[Reader-list] When will Muslims join the mainstream?

[Aditya Raj Kaul]

Dear Yousuf bhai,

Thanks indeed for your e-mail. Though I may or may not agree with some
points here and there in your post; but I respect your opinion on this
important issue.

Many Thanks again. Keep writing in...

Regards
Aditya Raj Kaul

On 10/20/08, Yousuf <ysaeed7 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> Dear Aditya
>
> Thanks for forwarding the Organizer article.
>
> It is fallacious to assume that Muslims are not part of the mainstream.
> Firstly, what is mainstream? If it is some kind monolithic superhighway
> expecting everyone to follow a jet speed, then why does everyone need to
> enter it? In India, despite having such superhighways we still have bullock
> carts and camel carts slowly traversing all the wrong and right paths and no
> one minds. What I mean it, let us first define what is mainstream?
>
> Secondly, why does representations in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha become the
> yardstick of any community's progress? That's really absurd. How about the
> representation in business, corporations, health sector, education, arts,
> sciences, music, literature, media, motor mechanics, academics,
> manufacturing, civil services, sports? Is there any sector among the above
> which is not represented by Muslims? In some of them in fact, they have done
> exceptionally well. Yes, their proportions maybe less than what it should
> be, but there are several reasons for it: (A) They certainly need to do
> better than what they have done so far, and (B) there is some amount of bias
> in corporations and other institutions against Muslims (please don't get
> wild on this - its a well-known fact). But yes, even that bias can be fought
> if you struggle harder.
>
> It is stupidity again to assume that you are mainstream only if you can
> sing Vande Matram. No one should be forced to prove one's love for the
> mother land simply by singing a poem. My children and many other Muslim
> children in Delhi happily go to mainstream schools where they start the day
> with Hindu prayers, and I don't mind that. Prophet Muhammad has said that to
> love your mother land is a sign of faith (Iman). So, loving your country is
> part of religion too for Muslims. But unfortunately, the media (such as
> Organizer) will never highlight such positive aspects of the community.
>
> I believe in (and agree with) India's constitution, which I hope every
> mainstream Indian does. The constitution defines India as a secular country,
> and gives everyone the right to follow their own religion, culture, language
> and norms. Singing Vande Matram (as far as I know) is not an essential item
> in the constitution. Through that song, you can pledge your love and respect
> to the country. If I want to express my love and respect to Mother India in
> Urdu, Bengali or Kannada, I have the right to do that (because expressing
> something in your mother tongue brings out your emotions better). If I find
> Vande Mataram's sanskrit too difficult to follow, why can't I sing a similar
> song in Assamese for instance? Many "Muslim" schools in India start their
> day with Iqbal's Sare jahan se achchha - can that song be considered less in
> patriotism than Vande Mataram?
>
> Also, having a Muslim President or vice-president or Prime Minister is the
> least of Muslims' concern today. It does not mean anything. It is the middle
> level secretariat that runs the govt and this country. That's the sector
> that needs reforms and a better representation of all communities.
>
> Yousuf Saeed
>
> (Sorry, I didn't mean to write all this to you Aditya - I know you only
> forwarded the message - but it is meant for everyone).
>
>
>
>
>
> --- On Mon, 10/20/08, Aditya Raj Kaul <kauladityaraj at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > From: Aditya Raj Kaul <kauladityaraj at gmail.com>
> > Subject: [Reader-list] When will Muslims join the mainstream?
> > To: "sarai list" <reader-list at sarai.net>
> > Date: Monday, October 20, 2008, 2:46 PM
>
> > When will Muslims join the mainstream?
> > By M.V. Kamath
> >
> > Organiser
> >
> > It obviously does not occur to some mullahs and other
> > reactionary
> > Muslims that by refusing to sing Vande Mataram and
> > threatening to
> > withdraw Muslim children from schools where it is routine
> > to sing
> > it, they are only telling their co-religionists to withdraw
> > from the
> > Indian mainstream.
