| Home | About | Introduction | Achives | Ideas & Comments | Documents | Today's Events | Contact Us |
 |
 |
||||
| Syed Shahabuddin is a well known in the political and academic circles as well as in the mass media and does not need an introduction. In his many incarnations he has been a university teacher, a diplomat, who served as an ambassador and a government official who was at the time of his seeking pre-mature retirement, the Joint Secretary in charge of South East Asia, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific in the Ministry of External Affairs. He was a MP for three terms between 1979 and 1996 and made a mark as a Parliamentarian. He has edited Muslim India, the monthly journal of research, documentation and reference from 1983 to 2002 and again from July 2006. He has been a regular contributor on current affairs in the media and a familiar participant in seminars and TV discussions. He has been a member of many learned bodies and associated with several Muslim institutions and organizations. More... |
||||
|
||||
 |
On Building Yong Muslim Leadership from Grass-roots Not only from friends of the Muslim Community but within the Community itself, one always hears a litany of lament that the Muslim Community lacks leadership. This has a nugget of truth when leadership is identified with political status as it is normally done. But there is no lack of leadership in the theological domain or even in religious affairs in the field of education and to a lesser degree in the economic field. Apart from Muslim politicians, the Muslim society often turns towards its religious leaders for guidance. This creates the impression, which is rather mistaken that the Muslim society is basically in the hands of the Mullahs and practices, within the larger framework of democracy, a form of Mullahcracy! Considering that religious faith is the core element of Muslim identity, it would indeed be surprising if the Community as a whole was not inclined towards religion, even those who were only culturally Muslims turned towards religion; when they faced situations of discrimination. Some problem arises because most religious scholars and functionaries continue to live in the past and have a generally conservative outlook and do not quite understand the way the larger national society is managed. Their hold on the masses also opens the Community to the charge of embracing extremism and rejecting liberalism and modernization. However, given its religious sensitivities, the Muslim community, which is living in a hostile environment, resists all propositions for ‘reforming’ Islam made by ill-informed and even basely motivated intellectuals and stoutly resists attacks on Islam, per se, the Holy Quran and the Holy Prophet. But it responds to economic, social and cultural changes, not only in the Muslim majority states but Muslim minority countries. The process of change, however, is relatively slow in the latter because a minority always, everywhere, tends to be conservative. There is an understandable reason for the prevalent level of orthodoxy in Muslim India: the overall sense of insecurity in the mind of the Community which has been living for decades in a state of siege. No doubt the Constitution grants them equality of citizenship and freedom of religion, for historical and psychological reasons the Muslim Indians constantly experience victimisation as physical, religious, cultural, economic and social targets. This is further strengthened by political under-representation and economical deprivation. In the circumstances, there is a strong urge at least to hug its religiosity and express it in various ways. Orthodox or liberal, modern or obscurant, no one can take away the rights of the religious group as human beings, as a minority and as citizens. The modern state, even if does not proclaim its secularism from the housetop, can not deny equality and justice to a community, only because it appears to be orthodox. The theologians with all their piety and moral influence, and the Mullahs with all their proximity to the grass-roots cannot be a substitute for politicians. At critical times, the religious ‘leaders’ also enter politics. get their reward in the form of seats in the legislatures or in the party hierarchy. but they are largely useful for themselves because they simply lack the necessary legal knowledge and political experience. They fail to keep the Community together because of sectarian differences. In other words, they cannot unlock the doors of power and manage the pressure of change. And that is why political leadership is, in the final analysis, important for the future of the Community. Few Muslims in politics can take a bold, independent stand and remove obstacles and impediments the Community faces, not the least of which is the memory of Muslim rule and dominance, particularly, its dark aspects which are emphasized and publicesed endlessly by the anti-Muslim forces. Their path is also impeded by the course of political development under the British which culminated in the division of the county and the fact that at the critical time during 1945-1947 virtually the entire Muslim public opinion in what is now India stupidly supported the idea of Pakistan. Since the more vocal supporters migrated to Pakistan in search of greener pastures, the Muslim Indians faced a vacuum and indeed became leaderless. Those who took off Jinnah caps to put on Gandhi caps were looked upon as unreliable both by the Hindus and the Muslims. In the first 15 years after independence the community simply did not know which way to turn for support and succor. Inevitably it took shelter under the existing power structure. To survive, it learnt to keep mum even on its legitimate grievances, to accept whatever came its way, to speak humbly and softly, seek favours and to crawl its way into the durbars of the new rulers. Along with democracy had come an electoral system based on first-past-the-post principle which did not allow any aggrieved and oppressed section freely to choose its representatives, who may sincerely and selflessly project their concerns and seek viable remedies. Muslims who entered the legislature and became Ministers, by the grace of political parties, with few exceptions represented their parties and not the Community. Nearly all persons who dominated political parties generally looked upon Muslims with hostility or suspicion. They nursed an overall apathy towards them and tended to overlook their miserable condition, ‘let them stew in their own juice and pay for the sins of their forefathers.’ The Muslims living in their ghettos had no option but to accept every affront, all injustice and suffer patent inequality. Few had the courage to raise grievances in the councils of power; fewer tried to seek remedies and invoke understanding or sympathy of the powerful. Muslim legislators or Muslim Ministers knew which side of their bread was buttered and always kept on the right side of the party and the government. They refused to knock loudly, lest it upset the ‘Malik’, even while their people were being butchered. Muslim masses had to accept as their representatives those imposed by the system and built up as living evidence of secularism. Their personal ambition coupled with relative incompetence came in their way. If they raised inconvenient questions, they would be cut to size or dropped in the next reshuffle or denied tickets in the next election. The masses were kept divided in the name of sects and denominations and even baradaris, a form of Muslim casteism. This was not only encouraged by their religious or social leaders but also promoted from outside by political parties. Each party wanted a slice of Muslim votes to further the interests of its core social constituency. This we see happening even today. This disunity in the Community which it often laments make it impossible for it to act unitedly, even at the local levels such as elections to panchayats or municipalities. With democratic experience every social group in the multi-group Indians society has mastered the technique of breaking the monopoly of powerful groups which control national parties and forming state and regional parties with itself at the core and in the driving seat. The Community never mastered this political strategy or developed its own brand of ‘camouflage’ politics, though it has learnt to see through the mask of secularism and social justice, worn by political parties. 1971 was a water-shed and since the 70’s, Muslims have gradually stabilized economically and politically. The younger generation has overcome the burden of partition. But given the electoral system and the open hostility or fake secularism of political parties, Muslim masses had no option but to support the party which made the sweetest promises and assured physical security. Their political strategy was reduced to vote for the strongest secular party across the board, through-out a state. In the 1990s, however, they began to differentiate between one constituency and another and to practice tactical voting, constituency-wise depending upon the winnability and record of candidates. Now the third change is taking place; preference to Muslim candidates in Muslim concentration constituencies. No Muslim party or Muslim-core party has ever registered its presence in the vast expanse of north India. And even the parties the Muslim vote for sometimes put up token Muslim candidates from unwinnable seats. If the ruling party or coalition has some Muslim members, it gives rise to an illusion that the Muslims have become king-makers! in reality Muslim ministers were fobbed off with minor portfolios. In a nut-shell, the political field has so far been a barren wasteland for the Community. This explains why during the last 50 years it has not benefitted as it should have from welfare and development schemes at the local level. Some times it receives a morsel but that too as an act of charity or benevolence. This sad state was put by the Sachar Committee in all its starkness before the nation. But it ignored the continuing thread of bias, prejudice and historical animus in the government machinery when it seeks remedies. No doubt an important factor is the inability of the Community to throw up a political leadership which has knowledge and experience, which is selfless and committed, which is courageous and uncompromising. The residue of the feudal order which has passed into history, the propertied class and a few bureaucrats are largely self centred. The affluent who sometimes contribute to religious charities cannot provide leadership. The well-placed elite suffer no disability, except perhaps in times of communal carnage. They can get things done for themselves and for their families, including admission and jobs for their progeny. Their interest lies in keeping on good terms with the people who run the system. They are rarely inclined to speak for the masses who suffers deprivation, with no primary school in their villages and no jobs even as chaprasi, driver or clerk. Even if some practicable ideas are distilled from the Sachar Report, the Community lacks the leadership to monitor its implementation at various levels, to ensure that development funds, set aside for the Community reach the deserving, that the Community gets appropriate share of state expenditure on welfare and development, at least in the operational area. Those in the power structure, the elite and the affluent, the theologian and the Mullahs cannot even monitor local distribution. What then is the solution? My only hope is the Muslim youth who are not just literate but educated enough to be assertive, bold enough to speak to the authorities face to face and demand due share, ask for transparent accounting, expose corruption and oppose diversion. Since the system silences