[Reader-list] Indian Islam, nationhood etc.

Wed Jan 23 13:37:48 IST 2008

this pioson we and them is dangorous why cant we behave as indians and focus
on serious issues like unemloyment poverty etc communalism is a dangouros
gameplan to divide poor working indians and deflect srious issue inthe end
helping the rulers and the exploiters nothing different from british
colonisers
asit

On Jan 20, 2008 6:23 PM, chanchal malviya <chanchal_malviya at yahoo.com>
wrote:

> How many bombs you have thrown..
> Ask this to them... Not us...
> We are reacting.. They are acting...
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Krishna Chaithanya <tulunadu at hotmail.com>
> To: reader-list at sarai.net
> Sent: Sunday, January 20, 2008 6:19:37 PM
> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Indian Islam, nationhood etc.
>
>
> Violence can be stopped only with violent means.Then peace will be on the
> society....!?
>
> We bomb them
> and they bomb us
> and we bomb them
> and they bomb us
> together we bomb us
> then who is left to bomb...?
>
> KC
>
> > Date: Sun, 20 Jan 2008 14:33:09 +0500
> > From: radhikarajen at vsnl.net
> > To: chanchal_malviya at yahoo.com
> > CC: reader-list at sarai.net
> > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Indian Islam, nationhood etc.
> >
> > Hi, true, it for too long hindus have been tolerent leading to a
> sarcastic comment that they are cowards, may be Nehru was coward when India
> was divided for his greed,may be Krishna menon loved chinese vaginas more
> than indian ones, but now it is time that hindu understood the value of
> SAMA, Dana, BHEDHA are over, dandam dashagunam bhaveth. Violence can be
> stopped only with violent means.Then peace will be on the society.
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: chanchal malviya <chanchal_malviya at yahoo.com>
> > Date: Sunday, January 20, 2008 7:24 am
> > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Indian Islam, nationhood etc.
> > To: Javed <javedmasoo at gmail.com>, reader-list at sarai.net
> >
> > > It is time for Hindus to rise now...
> > > And no dicussion or virtual communities can stop it...
> > >
> > > Swami Vivekanand said - India have enough of religion..
> > > And it is time now to say this to Christian and Muslims who force
> > > conversions the same thing..
> > > If Sanskrit is the mother of all languages, Hinduism is the mother
> > > of all Religions... (But two religions have in particular always
> > > learnt to abuse their mother(Hinduism) - Islam and Christianity)...
> > > It is time now to stop the nation from producing more Kashmirs...
> > > It is time now to stop the non-Independent Religious India...
> > >
> > > So go on my dear friends as much as you like to abuse Hindus..
> > > It hardly matters now..
> > >
> > > Ramayan is proving to be a reality, Mahabharat is a reality..
> > > History will also change..
> > > It is Hindus that have taught peace to the world.. but to do that
> > > again, the two attackers have to be checked now..
> > > People are doing that.. And will do that..
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > ----- Original Message ----
> > > From: Javed <javedmasoo at gmail.com>
> > > To: reader-list at sarai.net
> > > Sent: Saturday, January 19, 2008 6:00:16 PM
> > > Subject: [Reader-list] Indian Islam, nationhood etc.
> > >
> > > India's Islam
> > > by Arun Nair
> > >
> > > Firstly, I must apologise if this article smacks of an impolite
> > > urgency and prescriptive-ness. I mean not to be arrogant, but as
> > > someone addressing you on a matter of deep concern to us all, I felt
> > > that there was little room for ceremonial apologies before every
> > > sentence. Also, as an Indian middle-class Hindu who grew up in the
> > > Babri-masjid 90s, it is easy for me to say some of the things I say
> > > here.
> > >
> > > Secondly, I address you, the reader, as an Indian citizen, not as a
> > > saintly Kabir or Gandhi preaching love for humanity. Our collective
> > > interests are being threatened by communal forces from within and
> > > without. WE MUST ACT. We must not merely lament about our respective
> > > versions of helplessnesses and others' faults. We are free today
> > > because India's greatest generation shook off the ghosts that
> > > bedevilled them, and took action to protect our interests. I implore
> > > you to continue that legacy.
> > >
> > > Thirdly, while I will go into what in my opinion are highly plausible
> > > theories of Indian nationhood and nationalism, my primary aim here is
> > > not to write any treatise on politics or sociology, but to protect our
> > > rights to belong equally to India – our common ancestral land – as
> > > Indians, and as free, dignified humans.
