HOUSING APARTHEID People from around the country looking for rental housing find the fast-growing city more welcoming, but non-vegetarians have fewer choices
This is a city of tenants - more than half of the population lives in rented houses. And every year, about 15,000 new migrants arrive and look for places to live. The city has been broadly accommodative. Religion has not been a major barrier, but rent does matter. However, food preferences could make or break a deal. A prospective tenant often faces the question, ‘what are you, veg or non-veg?’ In the land of curd rice, vegetarians have it easy.
A correspondent from this paper, posing as a prospective Muslim tenant, called a few house owners. In areas like Rajiv Gandhi Salai (OMR), Thiruvanmiyur and Adyar, where the rent for a typical two-bedroom apartment is above Rs. 10,000 a month, religion did not matter. The owners were prepared to rent it out to anyone who was ready to pay. But in areas such as Ambattur or Arumbakkam, which fetch relatively low rents, a few owners were a little reluctant. In their opinion, ‘Muslims consumed non-vegetarian food everyday’ and they did not, therefore, want to let out the house to them.
Such cases are few and far between, said R.V. Loganathan, a real estate agent who operates in Central and North Chennai. Muthukadu Rajesh, an experienced house broker in South Chennai, also has similar observations.
“I have been a broker for more than a decade and I have seen at the most four or five cases where Muslims and Christians were denied houses. But this is primarily because they are non-vegetarians.”
Faiza Moumin, a media professional, who has lived in three apartments in Chennai before she moved to Kerala, found it difficult to get a house five years ago. But her recent experience was better. “Earlier I have been refused apartments because I was a non-vegetarian, and it is not uncommon. Being a single woman added to the problem. But things have changed now,” she recalled.
Like Faiza, Fazul Ahmed who owns a mobile phone showroom, found it difficult to rent a house because many apartments were predominantly inhabited by “vegetarians”.
Reluctance to let out houses to non-vegetarians has affected non-Muslims too.
Sneha (name changed) and her family, who live in a semi-independent house in upmarket Raja Annamalaipuram, had to give up cooking non-vegetarian food to retain her rented house. “It took us over three months to find this place. The house owner insisted that we should not cook non-vegetarian food. We did not want to let go of this house. Hence, we gave up cooking non-vegetarian food. Now, we either eat out or bring food home when the owner who lives downstairs is not in town,” she said.
In recent years, Chennai has been playing host to many people from North-Eastern states who work in beauty parlours, restaurants and so on. Their experiences have been reassuring. G. Pratima and six of her friends, who come from a small town on the West Bengal-Bhutan border, did not face any difficulty in finding a house in Nanganallur. With some help from their employers, they have settled in this neighbourhood. “Idli, sambar, chappatis and rasam are our staple food. We can speak Tamil too. At times we cook chicken and so far there has not been any issue,” Monica said. “Neighbours and the landlord are friendly, and we too prefer to keep to ourselves,” she added.
Zubair Ahmed, an auto driver, added a note of caution. “All is not well with Chennai. A few of us have had bitter experiences,” he said.
“In the last thirty years, I have rented many houses owned by Hindus. But that was after a long search. Some house owners told me that I am a non-vegetarian, would not keep the house clean, and avoided me as a tenant. I vividly remember an incident when a house owner in Kodambakkam said that in the past, Muslim terrorists used to live in the neighbourhood. Hence he feared renting out his house to a Muslim even now. His prejudice was humiliating.”
A.Srivathsan, Asha Sridhar and Sunitha Sekar contributed to this report.
Keywords: Sunday Story, Chennai housing, Chennai accommodation, Muslims housing, Muslim tenants, social discrimination, Chennai real estate, Chennai rental accommodation, Indian cities housing
@Syed - well said! Agree with your comments 100%
It's one thing to ask your tenants to maintain basic hygiene and cleanliness, but a different thing to impose dietary restrictions on them. Yes, it's easy to say "my house, my rules", but try to put yourself in the other person's shoes and think about how you'd feel if someone tried to impose restrictions on something as basic and vital as what food you are allowed to eat. You may not be legally wrong in imposing such a rule, but you should worry about being morally right.