individuals, the community needs to set up institutions to disseminate information about openings and schemes and to service the potential beneficiaries, to file their applications and pursue their cases. A positive asset the Community has is Masjids. Masjid was the Community center to begin with in the time of the Holy Prophet and has been gradually reduced to a place of worship and no more. Resources of the Masjid, its space, its income from wakfs and donations can provide a base for their ‘reverse modernisation’ and restoration of their original function. The Masjids in villages, qasbas, mohallas and towns can establish or encourage a committed team of local youth to establish Information-cum-Service Centres in their premises, fight injustice level by level. This new Muslim leadership will arise from the grass-roots and gradually build the network upwards, as it acquires confidence and experience. This is the only hope. New Delhi 1 April, 2007 Muslim India, 2007 For Muslim India, the year 2007 began on a note of expectation and hope but ended with a feeling of disappointment and frustration. This was particularly because the Central Government failed to fulfill its repeated commitment of equitably sharing available national resources and fruits of development in due measure with the Muslim Community. Institutional Failure The Ministry of Minority Affairs was largely lifeless and failed to deliver the goods in every material respect; it has not monitored the Prime Minister’s 15 Point Programme; or the Muslim share in the fruits of other schemes of social development at the ground level, administered by other Ministries and Departments. It failed to secure for Maulana Azad Education Foundation more than a small increase in its corpus. It failed to concretize the promised schemes for infrastructural and economic development of districts and towns of Muslim concentration. It was unable to distribute any Pre-Matric Scholarships in 2007. It failed to convene a high level national discussion on the mismanagement of Wakfs. There was no progress towards amendment with Wakf Act. Not a single major Wakf property under illegal occupation, even by the government or local bodies, has been vacted during 2007. In the absence of Parliamentary Standing Committee or Joint Committee on Minorities or even the Consultative Committee attached to the Department of Parliamentary Affairs the year 2007 remained a barren year from the point of view of projection of the problems of the minorities. There has no a discussion in Parliament on the Muslim Situation in general or on the Sachar Report, the Mishra Report or the Annual Reports of various official institutions tabled in the Parliament like the NCM, the NMDFC. The unfortunate aspect is that at the end of three and a half years the UPA Government or the MMA has been enable to develop a working relationship of trust and confidence with major Muslim organizations of national eminence, the JUH, the JIH, the AIMMM, the AIMC, the AIMPLB which would have been beneficial both to the community and the government. Political Trends The Muslim community warmly welcomed the election of Mr.M H Ansari as the Vice President of the Republic, of Justice Aftab Alam as a judge of the Supreme Court, of Mr. Md. Shafi Qureshi as the Chairman of the NCM. 150th Anniversary of 1857 During the year of national celebration of the 150th anniversary of the First War of Independence but the Muslim India took note of the government’s failure to project the role of Bahadur Shah Zafar and Begum Hazrat Mahal. Indeed, the common feeling was that the participation of Muslim freedom fighters and specially of the Ulema whoh had not only prepared the ground for1857 but suffered most after the British had suppressed the uprising was downplayed. Representation in Legislature In representation in legislatures, Muslim India lost further ground in all assembly elections held during 2007 except in UP, not only in terms of seats gained but even in the number of Muslim candidates fielded by secular parties. For example, in Gujarat, Congress fielded only 6 Muslim candidates against 18 due. In all legislatures including the Parliament Muslim under-representation persists but no political party or constitutional expert has paid any attention to make it more representative of all deprived social groups, including the Muslims. Attitude towards Political Parties Politically the Muslim community continued largely to support the Congress and other secular parties, though the latter remained divided and kept on sabotaging and undermining each other in successive assembly elections. The essential reason was the raging turf war with the Left holding fast to its fortresses and the Congress losing ground to the other Secular parties like the BSP and the SP in UP, the RJD and the LJP in Bihar, which fought to increase their hold in the heartland and the other states, aspiring to secure the status of national parties. In Karnataka, Muslim community felt bewildered first by the coalition between the JD(U) and the BJP and then by its breakdown in a welter of invectives. Secular parties including the Left have failed to recognize the rising menace of Hindu communalism as the common enemy . Towards the end of 2007 the BJP galvanized after its victory in Gujarat, HP & Uttaranchal begen its preparation for the coming general election in the hope of recovering power. This is a matter of highest importance to Muslim India because they see the secular order, howsoever flawed and, as the divided bulwark of their constitutional rights. The Congress which is not only in power but the strongest secular party is wary of taking any initiative towards secular consolidation because of its reluctance to share power. On the rebound, psychologically and politically it fails to wage a no-holds barred campaign against Hindutva for fear of losing Hindu votes. Needless to say, it takes Muslim support for