Indian Muslim’s priorities - By Altaf Hussain Qadri http://www.hipakistan.com/en/detail.php?newsId=en36774&F_catID=&f_type=source In the context of a predominantly Hindu sub-continent, the Indian Muslims, second in number to Indonesian Muslim population, have considerably lagged in benefiting from their being the largest minority group in India. On the contrary, being the second largest minority they carry on suffering. The Indian Muslims could not transform their status to a better form of living since 1947. There can be divergent perspectives related to this issue. But among one of the main problems is the lack of a sincere, keen and perceptive leadership. The Muslim leadership being traditionally allied with the Congress party failed to turn around the disconcerted state of common Muslims. On the reverse, Congress constantly induced an impression that without their support the Muslims will be decimated. In so doing, it inculcated an insecure feeling in the Muslims and as an effect reduced them to the position of second-rate citizens of India. This approach cultivated a bunker mentality and drew on a strategic deficit for the progress of Muslims in India. The deteriorating state of confidence of Muslim minority is a real question mark on the secular and democratic credentials of India which the contemporary Indians need to take care of. Although, regarding the Indian secularism Maulana Hifzur Rahman (1901-1962), a leader of Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind, once said that he would consider India a secular country only when it became possible for a Muslim to slap a Hindu in the street without it triggering a communal riot in the city. But it is an undeniable fact that every time a conflict between persons related to two different faiths will assume the proportion of bloody riots. Normally the incidents of this nature should have been sorted out at the personnel levels without having any reflection of religious backgrounds. But proceeding to that ideal direction, there appears no realisation as yet in the leadership of India. Instead, they are engrossed in fanning further hatred and reinforcing the policies of pitching one community against the other. To walk away from falling prey to communal exploitation Muslim leadership must pull their socks up to thwart the designs of vested interest. It is imperative to develop first a consensus on the leadership role and then construct reasonable political demands in the background of problems that Muslims undergo throughout India. Following the real appraisal of the magnitude of the problems they should come up with plans for the forthcoming elections. Preferably from my perspective, the concern that cuts in the centre of the Muslim populace is the perpetual disparity it faces in the government sector, private sector, economic, social and cultural sector, and education. In particular education must be emphasised with unrelenting dynamism. Even well ahead to the partition Muslim mindset has been the victim of conceptual negativism. One notable example among the many is that when in 1935 Lord William Bentinck constructed the first medical college in Calcutta Muslim response to it was strange and pessimistic. For their hatred of the English, Muslims led a procession through the streets of Calcutta to close it down. There then followed a different movement of non-Muslims to seek admissions while Muslims persistently clamoured for its closure. By adopting this attitude they lagged behind in the field of medical science almost 100 years to other communities. This instance is symbolic of the causes of the Muslim dilemma in the present contemporary world. Regrettably, there is no sign of abatement of this general negativism in Muslims all over the world. However, optimistically they should realise that the prejudice and discrimination which they loudly and factually attribute to communal conduct shall disappear if they apply themselves with utmost dedication in the area of political, academic and economic progress in the real sense of the word. According to a recent BBC report, there are over five thousand Madrasas functioning, imparting only religious teachings in India. These schools instead of improving the lives of the students spoil their future prospects. The Muslim scholars of India must recount the recourse of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan who fought for bringing about a positive development in the outlook of Muslims in India. He created new modern conditions of thought in the Muslims which as a final fling produced the best acclaimed brains of India, Pakistan and the world. Against this backdrop, they should approach the government of India with plans of restructuring in the core curriculum of these schools without affecting the religious teachings. On this issue they would be able to engage and seek the support of well-meaning, non-Muslim Indians. Muslim history is full of instances testifying to the fact that Islam is not an obstacle to scientific investigation. The Muslims of India must underline a policy to exercise utmost self-discipline to eschew the position of confrontation. A pertinent analysis of the problem of Indian Muslims has been made by an American orientalist, Dr Theodore Paul Wright Jr, that the Indian Muslims must "be as inconspicuous as possible so as not to draw Hindu backlash". Although he concedes that this is a very hard advice to follow for a proud people living in the heart of their monuments of glory. But they should realise the need for a strategic retreat as prophet (PBUH) did by signing the treaty of Hudaybiyah. In the impending parliamentary elections, the communal issues will spring out most prominently. The election drive will rally around the debate of communal and non-communal issues. The signs of which could obviously be delineated from the VHP raising the demand of construction of Ram temple on the site of Babri Masjid. Relatively, it amounts that both Congress and BJP are setting up ground for the mass slaughter of Muslim community of India. The Congress’s political secularism and BJP’s political Hindutva is exclusively reliant on the causality of innocent Muslims. On the dead bodies of Muslims Congress does politics of tears and BJP extols its crimes against them. It is noteworthy that the Congress is fundamentally seeking a soft line of Hindutva. All these caveat signs must reveal to the Muslim leaders that they are faced with a daunting challenge. They must get into an act of engaging the civil society of India, the film actors, media persons, academicians, civil liberty and human rights activists, artists, poets, writers and members of other non-Muslim communities and apprise them of the fears and apprehensions about the developing trends engendered by the support of political parties. They can break a new ground by evoking sympathies from other regions of Indian domain like south of India. It will be a first step towards sensitising their plight and garner support by involving the public opinion. They should communicate to Hindu majority that to be the majority is no sin but it is dangerous to behave without checks. They must keep in mind that the real essence of law is actually devised to protect the weak and this spirit of law ought to be respected. On the issue of Babri Masjid, the Muslims should come forward with suitable alternative route and stop the situation from becoming a tool of exploitation in the hands of political parties. Muslims will have to make compromises and may suggest constructing a hospital on the site in the name of ‘Ram and Raheem’ instead of making it a place of mutual hatred and violence. Hopefully, there will be many examples in the Hindu teachings of serving humanity on preferential basis as I am sure about Islam that it is a religion objectively aimed to bring an end to the human sufferings. Both religions can meet at this proposition with wide acceptability. The Hindus of India must keep in mind what Shakespeare said, "O, it is excellent to have a giant’s strength; but it is tyrannous to use it like a giant". |