The other IM – Integrated Muslim.

 Could Sony Entertainment Television have choreographed it? The first and last winners of the Rs 10 million booty this season of Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) both happen to be Muslims. And like with most KBC winners, Taj Mohammed Rangrez and Fatima Firoz do not seem to have any privileged background.

Do these winners represent a kind of Muslim? Did their achievement ride on the back of any patronage? Did KBC follow any system of reservations or scholarship to assist the duo to win? In the light of the ongoing political debate for Muslim reservations and preferential allotment of national resources to the community, this development comes loaded with a perspective. Let’s elaborate. 

Rangrez, 42, is a history teacher from Udaipur. His surname also suggests he might be from the OBC community. Fatima, 22, is a science student from Saharanpur who had to leave her studies midway due to financial constraints. She also lost her father, the sole bread winner, couple of years ago, leaving behind an all women family, an unpaid loan, and community ostracism.

It is not clear whether either of them is a product of the madrassa system, but what can be said with some certainty is that both must have gone through a very secular preparation for appearing on the show and to have performed to win. Rangrez in fact showcased his understanding of scriptures from multiple religions to audience applause. In case of Fatima, symbolism went the whole hog: her Rs 10 million question was about which Indian woman has scaled highest peaks of all continents across the world.

Do we get a sense then, of what these two Muslims represent? Does merit ring a bell? If yes, then are Rangrez and Fatima representative of something that can be posited as an ideal? If Indian Mujahideen is a certain kind of Muslim, do Rangrez and Fatima present an alternative? It can be abhorrently patronizing to point fingers, but even if partly, Muslims have to find some answers to their ills on their own, does the duo at least flag the direction?

The Sachar panel underscored that not all problems facing Muslims are perception issues; that there are definitely some real concerns that need attention and alleviation. But to make a limited point here, can the prescription be tweaked so as to instill a sense of self-respect among Muslims rather than promote a dependent psyche? Something that has had serious repercussions already in another segment of the Indian society. I shall come back to this issue soon with more.