‘I Failed to Work Hard’: Reasons for Secondary School Dropout among Muslim Men in Delhi

Abstract

This article aims to understand the reasons and experiences which contribute to dropout among Muslims in India at the secondary school level (grades IX–XII). The focus of this article is low-income Muslim men, who have left school at the secondary level, in a predominantly Muslim neighbourhood of Jamia Nagar, Delhi. The context of this article is set by the seminal Sachar Committee Report which highlights the educational disadvantages of Muslims, categorising their school dropout rates as ‘worrisome’. The findings of this article are partially consistent with previous research. In the final instance, the Muslim men in Jamia Nagar linked their school leaving to their personal failure: in terms of their inability to maintain interest in studies/failing to clear a grade. There was a strong value attached to hard work, which men felt they lacked, and this was cited as the reason for their personal failure in school. In the process of constructing this narrative, family experiences were downplayed. School experiences were singled out by men as not affecting their decision to drop out. Another striking finding of this study is the relationship between self-employment and the decision to drop out.

Understanding aspirations among Muslim youth in India through Sequential mixed-methods design

“…The importance of social networks in self-employment in Jamia Nagar for its youth respondents cannot however be dismissed. While one argument is that Muslims are pushed into self-employment due to their marginalisation and lack of other employment opportunities (Das, 2010;Mhaskar, 2018;Chambers, 2020;Salman 2020;2022), it is not the only one. Chambers' ethnography succulently captures the feeling of connectedness and optimism associated with self-employment for Muslims working in the wood industry in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh.…”

“…Initially the aspirations for professional employment were high among the men, despite them being from poor backgrounds and school dropouts. But eventually they were unable to realise these aspirations due to their socio-economic backwardness and settled for self-employment or low paid insecure jobs (Salman, 2020). The respondents were living in a deprived area within a large Muslim segregated neighbourhood (about which we will discuss shortly) and in a political climate where the rhetoric and policies have led to a systematic marginalization of Muslims.…”

“…My primary research site was the same segregated neighbourhood (Jamia Nagar) that was chosen for my MPhil. I also wanted to contrast their experiences with youth who were staying in non-segregated areas in Delhi, which is areas where Muslim residents are not in the majority, to bring out an exploratory work on the role of neighbourhoods and aspirations (see Salman, 2020; 2022).…”

Beyond Discrimination: Aspirations for Self-employment Among Muslim Youth in Delhi

“…Such discourse points towards a future with few uncertainties and where people are in control of their destiny. This has led to the somewhat unbridled faith in hard work and merit among Muslim youth (Salman 2020 ), although challenges to such a narrative are also documented (see Jeffrey et al 2008 ). The contestations to the discourse on discrimination presented in this paper are deeply seeped in this logic, whereby Muslim youth believe that they could ‘make it’ (McLeod 2009 ) with hard work.…”

“…Hashim, a youth from an impoverished background who worked as a labourer to support his family, was of the opinion that discrimination against Muslims was not a significant issue and any obstacle in the path of achievement can be overcome through hard work (see also, Salman 2020 ). Emphasizing on adequate guidance for youth from disadvantaged backgrounds, he cited his example, where he was helped throughout his educational career by leaders of an NGO.…”