> >
> > Like the Muslim League of pre-Independence days, one
> > Minister of
> > Uttar Pradesh has called for the formation of a separate
> > Muslim
> > state within the Indian Union instead of Harit Pradesh in
> > western
> > Uttar Pradesh. It is one more divisive step that the Muslim
> > community is taking which is self-destructive and will only
> > alienate
> > Muslims from their Hindu brethren further.
> >
> > Refusing to sing Vande Mataram on extremely illogical
> > grounds is bad
> > enough. Demanding a separate communal state is inviting
> > more
> > trouble. Not that the idea will ever get accepted. But what
> > it
> > reveals is a sick mind that continues to be rooted in the
> > medieval
> > era. The argument one frequently hears is that Muslims are
> > under-
> > represented in every State Legislature as well as in Lok
> > Sabha. But
> > then whose fault is it.
> >
> > If Muslims refuse to jo in the mainstream and insist on
> > being
> > treated as a minority, they can hardly expect popular
> > support. Past
> > experience plainly shows that when communal peace prevails
> > Muslims
> > get more seats in the Lok Sabha. It is true that in the
> > last
> > fourteen Lok Sabha elections only a fraction of the number
> > of seats
> > they should normally deserve proportionate to their
> > population were
> > won by Muslims. The truth is that they had, on their own,
> > forfeited
> > the confidence of their Hindu brethren. If a minority lives
> > apart
> > and stays apart from the majority community how can it
> > possibly win
> > the trust, let alone affection, of the latter?
> >
> > Consider the following figures: In the first Lok Sabha
> > elections, if
> > one goes strictly by population percentage Muslims should
> > have got
> > 49 seats. Instead, they got 21 seats. In the second Lok
> > Sabha
> > elections, the population percentage remained the
> > same—but the
> > passions aroused by the Partition was subsiding and the
> > Muslims won
> > 24 seats, three more than in the first elections. In the
> > third Lok
> > Sabha elections, population percentage-wise Muslim should
> > have
> > received 53 seats but they won only 23. The highest number
> > of seats
> > Muslims won was in the seventh Lok Sabha elections when,
> > though
> > population-percentage wise they should have received 53
> > seats they
> > managed to secure 49—not bad.
> >
> > Since then, largely because of emotional estrangement, the
> > number of
> > Muslims elected to the Lok Sabha has been falling. From the
> > tenth to
> > the four teen Lok Sabha elections they should have got 66
> > seats but
> > they could barely manage to get between 28 to 36 seats. The
> > fourteenth Lok Sabha elections were in 2004 when Muslims
> > joined
> > different political parties, primarily to beat the BJP.
> > Muslims got
> > ten seats in Congress, seven in the Samajwadi, four in the
> > CPM, four
> > in the BJP, three in the RJD and one each in other local
> > parties.
> >
> > They can win more, if they get over their antediluvian
> > ideas and
> > become a modern, liberated people, instead of a people
> > suspect of
> > terrorism and anti-Indian motives. They can't get votes
> > by putting
> > their women in burqas and sending their children to
> > madrasas when
> > they should be sent to normal primary and secondary schools
> > to be
> > one with their Hindu and other students from the majority
> > and allied
> > religions.
> >
> > There is another lesson that they should learn which is
> > that hating
> > the BJP and trying to curry favour from the likes of Laloo
> > Prasad
> > Yadav or Mulayam Singh Yadav or Mayavati will not help
> > them. They
> > will continue to remain estranged from the majority
> > community, no
> > matter what arguments the so-called secular parties may put
> > forth to
> > win their favour.
> > Neither in Bihar, nor in Uttar Pradesh has the condition of
> > Muslims
> > changed because they voted against the BJP. As Chaturanan
> > Mishra, a
> > former Union Minister of Labour (1996-1998) and a prominent
> > figure
> > in the Leftist movement in the country aptly noted in
> > Mainstream
> > (August 17) , the Congress, allegedly the largest secular
> > party
> > nominated 39 Muslims in 1991 and 1996, of whom only 12
> > could win.