> > >
> > > Fourthly, my ideas will be presented largely based on first
> > > principles, also known as common-sense.
> > >
> > > My thesis is this: India must boldly assert its claim on Islamic
> > > civilisation in the subcontinent. That is the key to end our communal
> > > woes.
> > >
> > > This does not mean that India must become Islamic, or that Indian
> > > Muslims must be somehow Hinduised. The idea, instead, is to campaign
> > > relentlessly for India's Islamic civilisational authenticity.
> > >
> > > In the Indian psyche, Pakistan stands for Islam. Sadly for us and
> > > admittedly in a weaker form, Islam is also synonymous with Pakistan
> > > and everything Pakistani. This wouldn't have been so bad if Pakistan
> > > wasn't, well, un-Indian. We must use every tool at our disposal as a
> > > people to destroy the entrenched idea of Pakistani ownership of
> > > subcontinental Islam from within India. More importantly, this idea
> > > must be attacked from without it, because that is where it originates.
> > >
> > > Our chief weapon to eliminate Islam-Pakistan hyphenation from the
> > > subcontinent will be an authentic claim: the centre of Islamic
> > > civilisation in South Asia has always been undivided India, and after
> > > partition, India is its natural primary heir. The fact that a few
> > > million Muslims left India during partition to settle in our erstwhile
> > > outlying provinces doesn't change this. Neither does the fact that the
> > > Indian people chose a progressive, secular, democratic polity for
> > > their republic.
> > >
> > > In our minds and in the world's view, subcontinental Islam is under
> > > Pakistani occupation. The historical Indo-centric nature of
> > > subcontinental Islam should be used to throw off this psychological
> > > yoke. I urge Indians to rally together once again as our greatest
> > > generation did to protect our collective interests as the people of
> > > India. I urge friends of India all over the world to join us. Both in
> > > terms of geography and spirit, Islam in the subcontinent that
> > > coexisted and flourished alongside Indic cultures, has always been
> > > more Indian than Pakistani. If any single country represents
> > > subcontinental Islam as it historically was, it is India. Not
> > > Pakistan.
> > >
> > > India's Mughals. India's Qutub Minar, Gol Gumaz, and Taj Mahal.
> > > India's Kabir. India's Tipu Sultan, Shah Jahan, Akbar, and, why not,
> > > Aurangazeb. India's Urdu. India's Ghalib and Khusro. India's Delhi,
> > > Lucknow, Mysore, Hyderabad, Malabar, and Agra.
> > >
> > > Good history has to be deliberately written
> > >
> > > The people of India inherited thousands of years of history and
> > > associated baggage that we didn't really ask for.
> > >
> > > Keep in mind though that history is not a dead object - it is
> > > unfurling even as you read this. We may not be able to change what
> > > happened in India 200 years ago. But 200 years from now when people
> > > look back, they will see the Indian history that our generation wrote.
> > > It becomes then our duty, both as Indians and as sensible humans, to
> > > write it well.
> > >
> > > It is a great privilege to deliberately be able to write a part of
> > > something grand like the history of India. The first generation of
> > > Indians who did a coordinated job of writing our history was the one
> > > that won us our independence – our "freedom-generation". They could
> > > have attempted to write their Indian chapter any way they wanted to.
> > > We could have had a dark, China-style communism, for instance. But,
> > > given the Indian context, the freedom-generation chose the most
> > > egalitarian, elegant, and humanist theme they could come up with: a
> > > secular, liberal, constitutional, democratic republic, that takes its
> > > strength from its inherent pluralism and its inheritance of one of
> > > mankind's greatest civilisations.
> > >
> > > The freedom-generation's legacy for us is the deliberate and
> > > intelligent manner in which they forged an Indian national identity.
> > > Thanks to their efforts, our nationality is a solid concept. An Indian
> > > from Karnataka has a robust nationalistic bond with Indians say from
> > > Punjab, Gujarat, Assam, or Delhi. Regardless of what languages we
> > > speak, we all recognise Marathi, Tamil, Bengali and Telugu as Indian
> > > languages – ancestral assets that all Indians collectively own.
