possesses 'blatant discrimination in his mind' regarding one particular community.

Calling the rise of younger leaders from the Indian Muslim community as 'heart-warming', Mr. Salam says that they 'are not ready to play the handmaiden of entrenched politicians' or to 'reiterate the usual platitudes'.

Speaking of reformation for the communities, Mr. Salam said that 'what Jinnah tried to do with Muslims is what Hindutva politicians are attempting to do with the majority community'.

When asked about the possibility of healing and reversing the polarisation in the society, Mr. Salam said that he remains hopeful. 'The roots of the Indian Society are too deep to be affected by one political dispensation,' he says.