By: Karan Thapar Published in: *The Wire*Date: May 11, 2026 Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je6dvjKWrnA *Note*: The transcript is embedded in the source. "The former Lieutenant Governor of Delhi who is also a former Vice Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia says Muslims are in danger of becoming second class citizens. They’re in a very grave situation.
Asked if Indian Muslims have become second class citizens in their own country, Najeeb Jung said: 'They’re knocking on the doors of being second class citizens by the way they’re being treated by the state … yes, I think they will be in deep trouble. That is on the anvil. Today they’re in a very very grave situation.' This is how Najeeb Jung described the situation Indian Muslims find themselves in today: 'A minority in the backyard at the moment, a minority that is ill-treated, a minority that doesn’t find a place in the Indian horizon at the moment. And it’s hurting. Where it will go, I cannot say. But it requires introspection from everyone. Right now it’s only the liberal society that is concerned about it … and that is going to be disastrous for us.' In the interview, Najeeb Jung also spoke about the elections held in Bengal and Assam where, though 27% and 34% of the respective population is Muslim, the BJP did not field a single Muslim candidate. Dr. Jung also addressed the fact that for the first time since independence the Central government doesn’t have a single Muslim minister and the BJP doesn’t have a single elected Muslim MP in Parliament. Once upon a time India had Muslim presidents, vice-presidents, Home and External Affairs ministers and occasionally heads of armed forces and intelligence agencies. Today no Indian state has a Muslim chief minister, several don’t even have Muslim ministers. We have just one Muslim governor, one Muslim central government secretary out of 100 and one Muslim Supreme Court judge out of 32. Does this suggest Muslims are being squeezed out of the public life of the country? I will leave you to hear the interview to find out Najeeb Jung’s answer. Yet Muslims are 15% of the population and probably number 200 million. That’s a very sizeable number. How do Muslims view this outcome where their votes don’t matter to the ruling party, their participation in public life has sharply shrunk and they’re relegated to the opposition, who itself is shy of championing Muslim causes for fear of alienating Hindu voters? Again, I will leave you to hear the interview to find out Najeeb Jung’s answer."