Here in Chennai based on religion you will hardly see any biased views. The talk is more about veg/non veg. So taking discussion on religion route is not fair. Admins should not allow comments that harms secularism.
I a vegetarian (a staunch one) I do not compel anyone not to eat non-veg but do prefer that it does not happen inside my privately owned space. It is my fundamental right. So to question my secular credentials based on my personal choice for a private space owned by me is utterly wrong. Owners of a house in Hosur refused to let out their house to us on the ground that they did not want to commit sin by taking money from us and using it for their non-veg life style. So should I claim that they are biased against my caste. ..... No it is their private space and personal choice. When flats can be denied to bachelors (bias against letting out to this class is prevalent irrespective of caste or religion), pet owners (bias against letting out to this class is prevalent irrespective of caste or religion... more so it is exercised by people of one religion)....why cannot I exercise my option to let it out only to Vegetarians without my secular credentials being questioned.
part 3
My Indian and Global experience is vast. I fully stand by my
observations with respect to the advantages of living in residential
communities that share lifestyles and practices. (for eg, I had a
tough time living in a rented house in Udaipur where I could not cook
non-vegetarian food. If I had lived elsewhere, I would have been
happier)
We all happily spend time in office and with friends in multi-
religious, multi-ethnic, multi-national, and multi-cultural
environments quite happily. We do not have to unnecessarily bring
such things to your bed-side where the differences will end up being
resentful and bitter for many.
part 2
The news article touched upon an interesting fact – when it said that
a Muslim gentleman wanted to live in a locality befitting his ‘class’.
Why can’t he live anywhere else and prove his socialistic credential?
Let’s face the hard facts. Choosing a neighborhood is extremely
important for everyone. For example, No affluent person will want to
live by the slums. When the article so elaborately talks about
discrimination against Muslims, is it acceptable to have a rich-poor
divide?
In fact ‘ghetto’ living of Muslims, in particular helps only the
communal parties such as Congress, Muslim League, MIM, etc., who will
benefit from religious dominance in that assembly or parliamentary
constituency. These parties will lose that advantage if these ghettos
disappear.
part 1
@SKA: Thank you.
@shameem: Please go through so many advertisements published
regularly in newspapers that blatantly say “Only for Christians” and
“Only for Practising Muslims” etc., particularly in Kerala. You may
also check out some property websites. I have seen plenty such ads.
@sammyk, @syed and @Rajamani: Over 40 years, I have been fortunate to
have seen and lived in many parts of India (Bhopal, Indore, Udaipur,
Hyderabad, New Delhi and of course Chennai) as well as a few cities in
the USA and London; and a few years in the Middle East (UAE and Oman).
While I have managed to live in multi-cultural environments in USA and
London quite comfortably – it is due to clear laws, rules and
regulations of those governments. For example, no religious sermons (irrespective of the religion) on loudspeakers
are allowed in residential areas.
Try bursting a cracker in your backyard, you will end up in prison
real quick.
@kvijayan
Probably You might have made this comment in a lighter vein. In the predominantly Muslim Middle East, India is called "HIND" and all Indian citizens whether Hindu, Muslim, Christian or Sikh are called "HINDI". It denotes geography rather than religion. As You very well know Sir, communalism is in the heart, not in the name.
Based on inputs from some house-seekers and house-owners from a few cities around the country , Chennai has been certified very secular by "The Hindu" (which still has not found it necessary to change its "communal" sounding name).
I read the articles on all the cities and I beg to differ with the authors for singling out Chennai as a tolerant city. In 2010, I had was hunting for a rental house in Adyar, Thiruvanmyur and had faced quiet a bit of discrimination on account of being a Christian. On calling adverstisers, I have had people backing out the moment I declare my name. I have had brokers telling me "Oh sorry, they will give the house only to Brahmins!". I have even seen rental ads which openly asks only Brahimins to call. And of course the oft repeated complaint of being a non vegeterian - which I feel is a clever way of disgusing discrimination. I spend 3 months to find a Christian landlord who agreed to rent his house to a meat loving tenant. Well, to sum up I agree that Chennai does not discriminate on religion, but something far worse - CASTE!
