Main Bhi Muslim (MBM), the storytelling-led podcast focuses on bringing to light the journeys of co-hosts, Mariyam Haider and Sabika Muzaffar as Indian Muslims. The final episode of 2020 was a wrap-up of Season 1, where Mariyam and Sabika discussed the key lessons that they learnt from creating and producing this podcast.

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The less than-25 minutes show offered a comprehensive overview of the understanding that public discourses could bring within the larger masses:

• Drawing inspiration from other public movements: The year 2020 witnessed the rise of strong and inclusive public discourses across the globe. Some of the most important ones were: Black Lives Matter, Dalit Lives Matter and the ongoing Indian Farmers’ Protests, that helped Main Bhi Muslim deliberate and reflect better on their conversations. Despite the pandemic’s constraints, these movements helped disseminate truth and knowledge and helped our podcast hosts employ social media better as communication tools. 

• Recognising the value of intersectionality: Main Bhi Muslim, through its conversations on experiences like having a Muslim name, searching for an apartment as a Muslim woman, maintaining inter-religious relationships, etc., recognised the importance of highlighting intersectionality as the foundation of secularism and diversity in a society. For Sabika and Mariyam, Main Bhi Muslim has been a way to better understand their Muslim identity, along with their gendered identity and other social identities that they live with. The episodes further reinstated the value of speaking about intersectionality in every discussion and keeping that as the lens while engaging in any conversation. 

• Creating more room for cross-collaboration and contribution: Main Bhi Muslim is a result of the collaborative efforts of two podcasters and throughout Season 1, they engaged with artists, other podcasters, listeners and followers to generate richer conversations. This eventually became the ethos of Main Bhi Muslim‘s engagement and the platform will continue to create more space for other artists and fellow podcasters to share their voices, opinions and understandings of being an Indian, a Muslim and everything else they stand for. 

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Main Bhi Muslim will return with its Season 2 in early 2021, with more conversations on the diversity within the Indian Muslim identity. While the podcast began as a response to the Citizenship Amendment Act, it hopes to keep public discussions alive on the multitudes of challenges, experiences and journeys that Indian Muslims live with in present day India and help erase the fears and insecurities surrounding the community.