granted. Muslim Indians as ‘Terrorists’ In 2007 Muslim India saw itself being increasingly branded as terrorists and placed at the receiving end of the global war against terrorism in which India has become a strategic partner of the United States. More and more Muslim youths have been detained and tortured and prosecuted in some cases on the basis of ‘confession’. Muslim localities have experienced a state of siege and police atrocities have not spared Masjids and Madrasas. All terrorist acts have been spontaneously attributed to Muslim Indians acting at the behest of foreign agencies. Not one detainee was indicted by a court of law but the propaganda has raised the level of anti-Muslim phobia in the country. Surge of Communalism 2007 was largely free from any major communal incidents but communal consciousness reached a new peak in the emergent Hindu middle classes, the intelligentsia and the elite. As a result, even the liberal elements, the human rights activists, have fallen silent even against blatant displayof double standards, when the main culprits of 1992-93 Bombay Riot continued to enjoy impunity and the Srikrishna Report was consigned to the dustbin. Insensitivity of Secular State 2007 in fact saw a noticeable rise in the insensitivity of the governments towards purely the religious grievances of the community, which was demonstrated by the government paying more attention to the tantrums of a blasphemous foreigner living in India than to the deep anguish felt by crores of Muslim citizens. It did not intervene against deliberate and organized blasphemy in countries with which India maintains friendly relation, such as Denmark & Holland but those are larger issues. During 2007 the Indian state turn deaf and blind towards such matters like violent opposition to construction or restoration of Masjids by Muslims on their own land, conservation and renovation of the protected Masjids which the ASI continued to neglect, not to mention the failure to implement the judicial directive to ‘restore the pristine glory of the Jama Masjid, Delhi’, frequent encroachments on Qabristans and the partiality of the magistracy and the police when the community at the grass roots level protests against violation of its dignity through obnoxious propaganda in the mass media. Kashmir Situation There was no progress towards the settlement in Kashmir. The Round Table with Kashmiri politicians produced little results as did dialogue with Pakistan. The confidence building measures did not produce any worthwhile impact. Nor have the public and private properties been vacated by the Army. No doubt, there was relative quiet, the quantum of infiltration and violence have both fallen but occupation persists and with do bitterness& disaffection, specially in the Valley. Babri Masjid Demolition The Liberhan Commission failed to submit its report; the criminal proceeding against BJP l/VHP leaders main more or less static; only the title suit made some progress but the Govt. chosen to remain silent on implementation of judicial verdict. External Developments During 2007 Muslim India noticed with dismay and apprehension growing strategic relationship with the USA which is hatred by the Muslims everywhere because of its invasion of Iraq, its occupation of Afghanistan, its threat to invade Iran and its war against Islam in the name of war against terrorism. What is worse, 2007 saw growing strategic, technological and defence cooperation with Israel. This naturally led to the government maintaining silence on atrocities committed by Israel in the Occupied Arab Territories and in the Palestinian refugees camps. Generally speaking, India’s policy towards Muslim world has became a casualty of its strategic perception; from time to time the government may reiterate its traditional support for the Palestinian cause but it deceives no one. On the whole, India’s relations with the Arab-Muslim world were played in a low key for all practical purposes. Even the Iranian pipeline project was given up under US pressure; the question of India’s association with the OIC even as an observe was not taken up, thus giving a free hand to Pakistan to use its forums for propagating its views on Kashmir. Pakistan In the wider field Muslim India keenly followed the developments in Pakistan, the proclamation of emergency by President Musharraf, the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, and the election. Economic Trends 2007 did not witness any concrete progress towards translating the recommendations of the Sachar Report , even what was included in the government agenda, after the bureaucracy and the Planning Commission had applied their scissors. But the most shocking event of the year was the black-out on the Mishra Report which for the first time promised reservation for the Muslims in public employment and education, and the inclusion in the SC lists of Muslim and Christian Dalits thrse recommendations had raised ray of hope which disappeared after the Government deliberately decided to conceal it even from the eyes of the people and the Parliament. Perhaps the Government developed cold feet, when it recalled the opposition of Hindu chauvinists to the Sachar Report. Despite Left’s pressure, the Planning Commission did not introduce a Sub-plan for Muslims n the 11th Plan. Public Employment Very few Muslim faces were visible in the higher echelons of governance and the overall representation of Muslim India whether in the Executive or the Judiciary or the Armed Forces remained disproportionately low. The primary reason was poor intake (3% in the All India and Central Services). The 15 Point Programme, not unexpectedly, made no dent in the situation even at the Groups C and D levels. There was no noticeable rise in the number of Jawans in army, constables in the police force or clerks and peons in government offices. Such persistent deprivation even at the lower levels can only be