> > Similarly, 32 Muslims were nominated by the Congress in
> > 1998 but
> > only seven could succeed.
> >
> > Religion can never be the base of getting a ticket. Muslim
> > citizens
> > must come up in front and be seen as social workers,
> > serving people
> > of all religions. If they insist to live in the past as in
> > the Shah
> > Banoo case, or if they seem to be supporting SIMI, an
> > ISI-financed
> > student organisation—no matter how wrongly—then they
> > doom themselves
> > to being eternally marginalised. And they should not blame
> > the
> > majority community. As Shakespeare might have said to
> > Muslims, the
> > fault, dear sires, lies not in the majority but in
> > yourselves that
> > you want to stay separate.
> >
> > Turks are not less Islamic because the Ataturk threw out
> > the
> > Caliphate and liberated Turkish women.
> >
> > The Indonesians are not less Islamic because they continue
> > to adhere
> > in many ways to their ancient Hindu traditions. They are
> > not
> > hesitant to call their airlines Garuda Airlines; they are
> > not
> > hesitant to give their children Sanskrit name like
> > Meghavati or
> > Saraswati (a daughter of former President Waheed); nor are
> > they
> > hesitant in putting the figure of Ganesh on their currency
> > notes. An
> > Indonesian production of Ramayana would put some of our own
> > Indian
> > artists to shame; but here in India a section of
> > reactionary Muslims
> > refuse to sing even the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram
> > because
> > somewhere down the line in the song there is a reference to
> > Durga.
> > And Indonesia is 98 per cent Muslim!
> >
> > If Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, a great Islamic scholar who had
> > his
> > training in Islamic law and jurisprudence in the famous
> > Islamic
> > University in Cairo, could respect Vande Mataram and stand
> > to
> > attention when it was sung at AICC meetings, surely lesser
> > Islamic
> > scholars can take a leaf from his book.
> >
> > Many Muslim organisations increasingly seem to be taking
> > their cue
> > from fundamentalist Islamic organisation in Pakistan. It is
> > not
> > going to help them one bit and it is time they realise it.
> > Muslims
> > should not consider themselves a minority. India is a
> > democracy and
> > all citizens are equal. Hindus are not that stupid as to
> > want to
> > hurt Islamic sentiments of Muslims. But we need to live
> > under a
> > Common Law as citizens are equal in every way. For Muslims,
> > especially, separatism should be deeply abhorrent. It
> > should be
> > shunned like the very devil.
> >
> > We are one people and India, as Mohammad Iqbal once wrote
> > belongs to
> > everyone, irrespective of caste, creed, religion or
> > community. Sareh
> > jahan seh achcha Hindustan hamara should be our guiding
> > mission.
> > Then everything will fall in its place and—who
> > knows—the time may
> > come when under sound Muslim leadership, Hindus themselves
> > may vote
> > for Muslims. Who, today, is our President? Who, our Prime
> > Minister?
> > And who the leader of the Congress Party, oh?
> > http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?
> > name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=
> >
> > 150&page=12 ---
> > .....................................................................
> > ....................................
> > http://www.blogs.ivarta.com/india-usa-blog-column168.htm
> > Indian Muslims: Dealing with Past
> > Mayank Patel
> >
> > Across the world, Present generation grapples with past
> > wrong
> > committed by previous generation. From South Africa to
> > Germany and
> > from America to Australia, Most groups have acknowledged
> > past
> > misdeeds and apologized for the suffering caused by their
> > action
> > toward others. Thus, making genuine progress on path of
> > truth and
> > reconciliation.