> > >
> > > It is a mistake, however, to think that the nation-building task they
> > > began is complete. Indian nationalism is not an idea frozen in time,
> > > but an evolving one. We, the successors of India's freedom-generation,
> > > must exercise our prerogative to define its finer contours and bring
> > > in new ideas to enrich it. Furthermore, we have an obligation to both
> > > our founding fathers and India's posterity to do this while being true
> > > to our quintessential Indian-ness, the just, egalitarian nature of our
> > > country as embodied in our constitution.
> > >
> > > Given that India's situation is not as pressing as it once was, new
> > > nationalist leaders – giants of the stature of Mahatma Gandhi, Khan
> > > Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Subhash Chandra Bose, Bhagat Singh, Jawaharlal
> > > Nehru, Abul Kalam Azad or Vallabhai Patel – may be difficult to
> > > emerge. There is no need to though. We succeeded them, and we must
> > > take this task upon ourselves. The freedom-generation watches over us
> > > in the form of our fraternity as Indians which they moulded at a great
> > > cost, and our constitution.
> > >
> > > Indian Nationalism - the idea of Indian brotherhood
> > >
> > > Amidst all this noisy consternation of Taslima Nasrin, Babri-masjid,
> > > BJP-Congress etc., its easy to lose sight of the really big pictures.
> > > Consider, for instance, this question: what really is the essence of
> > > Indian nationalism? Why do we all feel so closely tied to India
> > > and to
> > > each other?
> > >
> > > My answer is that, to put it simply, without the land we call India,
> > > Indians either have no identity, or very anaemic identities. All
> > > Indians share this same curious relation to India.
> > > When we are born to the same human mother, we are brothers. Our
> > > constitution formed by our freedom-generation explicitly asserts
> > > fraternity among the Indian people. Fraternity – brotherhood. In what
> > > sense are we brothers?
> > >
> > > Indians are brothers in the sense that the motherland that birthed my
> > > identity, also birthed yours. India is our ancestral land, and we
> > > should be proud of everything associated with it. Everything in India,
> > > its religions, its good and its bad, its languages, its glories and
> > > struggles, its rivers, its emperors, its heroes and villains,
> > > everything – is intricately weaved into our consciousnesses of who we
> > > are, where we come from, what our place in this world is, and how
> > > other humans see us. Without that identity, we are crippled.
> > >
> > > Ours is no ordinary brotherhood. Indian people didn't come into being
> > > merely a few centuries ago. We are an ancient civilisation, and what
> > > we have is a civlisational brotherhood – a bond arising from all of
> > > our belonging to the civilisation that unfolded in the same land,
> > > India. That brotherhood was formally declared through the constitution
> > > in 1949, but it existed much before that. Before our greatest
> > > generation gave it a concrete wording in the 20th century, it was well
> > > moulded in the crucible that is our land, in the fire of the previous
> > > several dozen, if not more, centuries.
> > >
> > > Every country of the world has stories that define their national
> > > essences. What is the most essential feature of Indian
> > > nationalism? It
> > > is our Indian identity – our being tied to India, and our
> > > civilisational brotherhood to each other in being bonded so. All
> > > Indians, regardless of their religion or language, has this bond with
> > > India and with each other.
> > > Indians must pause for a while and think why our anthem's going over
> > > our landmarks is so emotive. Or why Hindu-Muslim-Sikh-Christian
> > > insignia are powerful. Or why merely thinking of our history, or our
> > > Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, UP, Punjab and Bengal moves all of us
> > > equally.
> > >
> > > It's because they remind us of our organic ties to India, and the
> > > brotherhood that we have with each other. This natural bond given to
> > > us by our glorious and at times bloody history is important. If we
> > > don't uphold this bond with the ferocity that our greatest generation
> > > did, if we don't use it to protect our common interests, our country
> > > will remain weak.
> > >
> > > Our country's nature
> > >
> > > What is the nature of our country? What does it mean for something
> > > to be Indian?
> > > For one, if all of us Indians could get together today and declare in
> > > one voice that India stands for certain values, then that would be an
> > > authoritative statement. India is what Indians say it is. If, say, the
> > > people of the then-Indian civilisation – Hindus, Muslims, Christians,
> > > Buddhists, Sikhs, and Jains – had made such a statement 400 years ago
> > > and preserved its spirit through centuries, that would have probably
> > > have been one of the greatest Indian texts.