remedied by reservation because the source-spring of under-representation is communal bias and prejudice. But the Government showed a pathological aversion to the idea. 2007 however, saw some hopeful signs; Tamil Nadu introduced a Sub-quota of 3.5% for Muslims in employment and admission AP has also been making brave efforts. Some political parties have extended vocal support like NC, RJD, the BSP and the LJP Social Trends: Muslim Organisations During 2007 the collective life of Muslim India suffered severe set- back with the split in Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind between the interim President Arshad Madani and interim General Secretary Mahmood Madani, MP. The schism has caused intellectual and organizational stagnation while the senior members led by Maulana Marghoobur Rahma, Mohtamim Darul Uloom, Deoband tried reconciliation. The AIMPLB held its 20th session in Kolkata, adopted a formal declaration but was basically a lackluster session. Although committed to defence of Shariat as its basic objective the session failed to voice protest at the extension of visa to Taslima Nasreen. The All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat(AIMMM) elected Dr.Z.I.Khan as its President vice Syed Shahabuddin who during his 8 year term, despite every effort failed to heal dissidence and unify the AIMMM and bring about a working unity among various Muslim organizations. In the meantime, All India Shia Conference and the All India Momin Conference, which suffered multiple splits, have virtually disappeared. Fortunately the JIH and the All India Ahle Hadith remained active through out the year. Social Decline Social vices like dowry-burning, female foeticide, extravagance exorbitant demands, in marriages, polygamy, instant divorce, denial of maintenance and resort to litigation have registered noticeable growth, although no data have been collected. No progress has been achieved in the codification of Muslim Personal Law, which became an adversarial issue between the community and the judiciary, particularly on questions of divorce, maintenance, adoption, private settlement of family disputes, compulsory registration of marriages and minimum age of marriage. Conservative attitudes continued to prevail and the religious establishments remained totally oblivious of the social direction of the country and adopted a hard line without seeking any accommodation. On the whole, ‘baradarivad’ as well as sectarianism saw some intensification during the year. Cultural Trends: Education 2007 saw no major progress in the field of higher education; AMU’s status remained unresolved; JMI came under increasing pressure. Muslim professional colleges lacked qualified Muslim applicants. National Commission for Minority Educational Institutes did not provide effective assistance to deprived Muslim schools and colleges. However scholarships schemes, pre-Matric and post-Matric, and increasing admission to schools indicate a welcome trend. Urdu The Language Census, 2001, which was published late in 2007, clearly showed that Urdu has been short changed in Hindi-speaking states through under-enumeration of Urdu speaking person and their inclusion as Hindi-speaking because of similarity in the spoken language at the common level. The year 2007 registered no improvement in the status of Urdu its place in school education and in administration. For all political purposes Urdu remained the language of the Muslims, though not of all Muslim Indian. Muslim India failed to receive due benefit from the much publicized Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. Muslim localities, urban and rural, continued to be deprived of primary schools not only in terms of numbers but also in terms of quality of teaching and infrastructural facilities. Going against national curricular framework some states have introduced English and Sanskrit as compulsory language at primary level, which naturally cut into the teaching and learning of minority languages, particularly Urdu. In many states school culture and textbooks were continuously Hinduised. At long last, the Door Darshan has initiated the National Urdu Channel, which, with little staff largely shows old movies. 2007 has ended. Muslim India looks with faith and hope towards 2008. New Delhi 1 April, 2008 Why are Muslim Indians Antipathetic towards the BJP? The BJP is the second biggest party in the country. It was in power at the Centre between 1998-2004 and has also been and is in power in several states. It is generally regarded by the Muslim Indians as anti-Muslim and, by the secular forces as anti-secular. Right from its birth as the Bhartiya Jana Sangh (BJS) its political approach have been marked by an adversarial and hostile attitude towards the Muslim community. It has never tried to develop a Muslim face or understand Muslim grievances. It has almost never fielded Muslim candidates even after 1984 when for the first time it emerged as a national party. There may have been an odd Muslim MLA here and there. It has been invariably vocal against any action by the government which is ostensibly, or likely, to benefit the Muslims, even in situations of distress, like riot relief. It has never spoken out against state terrorism when targets were largely Muslims like the Genocide in Gujarat in 2002. Thus, it is hardly in a position to canvass for Muslim votes. Even Naqvi in Rampur and Shahnawaz Hussain in Kishanganj and in Bhagalpur generally used for opposing Muslim demands and aspirations won on the strength of committed Hindu vote- bank of the BJP, with marginal support from a section of the community, which was indifferent largely for local reasons towards other Muslim candidates in the field. The Legacy of the BJP : What is this adversarial relationship based on? Hatred and contempt on one side, bordering on and anger and hatred on the other. The fact is that the BJP since in its first incarnation as the