> >
> > However, Indian Muslims have taken opposite path of denial,
> > distortion and deflection. They=2 0have received more than
> > generous
> > help from allies like Marxist, Fabian Socialist, Islamist
> > etc. who
> > are co-travelers on this path. In fact, it is the allies
> > who have
> > encouraged and lead Indian Muslims on this path. On behalf
> > of Indian
> > Muslims, Allies have used denial, distortion and deflection
> > tactic
> > to justify even the most unjustifiable mistakes like
> > partition.
> >
> > Indian Muslim"s pro-partition role is proven beyond
> > reasonable
> > doubt. 1945-46 Provincial Elections were fought on a single
> > agenda
> > of partition. Partition became possible only because
> > overwhelming
> > majority of Indian Muslims indirectly voted for it in that
> > election.
> > Any objective analysis of current course and arguments
> > favoring
> > course correction is usually greeted by an old tactic of
> > shooting
> > the messenger. Three bullets are very popular with
> > shooters.
> >
> > First bullet is "Present Generation of Indian Muslims
> > should not be
> > blamed for Partition". Shooter conveniently and
> > cleverly presumes
> > non-existent intent behind analysis. This is absurd. A
> > course
> > correction and acknowledgement of past generation"s
> > mistake could
> > never imply culpability of present generation. On the
> > contrary,
> > Acknowledgement would reassure all that apple has indeed
> > fallen far
> > from the tree. This would strengthen trust, improve
> > communal
> > relations and lead to reconciliation and closure.
> >
> > Second bullet is much more lethal. It is "165 million
> > strong Indian
> > Muslims cannot be wished away". Let me clarify, I=2
> > 0would not wish
> > away anybody regardless of numerical strength. There is
> > also certain
> > belligerence behind this quote. This virulent belligerence
> > is quite
> > understandable if not agreeable. After all, Indian Muslims
> > are 165
> > million strong and allies who have vice like grip over
> > India"s
> > media, academia and politics are stronger. However, it does
> > not
> > change the fact that current path of denial, distortion and
> > deflection could never lead to peace, truth and
> > reconciliation. On
> > the contrary, The Logical end of this path is civic strife
> > if not
> > civil war in which there are no winners and all losers.
> >
> > Third bullet is the denial bullet. There are dozens of
> > denial
> > bullets. One of the most popular Denial Bullet is silence
> > hypothesis. It claims that Indian Muslims are silent and
> > allies who
> > claim to be speaking and acting on behalf of Indian Muslims
> > are not
> > true representative of Indian Muslims. It further touts
> > this alleged
> > silence as proof that there is no alliance and Indian
> > Muslims
> > disagrees with current path of denial, deflection and
> > distortion.
> > There are many holes in this hypothesis.
> >
> > Firstly, Silence is not same as acknowledgement of past
> > mistakes.
> > Secondly, there is no such thing as silent disagreement.
> > Disagreement is always vocal. On the Contrary, Agreement
> > can often
> > lead to conspiracy of silence. Thus, Alleged Silence can
> > never be
> > interpreted as a disagreement with current path. Finally,
> > Indian
> > Muslims are speaking with their votes and participation in
> > massi ve
> > political rallies. They consistently vote for allies who
> > favor
> > denial path. In fact more an ally denies and asserts
> > innocence of
> > terrorist outfits more vote it receives. These votes
> > provide allies
> > a claim to speak and act on behalf of Indian Muslims.
> >
> > The current path of denial is compounding past mistakes.
> > More-over,
> > it makes Indian Muslims over reliant on Allies. This over
> > reliance
> > is unhealthy and dangerous. Allies have their own
> > ideological beef
> > against Hindus and have selfish interest is making matters
> > worse.
> > There are many reasons for breaking the alliance and
> > changing
> > course. Perhaps the best reason is to end a history of
> > wrongdoing
> > and leave a legacy of honesty for future generation.
> >
> > Related story:
> >
> > Forgive, not Forget History @
> > http://indiaview.wordpress.com/2008/01/25/forgive-but-never-forget-%
> > e2%80%93-history/
>
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