> > >
> > > If you will recall, a very similar event actually did happen in 1949,
> > > when the founding fathers of the Indian republic adopted, enacted, and
> > > gave to ourselves - the sovereign people of India - our constitution.
> > > The preamble reads,
> > >
> > > "WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India
> > > into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure
> > > to all its citizens:
> > > JUSTICE, social, economic and political;
> > > LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;
> > > EQUALITY of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all
> > > FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and
> > > integrity of the Nation.
> > > IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949,
> > > do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION."
> > >
> > > In an absolute sense, the values of justice, liberty, and equality
> > > have an intuitive appeal to all humans everywhere. However, the
> > > formidable authority of our constitution comes from the crushed but
> > > proud people who paid a very high price for our right to live as
> > > equals and as dignified humans in India. We must take their word for
> > > what India is – they must have known and dreamt quite a bit about it.
> > >
> > > India's greatest generation definitely realised that divisivism,
> > > self-doubt, and other demons from our past would haunt the republic
> > > they formed. Which is why the constitution is important. It helps us
> > > protect our country from ourselves.
> > >
> > > The Constitution. Indian Nationalism. How we will defend India.
> > >
> > > Those who doubt the moral power of our freedom-generation, our
> > > constitutional ethos, and Indian nationalism need only look at
> > > Pakistan, which renounced all these in its attempts not to be seen as
> > > Indian. Pakistan's leaders, in trying to defend their divisve national
> > > philosophy, forced the most horrible bankruptcy on its people.
> > >
> > > Rather than using Indian nationalism and the constitution to tackle
> > > our communal issues, I am appalled at the general trend to merely
> > > lament that India is on its way to being declared an non-secular state
> > > - the hundreds of millions of Indians fully intent on preventing this
> > > notwithstanding.
> > >
> > > Pakistan-style Islamism, Ummah-isation of Hinduism, alienation of
> > > Indian Muslims
> > >
> > > There are three major trends in India today that are relevant to
> > > our topic.
> > >
> > > Firstly, India has very serious conflicts of interest with Pakistan.
> > > We have gone to war with that country several times. Its society has
> > > issues with radicalisation and a general religious orthodoxy. Its
> > > regimes have relentlessly attacked India's internal fault-lines over
> > > the past few decades in the name of Islam. Tens of thousands of Indian
> > > soldiers have died defending our country against them. It is
> > > distinctly un-Indian and anti-Indian.
> > >
> > > Secondly, Hinduism is, for the lack of a better word, Ummah-ising, and
> > > this at times takes horrifyingly militant forms. I, given my personal
> > > biases, am all for Hindu solidarity and abolishing pseudo-secularism.
> > > However, an argument for Hindu-solidarity should not be allowed to
> > > take the form of an un-Indian religionalism that goes against the very
> > > spirit of India.
> > >
> > > Thirdly, Indian Muslims feel alienated from their own country. In
> > > India, Pakistan is synonymous with Islam. Unfortunately, Islam is also
> > > weakly synonymous with Pakistan. This has significantly undermined
> > > Indian Muslims' political standing in India vis-a-vis their fellow
> > > citizens.
> > >
> > > The havoc all this has wreaked on our society must not be ignored.
> > > India was home to one of humanity's greatest Islamic cultures for well
> > > over 1000 years. It is not, by any means, a dead part of our
> > > culture -
> > > nearly 160 million Indians are Muslims, several national icons are
> > > Muslims, mosques and Islamic architecture litter the country, and
> > > Muslim holidays are shared by all. And yet, to a lot of Indians, Islam
> > > doesn't feel Indian, but Pakistani. Despite their respective religious
> > > majorities, it is odd that Buddhism doesn't feel Sri Lankan, or
> > > Hinduism itself, Nepali.
> > >
> > > The partition of India and secular India's deprivation of its Islamic
> > > authenticity
> > >
> > > Has anyone thought what has actually happened here? Why is it that in
> > > India, an ancient civilisational land which has a unique Islamic
> > > culture just like Egypt, Iran, and Iraq, Islam is seen as somehow
> > > foreign? That is not because of Islam's being inconsistent with India
> > > – 1000 years and more of history and our combined freedom struggle
> > > should have proven this by now.