I don't agree with the comments of Govind. There is everything wrong with having 'zones' - as it builds ghettos and sometimes sophisticated 'ghettos' of people of one communities. If a city which is getting very globalized really needs to transform into cosmpolitan city ....then it needs to move away from these ghettos. If for example somebody from the northeast were to come down to Chennai and live here ....they would find it a big challenge with communities denying them entry because of their food habits. The culture of accepting somebody into your house as a tenent - without expecting them to be different from what they already are - is what reflects true inclusiveness. Same goes for the tenants as well - and they cannot expect the landlord to 'change' things in the house - because of the religious beliefs of the tenant. The landlord should accept the tenant for what they are and the tenant should accept the house for what it is.
Ok. How Curd,milk or Ghee can be a vegetarian food?
It is not from vegetable origin. It is purely from the animals.
So, a genuine vegetarian cannot have dairy products.
Anatomically human beings have capablity to chew and digest animal meat. If you further analyse, we never think about eating vegetables since they too have lives. The only difference animals are movavble while the plants and trees are not. At the end man must starve to death.
Govind
World has become a "global village" it is obvious that you are an
educated man, so let me ask you a question, how many of your relatives
are living in the west? Just imagine the westerners refusing to rent
their properties based on the ethnic background, smell, social habits
etc. Be tolerant especially when you apply for that coveted H1B visa at
the US embassy
In one line its like a "No Smoking Area",I think this article was
prepared by some rookies to create sensation.They just want to see some
opposing comments..Its a politician idea to become popular.
That is the reason they highlighted Muslim's everywhere in the article.
I take strong exception to the implied insinuation in this article that "vegetarians only" INVARIABLY constitutes an expression of "prejudice" against some of our fellow human beings. It is utter nonsense. For many of us, insistence on "no meat on our premises," be it rented as a home or office, is a statement of our non-negotiable opposition to the extreme prejudice against animals that is reflected in killing them to eat their bodies. The contributors to this article should learn from, or at least learn to understand, the vast number of humane human beings of all faiths* (or no faith at all) who abhor the consumption of meat. (*...including scores of Muslims, Christians, Dalits of various faiths...)
"kollAn pulAl maruttAnai kai tUkki ellA uyirum tozhum" - tiruvaLLuvar
Kudos and cheers to Chennai house / flat owners. Religion,caste,language,eating habit etc
have not deterred from renting out a room.I like Chennai for it's cosmopolitan
nature,peace,safety to a large extent,good work culture,no bundh/ strike,no road block
etc.There are a plenty of temples/churches.Every income group can live.educational
institutions are plenty.Health care centres are nearby.Marina beach for strolling morning Nd
evening,weather fine during morning Nd evening except peak summer,good transport
facility,Chennai is a model city.What bothers me are garbages every where,very badly
maintained interior roads,poor salty underground water and environmental pollution.Once
the negatives are minimized,Chennai is the visitors paradise with it's culture,food and nice
people.
Some 20 years back I shared a twin house in a remote place in Ramnad district with a muslim friend.I was an engineer in state government and an orthadox brahmin My neibhour is a police officer.Our wives were very good friends.The muslim lady will not open her rear door when she cooks non veg.so as to avoid embrassment to us.But all other times our children were in either of our houses.When I moved first on transfer their family wept like my sister and their children.In my opinion separation in chennai where flats are very closer based on food habits is not to be fault with.
I would not make a vague claim. But one of our learned person has mentioned that two men from the ship of Noah descended to Tamil Nadu and
they preached the concept of oneness of God , and until this day we do
not find any hatred between the Hindus and Muslims in TN. A miracle
indeed.