BJS has been generally regarded as the political wing of the RSS which is committed to the Hindutva ideology enunciated by Savarkar and even in the Freedom Movement. It highlighted the role of communal Hindu leaders, who were opposed to any concession toward the Muslims. Because of the proved association of Godse, the assassin of Gandhiji with the RSS, the RSS later it was banned in 1948 which was soon lifted on the strength of written assurance by Golwalkar, RSS Chief, to Sardar Patel of keeping out of politics and functioning as a cultural and social organization for the reform and uplift of Hindu society. But the RSS developed hundreds of fronts, each reinforcing the political objectives behind the ideology of Hindutva. The RSS and its front organization like the BJP have been publicly more active in vilifying the Muslims rather than with reforming and uplifting the Hindus. This is the ideology and programme it has been preaching through its lakhs of Shakhas which pick up Hindu children and poison their minds at an impressionable age. Its student wing, the ABVP, and its religious affiliate, the VHP, with its militant wing, the Bajrang Dal always play a direct and effective role in rousing Hindu passions. Its organized militancy, secured the Demolition of the Babri Masjid. The RSS cadres and its affiliates have always participated in incidents of communal violence, from Kashmir to Kerala and from Assam to Gujarat. The RSS works like a secret society. It need not pass a resolution or issue formal instructions to its cadres for good reason it is called Rumour Spreading Society. It has always kept its doors closed to Muslims just as in the BJP, except the Minority Morcha, few Muslims have been ever admitted to its National Council or Executive or decision-making committees. It is doubtful whether its offices have ever employed any Muslim staff. Off and on, the RSS or the BJP leaderships make token gestures, like a BJP government organizing an Iftar party, greeting eminent Muslims on festivals, sending their lackeys for Haj, but these have little impact. Any party in power is in a position to oblige some Muslims who may in turn lend their names to its activities, such as the ‘Support Vajpayee Committees’ formed in 2004 but these only elicit contempt from the community and such persons are regarded as no better than ‘quislings’ or at best self-seeking opportunists. Hindutva Ideology: Basically Exclusivist The ideology of Hindutva demands exclusion of Muslim (& Christian) from governance and administration because they profess ‘foreign’ religions, do not worship ‘Bharat Mata’ as a deity. This lies at the heart of its hate-Muslim mindset, though they shout from the housetops that 90% of the Muslims have descended from Hindu converts to Islam and, therefore, they are flesh of our flesh, and in reality, ‘Hindus with a different form of worship’. This approach is largely to soften them for eventual religious and cultural assimilation, merging their identity in HInduism. What is worse, there is never a show of compassion or sympathy when they are under physical attack because such attacks are a ‘just and natural retaliation’ for the wrongs, real or imaginary, committed by their forefathers. Hindutva holds the Muslim Indians responsible for Muslim invasions, conquest and rule and spreads exaggerated and even unfounded accounts of mass conversion by force, mass rape or abduction of women, mass pillage and destruction of places Mandirs, which are circulated through speeches, articles or word of mouth to incite Hindu anger. Muslims are held responsible for the failure of the Freedom Movement, to evolve a viable formula for communal unity and for united struggle against British, which culminated in the Partition and establishment of Pakistan. But even 3 generations, later the Muslim Indians continue to be accused of nursing pro-Pakistan sympathies and separatist tendencies, deliberately maintaining high rate of growth for creating mini-Pakistans in border areas or enclaves inside as terrorist bases. The community is accused of training terrorists in its Madrasas and sheltering foreign agents and storing arms in its Masjids. Even establishment of professional colleges under Article 30 is pilloried as a means of extortion from Hindu students who often constitute more than 50% of the enrolled. In one word, the message is ‘Muslim Indians are anti-national; do not trust them’. This nefarious propaganda which goes on persistently has produced all pervasive bias and prejudice and resulted in Muslim under-representation in all walks of life, like legislature and in government jobs, even at the lowest level; low level of education, denial of school facilities, virtual exile of Urdu from the curriculum, though it is the mother tongue of nearly 40% of the Muslim Indians it is regarded as a foreign language. It is starved of bank loans and other means of development and from due share in the fruits of social development, even at the local level. Hindu Vote Bank: Hindu communalism, has systematically prevented the Muslims not only from entering legislatures, executive and judiciary but even the private sector and the universities and yet the RSS/BJP deliberately stage communal incidents on the eve of elections to polarize the electorate on communal lines and to consolidate Hindu votes against the imaginary threat of Islamisation, creating a false fear psychosis in the Hindu mind through propaganda about Jihadis lurking everywhere and operating at all levels with the support of Pakistan and other Muslim countries. The communal mindset has come to a level where these allegations and accusations are taken for granted and have become conventional wisdom. Hindu chauvinism has gone beyond the point of a rational dialogue. Its primary object is to consolidate the Hindu vote majority for the establishment of Hindu Raj in the country, by overturning the secular order. It is