Social Exclusion among Muslims: A Case Study of Aligarh Lock Industry

Abstract

This paper examines social exclusion among Muslims in Aligarh Lock Industry. Social exclusion has been defined as a process by which Muslims are deprived or denied access to satisfy their basic needs. It is also extended to education, employment, and health. Eighty per cent of Muslims in Aligarh are engaged in the lock industry. Majority of them are ajlaf. However, due to globalization, the lock industry is undergoing change. Products based on new technology, which is capital-intensive in an organized sector (as opposed to labour-intensive in an unorganized sector) are flooded with products at very low cost than the traditional Aligarh products. Consequently, the lock industry workers are either getting low wages against their work or losing jobs due to stiff competition in the market. This kind of market regulation is adversely affecting the marginalized section of the society. The lock industry of Aligarh is under tremendous threat from the Chinese locks. Artisans and small-scale entrepreneurs especially Muslims are not in a position to compete in the competitive market. The present state of the Muslim artisans and small-scale industry appear to be bleak and their future is uncertain. Many have discontinued sending their children to schools. On the contrary, they have started sending their children to work in the lock industry due to impoverishment and poverty. If adequate measures are not taken by the government to protect the interests of the Muslim Lock workers especially in the unorganized Lock Industry, thousands of skilled and semi-skilled workers and small entrepreneurs who are ajlafs will be reduced to the level of casual workers.