I do really think that these people should learn from Kerala and western countries where they give space to others to follow their own religion. None of them even botherd to ask the food habits and relegion. These remains the person preferece of individual who has liberty to follow what they want. It is more alaming that this much number of people are supporting these kinds of discrimnation rather than socializing wiht every body irrespective of cast, creed and food habits n so on
@Govind. Being a Muslim here, I apologize for the mindless actions of those from my community. On my part here, I live abroad and have a couple of properties in Chennai. Almost all my tenants are Hindus or from other faiths. I have had any problem on the basis of religion here with my tenants and my agent is a Hindu at Chennai, who is also a good friend for many years now.
To respect other people's faith is paramount here. The broad mind set of the people of Tamil Nadu is an example to our country, if seen other communities from North India have spread across the state and are flourishing. @Ravi Kumar~the marriage occasions of every community is unique. Muslim marriages are held in mosque as per our religious guidance. The concept of having a feast in a marriage is well mannered and organised. Its regrettable such stray incidents cause a big damage to Muslims. I hope this become an eye opener to all.
There very point is that tolerance of chennai. as readers ( PG R )see different perspective on their views, it should not be pointed out that only muslims are non-veg. if the 8% of the population creates the unhygenic culture, i think this shows the reader's biased mind state and pre notional attitude without facts and figures.
who is responsible for the fry shops near tasmac, dont say muslims and christians, it is the other 85% people. if you are a chennaite, have you ever enjoyed the morning walk near palawakkam beach, you will never ever do it for your hygenic attitude and dont claim its because of the 8% population. Its very easy to point with baseless points.
the article states the present trend of the city not of the hatered, if you have grudges for someone express it gently.
Its rubbish to talk about eating habits of other communities and keep that as a reason for not renting premises, no Indian community can claim to have clean habits,if that's true Ganges will be crystal clear excepting for the sins that we wash in that. Chennai has always been quite accommodating to all communities, that's part of the Tamilian trait, and also because of keeping away the religious political outfits, this is because of the firm hold of Dravidian parties, things will go haywire as Chennaiites are no goody goodies by any means, Police arrangements for Ganesh festival are a classic example of our intolerance towards other communities.
Hello Govind,
Have you ever venture outside India? Whether you are vegetarian or not, people with
different culture live happily together without any issue.
Imagine you go to middle east or America and people do not rent you a apartment/house
since you only eat y vegetarian, how would you feel?
I agree that you have the right to ask them to keep the property clean but rejecting based
on what they eat or believe or look is not right anywhere in the world.
Hope you get my point.
Thanks a lot for The Hindu for creating awareness.
In CHENNAI -
When I was open to rent out my house to anyone from any religion, a
Muslim gentleman came with this wife to see our place. The first thing
they said is that they want to break and remove the "Pillaiyar"
sculpted and fixed on our external wall. Should I be enthusiastic to
accept that?
Hindus cannot get any housing in Muslim dominated areas either. Jains
will not allow non-vegetarians in their communities. So what - what is
wrong in having preferences on where and how one wants to live. The
segregation makes perfect sense; as this helps in being comfortable in
their own 'zones'.
People living in communities with their own 'clan' do not bother others
who may have certain objections on others' way of living; and it is
vice-versa too.
Don't waste your time putting these type of articles.
Way to go,Chennai !!!Shame on the other cities.
A highly exaggerated report. In my home town, long years back, agrahaaram
houses were rented out to Muslims and regardless of their food habits,
people have been living peacefully pursuing their own religious
practices without let or hindrance.
Who owns the house? The owner or the tenant? Owners have the freedom to
choose their tenants for reasons of compatibility. If a boy or girl choosing a
spouse on the basis of compatibility is not a crime, how is it a crime for a house
owner to do the same? Doesn't the owner consider whether a tenant is rich or
poor to assess his ability to pay rent? If this is not a crime, how is a vegetarian
choosing only a vegetarian as a tenant a crime? What has secularism to do with
renting? Ridiculous concepts.
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