ABSTRACT
Contrary to popular representation as a 'monolithic' community, Muslims in India are found to be divided on the basis of a number of factors of which caste, class, sect, language, region, and social status are the more significant ones. While the Muslim population of the neighbourhood can be divided into various sub-groups following many axes of difference, this chapter focuses primarily on those which are seen to have a more direct relevance on the structuring of everyday social relations among them. While sect-based difference is largely a matter of religious practice, Kolkata's Muslims are widely diverse in terms of their sectarian affiliations. The experience of urban life with its classic features of impersonality, anonymity, instrumentality, and heterogeneity seems to bear upon the Muslims of Park Circus in a more immediate and direct manner as compared to other Muslim pockets that occur on the fringes of the city or in its more gated quarters.