> > >
> > > During partition, founders of Pakistan expropriated the subcontinent's
> > > Islamic identity for defining their nation, Pakistan. Pakistan's
> > > struggle to keep its ideology alive has robbed us of our Islamic
> > > authenticity. India's secular nature not-withstanding, the ardour with
> > > which Pakistan argued itsideology and pushed its exclusivist national
> > > philosophy within the larger Islamic community ensured that it gained
> > > some traction in the Indian society. Pakistan's military conflicts
> > > with "Hindu" India only amplified this.
> > >
> > > It only takes a few of decades of intense activity for a new Zeitgeist
> > > to take root in a society. Consider denazification of Germany, China's
> > > turn into capitalism, and India's own economic liberalisation. 30
> > > years – that is all it takes for a young generation to grow up shaped
> > > by a pervasive ideology.
> > >
> > > Though quite smaller than India, Pakistan is by no means a tiny
> > > nation. It is the world's 6th most populous country, one of its major
> > > economies, and a prominent player during the cold war. One cannot find
> > > fault with it - Pakistan had to defend its national philosophy. It has
> > > expended a tremendous amount of national effort over the last 60 years
> > > in achieving a strong association between subcontinental Islam and
> > > itself.
> > >
> > > They have succeeded splendidly. Islam in the subcontinent today is
> > > seen as prominently Pakistani and India's secular fabric warped by
> > > that perception. Pakistan is an Islamic nation - this somehow gives
> > > them a stronger claim on everything Islamic in the subcontinent. The
> > > world simply does not recognise India's Islamic authenticity, and
> > > neither do many Indians within. India continues to be associated
> > > primarily with Hinduism, Sikhism, and Buddhism, but not Islam.
> > >
> > > Does religious brotherhood entirely negate the organic bonds a human
> > > has to his ancestral land and its history, and to his fellow humans
> > > who share the same bonds as him? I don't really know. What I do know
> > > is that this is not the principle on which the Indian republic was
> > > founded, and its definitely not an Indian value. Religious supremacism
> > > and breaking up of Indian people are un-Indian philosophies. It goes
> > > against the very spirit of our freedom struggle, nationalism, and our
> > > constitution.
> > >
> > > Indians must remember that new Pakistani generations do not even have
> > > the same right to speak for India's Muslims that their earlier
> > > generations might have had. Indian democracy has proven this
> > > unnecessary anyway.
> > >
> > > Indo-Pak culture-drift and attempts at an unnatural bonhomie
> > >
> > > There is a delusion among the political class and Indian people that
> > > our shared past can be used to achieve friendly relations between
> > > India and Pakistan. My view is that in doing so, we are only
> > > reinforcing the internal Islam-Pakistan hyphenation.
> > >
> > > When historical developments asunder a people, over a period of time
> > > the newly formed groups drift increasingly farther from one another.
> > > Once upon time, Myanmar and Sri Lanka were part of India, just like
> > > Pakistan and Bangladesh. Afghanistan was part of several Indian
> > > empires. Today, though at a national level we have very cordial
> > > relations, they are distinctly unfamiliar to us.
> > >
> > > Such a natural drift has definitely taken place between India and
> > > Pakistan. The strongest bond between us that keeps us in each others'
> > > national memories is not anything positive that we share, but the
> > > acrid legacy of partition. It's hard for me as an Indian, for
> > > instance, to imagine such an Islamism taking hold of Pakistan if it
> > > were under Akbar's rule. That is, if it were under genuinely
> > > Indian-style Islamic rule.
> > >
> > > I am not suggesting we should actively pursue enmity with Pakistan or
> > > vilify it. However, its being clumped together with Indian Muslims is
> > > simply not healthy for India. What has Pakistan's 'leadership' of
> > > subcontinental Muslims, its advocacy of religious supremacism within,
> > > and its enmity with India effectively accomplished? It has robbed
> > > India of its genuine Islamic authenticity in the world's eyes, and
> > > caused non-Muslim Indians to reject the culture of an un-Indian enemy.
> > > Pakistan has highlighted Indian Muslims' being Islamic and
> > =3E consistently de-emphasized their being Indian.
> > >
> > > Pursuing an unnatural bonhomie with Pakistan and stressing our
> > > similarities with them will only weaken our case for our differences,
> > > which are very real. To uphold our national interest, we must assert
> > > and amplify these differences.