indeed, ironical that those who have sought to concretize a Hindu vote-bank accuse the Muslim of acting as a vote-bank! Hindus constitute 82% of the national population but they are taught to fear and hate the Muslims who constitute 13% and are projected as the eternal enemy. A former Cabinet Secretary, Mr. N.K.Mukherjee rightly said that ‘the Hindu community is the only majority group in the world with a minority complex’. Muslim Vote-Bank From a practical angle how can the Muslim Indians act as a national vote bank under the first-past-the-pole system? There are not more than a dozen Muslim majority constituencies in the Lok Sabha. In no states, except in J&K, they form a majority in the Assembly. Indeed, in most states and UTs they constitute small minorities with very few Muslim majority seats in the Assemblies. Therefore, it is absurd to suggest that even if all Muslims vote for Muslim candidates of a Muslim party, they can ever form a Muslim government either at the center or in any state, far from restoring Muslim rule over the country or reestablishing the Caliphate! As it is, Muslim representation in the legislatures is about 50% or even less of what it should be in proportion to their population. Even in states of major Muslim concentration like UP, Bihar, WB, Jharkhand, Assam, Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka and AP. Their representation is much lower than their due. No doubt, Muslims wish to have better and larger representation, with secular, committed and fearless spokesman in the legislatures to place their sufferings and grievances before the bar of the nation and to draw the attention of the government to take remedial measures, notwithstanding party discipline which often makes them blind deaf and dumb. At constituency level, the Muslim electorate may vote unitedly and massively for the candidate of a secular party of their choice but even if they do, they are handicapped by multiplicity of candidates of secular parties or from various Muslim baradaris. Often the BJP and its allies win a Muslim concentration seat and defeat secular forces! Game of Majority- Charge of ‘Appeasement’ When a secular government is inclined to take any effective measure, the BJP and its friends malign those governments for extending undeserved benefit and ‘preferential’ treatment to the Muslims. The secular governments are thus forced to stop in their tracks, because democracy is after all a game of numbers and every party is concerned about gain and loss of votes. The anti-secular opposition in the legislatures denounces any measure which appears to be pro-Muslim as appeasement. Muslims Indians are not a monolith; they do not have an all India party, there is no national Muslim vote bank. Muslim vote for different parties in different states, in different constituencies in the same state and for different candidates belonging to various parties and a bradari. The only object of those who wish the Muslim to vote as a block at the constituency level is to ensure that at last a few committed Muslims enter the legislatures. Minorities are internationally recognized to enjoy the right of due representation in the legislatures. The fact is that even the parties which are generally regarded as secular by the Muslims do not have adequate Muslim representation in their internal structure and never field Muslim candidates even from all Muslim concentration constituencies where a particular party may be able to deliver its core votes to its Muslim candidate and get him elected. Why Muslims Exclude the BJP ? The BJP is indeed unhappy that while Muslims vote for many parties, they never vote for the BJP. They are also unhappy that primary Muslim motivation is to defeat the BJP and its allies though this tactical voting. Why are the Muslim not attracted towards the BJP like any other party? After all the BJP also swears by the same Constitution and declares itself to be a secular party. The answer lies in the truth that while no party in India is truly and consistently secular in every sense of the term, every party faces the democratic compulsion in our communal and caste ambience to concentrate on projecting its chosen social constituency. At present no party has a uniform spread across the social spectrum or throughout the country. To serve their social constituencies, they only wish to attract the votes of other sections of the electorate through electoral promises. To strengthen the chances of its candidates who largely come from its chosen social constituencies, the promises made to others to win their support are forgotten till the next election. If they form the government they make symbolic gestures but never give Muslims anything substantive. But when out of power they emphasize that they recognize the problems faced by the Muslims, and their readiness to pay attention to them in their policies and programmes, always include some Muslims among their representatives. The major difference lies in that the secular parties are prepared to speak and listen to Muslims even if they may not do anything concrete, the BJP and its Hindutvadi affiliates begin by denying the existence of the Muslims as a distinct religious community; its ideological fraternity vilifies Islam, demonizes Islamic religious personalities or joyously claps when someone bearing a Muslim name, like Rushdie and Taslima Nasreen do so. They never recognize economic, educational or social backwardness of the Muslim community and when they do, they do so only to blame the community itself for its woes or to lecture them on doing better for themselves with their resources and work harder! The Sachar Report and the earlier Gopal Singh Panel Report are criticized for exposing the systematic deprivation of Muslims. Indeed, even their establishment, not to speak of their recommendations, are opposed tooth and nail and if the government of the day just announces any measure or half-measure