ABSTRACT
Mubarakpur is a qasba/small town located in the administrative district of Azamgarh, eastern Uttar Pradesh. To the outside world, Mubarakpur is a ‘Muslim area’. Administratively, the area of Mubarakpur came under the suzerainty of the British East India Company much earlier as compared with other areas of United Provinces. Muslims therefore, have had a substantial presence in the history of the qasba. Among Muslims, it has been the weavers who have always been the numerical majority and have given this qasba an identity of its own. The qasba, therefore, finds itself in a piquant situation where girls are more educated than boys and the difference in numbers is rising. Education has raised the expectation of girls also and they demand grooms commensurate to their educational qualifications. The Muslim qasba is therefore not just about mosques and madrasas but carries within itself various other stories; stories which are the common heritage of most ordinary Indians.