> > >
> > > Replace Islam-Pakistan hyphenation with Islam-India hyphenation in the
> > > subcontinent
> > >
> > > I urge Indians to spearhead a change of perception of Islam in the
> > > subcontinent. Anything that prevents Indian Muslims' fully asserting
> > > their claim on India as Indian citizens is against the national
> > > interest. The strong association in India between subcontinental Islam
> > > and the present day un-Indian Pakistan must go.
> > >
> > > It is tempting to claim that all South Asian countries share Islamic
> > > civilization equally. It may be polite and civil to do so, and it may
> > > even have some historical merit, but it's a weak claim for our
> > > purposes. It doesn't have the necessary boldness and self-conviction
> > > to be effective. It also doesn't forcefully argue for India's Islamic
> > > authenticity. Our aim is to end Islam-Pakistan hyphenation for the
> > > welfare of a billion humans, not to be fair observers of history. We
> > > must hence push the strongest nationalistic claim possible: Islam in
> > > the subcontinent is Indian, and it always has been.
> > >
> > > Indian Islam never 'went' anywhere – it is alive and well amidst us.
> > > Our nationalism and constitution are guarantees that it will
> > > thrive if
> > > Pakistan would let go of it. When the world thinks of Hinduism in
> > > South Asia, it thinks of India. Sikhism, it thinks of India. Buddhism,
> > > India. When it thinks of Islam in South Asia, it must think of India.
> > > Everyone in the subcontinent will be better off. Everyone.
> > >
> > > The idea that Islam in the subcontinent is primarily Indian can gain
> > > currency only through a concerted nationalist campaign. No apologies
> > > should be made for such a movement. No one need be convinced of its
> > > proponents' "patriotism". The obvious worthiness of the cause, its
> > > truth, and its urgency are justifications enough.
> > >
> > > What ideas might such a campaign seek to make current?
> > >
> > > The countries in our region share an intertwined, messy history. We
> > > have a lot in common - languages, religions, culture, quirks - all
> > > part of our common and colourful heritage.
> > >
> > > However, if our historical and religious assets must be divided
> > > amongst us, then the worthiest inheritor of Islamic heritage in the
> > > subcontinent can only be India. Not Pakistan, not Bangladesh, not Sri
> > > Lanka, not Myanmar, not Nepal. India is the only nation that has been
> > > true to the historical spirit of Indian Islam – that of flourishing
> > > alongside other Indic faiths in India.
> > >
> > > Slay our demons ourselves
> > >
> > > Has it ever struck you that in our country, we have a vicious
> > > circularity of the following sort: we feel dismayed that the
> > > country/political class/leadership has done nothing for us; a form of
> > > apathy and resignation sets in; the country/political class/leadership
> > > continues to do nothing; we feel increasingly more dismayed.
> > >
> > > We are a democracy. We individually must act. Things won't happen
> > > if we don't.
> > > I urge Indians to assert India's secularism and nationalism to fight
> > > alienation of the Muslim community from Indian mainstream. This battle
> > > is the easier one to win – there are hundreds of millions of
> > > reasonable Indians, the Indian constitution, the liberal press, the
> > > legacy of our freedom-generation, and truth and justice on our side.
> > >
> > > I also urge Indians to fight Pakistani supremacy of subcontinental
> > > Islam from the outside. That is the root of all our problems. That is
> > > the key battle in India's war against communalism. We must learn to
> > > say, "Thanks, but no thanks. I understand what you mean, but this is
> > > not really true" to anyone who stresses commonalities of any sort in
> > > the subcontinent.
> > >
> > > Who will go first?
> > >
> > > Based on the concept of ownership of our destiny, what are the answers
> > > to these questions:
> > >
> > > "But how can non-Muslims claim that Islam in the subcontinent is
> > > Indian when it is represented by Pakistan and Indian Muslims
> > > themselves imply so?"
> > >
> > > "How can Indian Muslims make the Indo-centric claim when there is a
> > > genuine sense of their alienation in India and rest of Indian society
> > > accuses them of siding with Pakistan. We cannot move against Pakstani
> > > Muslims. There is a lot in common between us."
> > >
> > > I don't know! I am definitely going, in my own way. That I know. I
> > > will not ever treat any Indian by as automatically allied with a
> > > foreign, inimical power. I will continue making people aware of the
> > > need to end the subcontinental Islam-Pakistan association and replace
> > > it with Islam-India.
> > >
> > > We shall NOT vilify. We shall have faith.