which would bring them out of the well of deprivation they fell the Hindus that the Muslims are now trying to snatch their bread and take away their jobs. Reservation for Everyone but not Muslim Hindutwadi parties had no option but to gulp reservation for the SC/ST and the OBC’s who are largely Hindus. But they are dead set against reservation for Muslims, for appointment even as police constables or army jawans or as clerks or messengers in government offices. They then glorify the principle of ‘merit’, knowing fully well that most government appointments are made not on merit but on caste and money. In riot after riot they applaud the barbarians and oppose investigation, relief or compensation. Indeed, in the entire political game, their sole criterion is that anything, which benefits the Muslim, should not pass muster. Their friends register false cases against local Muslims for killing cows or desecrating temples and they object when Muslims bury their dead in their own Qabristans, build Masjids on their own land or give religious instruction to their children in their own Madrasas. If the Muslims collect funds through zakat to run their institutions they are accused of propagating Islam with foreign money. Indeed, as Balraj Madhok, the founder of the Jana Sangh once confessed ‘the very fight of a minaret enrages me’. It is this mentality, which culminated in the Partition in 1947, the Demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992 and the Gujarat Genocide in 2002. Far from being ashamed of the barbarity; they glorify them and threaten to repeat such ‘heroic’ and ‘noble’ acts throughout the country. When the Prime Minister in a mood of generosity says that the minorities should receive 15% of the Central outlay on social schemes through a small share in social development budget, BJP leader Advani calls it ‘communal budgeting’ supported by his acolytes, who raise the issue in the press and Parliament. Muslims begin to ask whether they have any claim at all on the resources of the state, or the employment the government offers and the benefits that development brings. The answer to this question by the BJP is ‘justice to all’ but they know well that the executive/administration is largely in the hands of those whose minds have been poisoned by 75 years of anti-Muslim propaganda. They still call themselves ‘secular’ and the parties, which oppose them as ‘pseudo secular’. Who is Pseudo-Secular? Secularism essentially means non-discrimination by the state among social groups collectively or individually, solely on the basis of religion. Secularism does not lay down that those who do not worship the country as a deity are not citizens. Secularism also demands that the state or nation or the government does not identify itself with any religion; it has no religion, Secularism refuses to recognize India as a Hindu country or its culture as Hindu culture or its history as Hindu history. A secular state does not try to assimilate or absorb all non-Hindus in the Hindu stream. It does not restrict non-Hindus only to private worship or ban propagation of their religion or display of their religious identity. But in a country as multi-religious and multi-cultural as ours it is not possible for any one to row India back to the Vedic Age certainly not today, so political and economic or social pressure, propagation of Hinduism through all available means, with state help, if available. Hinduisation of education and culture, communalization of politics, marginalisation of religious minorities, subjecting them to occasional physical violence, all are aimed at demoralizing and breaking down the resistance of the non-Hindus. Thus they hope to dismantle the secular state. The problem with the Hindutva ideology is that the prevailing caste divisions, which have a long history, make every identifiable caste group demand its share of power and wealth. But that is within the Hindu family. If the Muslims, make any demands they are condemnable wretches, who should be thrown into the Arabian Sea or pushed across the border into Pakistan or Bangladesh. Conclusion : The Sachar Report has placed the fact of Muslim backwardness beyond any shadow of doubt. It has concluded that the Muslims as a whole are as backward as the SC/St and even more backward than non-Muslims OBC’s. Could they have been patronized and pampered by successive governments for the last 60 years to reach the depth of backwardness? The Muslims want the Hindu clause in the definition of the SC to be repealed so that Muslims and Christians dalits can also enjoy the same benefit as the Hindu SC. Former Chief Justice Ranganath Mishra in his report recommends 10% reservation for the Muslim. The secular BJP threatens to turn the Parliament upside-down even if the report is placed in the Parliament. The Sangh Parivar do not realize that just as the Adivasis, Achhuts and Shudras have overcome Brahmanical terror tactics, the Muslims who have so far tolerated every injustice and violence and adopted only democratic and peaceful means in pursuit of social justice are also beginning to come out of sleep, to demand effective equality, real justice and equal political, educational, economic and social rights and proportional representation in governance and administration. How long can the BJP, which represents the Brahmanism of yesteryear stand in the way? Muslims will never demand any special measure or any exclusive development scheme. They are proposed to forgo Haj subsidy but they will continue to demand due share in all that the country provides for its citizens, in proportion to their population in the zone of distribution, standing together with all other deprived groups and join in the inevitable march of India towards a truly democratic and secular state, committed to social justice. But they know that the BJP will block them at every stop. Then, how can they support it? New Delhi 1 May, 2008 |