> > >
> > > Indians should stop vilifying each other. Not because it would be
> > > saintly to do so, but because it only weakens our unity.
> > >
> > > Our nationalism and our constitution are solid stuff. Our greatest
> > > generation did their job well. If we must challenge our fellow
> > > Indians, invoke these instruments. Face with stead-fast stoicism any
> > > slurs, any accusations of you being an anti-Indian Muslim or a
> > > communal Hindutvawadi. Let the diatribe die down. Repeat your
> > > arguments invoking our nationalism, constitution, and your reasoning
> > > again. Do not ask anyone to 'prove' his or her patriotism. It's
> > > demeaning to do so.
> > >
> > > Satyameva Jayate – truth alone triumphs. If you are right, you will
> > > win. Have faith in our country and in every Indians' goodness and
> > > genuine attachment to their land.
> > >
> > > Augmenting India's ideological basis
> > >
> > > Earlier I mentioned that our work on Indian nationhood is not a frozen
> > > process, but a continuing one. We can and must correct any earlier
> > > mistakes that continue to torment India's communal harmony.
> > >
> > > If the greatest challenge the freedom-generation faced was ending the
> > > British rule and forming a stable republic, the greatest challenge
> > > before us is to take back leadership of subcontinental Islam from
> > > Pakistan. Our challenge is to do this without sacrificing India's
> > > secular nature.
> > >
> > > To tackle our new communal challenges in the 21st century, I propose
> > > the following:
> > > 1. Secularism will continue to remain the Indian union's lynch
> > > pin. It
> > > should not, however, require any particular religious group's giving
> > > up their right to assert religious solidarity. We should genuinely
> > > address any concerns about hypocrisy in the name of secularism.
> > >
> > > 2. India is a mature concept, and we should actively use it to tackle
> > > the challenges before us. Secularism is an integral part of our
> > > nationhood and a historically irreversible development. It follows
> > > that religionalism – wherever it is practised – is distinctly
> > > un-Indian. Within India, it is also anti-Indian in the sense that they
> > > weaken India and goes against its spirit.
> > >
> > > 3. The natural heir to Islamic civilisation in the subcontinent is
> > > India. Subcontinental Islam has always been an Indian phenomenon.
> > > Pakistan's oft-reinforced association with Indian Muslims must be
> > > destroyed.
> > >
> > > 4. India's brotherhood with its neighbours is dying. Soon there will
> > > be an Indian generation which doesn't have a single Indian born before
> > > partition. Every single human in the subcontinent would have been born
> > > in the countries as they existed after partition. The continuing
> > > attempts to maintain an unnatural bonhomie with India's hostile
> > > neighbours is not a tenable project - Pakistan has moved too far away
> > > from what was once India.
> > >
> > > Indian Muslims. India's Islam.
> > >
> > > A shockingly large amount of our national energy is wasted in
> > > countering the effects of Islam-Pakistan hyphenation in the
> > > subcontinent.
> > >
> > > The solution is simple. Reclaim the part of Indian identity that was
> > > robbed of us some 60 years back. If India is Hindu, then for similar
> > > reasons, it is also Buddhist, Sikh, Christian - and Islamic. Purported
> > > authority over sub-continental Islam by other entities in the
> > > subcontinent is an outrageous farce that must be ended right away.
> > >
> > > There is no obligation to do this meekly. India doesn't have
> > > merely a
> > > substantial claim or merely an equal claim. It simply has more right
> > > to subcontinental Islamic heritage than anyone else by an
> > > overwhelmingly large margin, period. We must use it for our national
> > > well-being.
> > >
> > > Who can assert subcontinental Islam's Indian nature boldly, loudly,
> > > without an iota of self-doubt or hesitation? Who needs this to be done
> > > most urgently? Who suffers from a deprivation of their right to belong
> > > to India the most? The Hindus? Sikhs? Buddhists? Christians? Jains?
> > > Clearly not. Who else?
> > >
> > > The Indian Muslims. The others are left distinctly poorer and their
> > > country's communal harmony stressed, but their Indian genuineness is
> > > unquestioned within India and the world over. There is not going
> > > to be
> > > an un-Indian leader-nation for India's Sikhs, Hindus, Jains, Buddhists
> > > and Christians in our neighbourhood any time soon.
> > >
> > > http://indianmuslims.in/indias-islam/
> > > _________________________________________
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> > >
> > >
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