Humra Quraishi expresses concerns about the treatment of minority communities, particularly Muslims, by politicians with Right-Wing affiliations, highlighting instances of provocative remarks and orders from BJP rulers, as well as the bias in education provided by Right-Wing-backed schools.
It was somewhat surprising to see videos of Union Minister Smriti Irani walk around the holy city of Medinah in Saudi Arabia. It is stated that she was there to finalize the details to the upcoming Haj of 2024, in the context of the Haj pilgrims travelling from India to Saudi Arabia. Why was I surprised? Because, if only she’d walked around the cities and towns and qasbahs of home country India, to find out the everyday apprehensions and threats and challenges faced by the Muslims, then perhaps, one could comprehend the apolitical dimension to it.
It is a known fact that the Muslims in the county are going through crisis times under the Right-Wing tactics, with the rather too obvious backing of the ruling lot. Before moving ahead, let me hasten to write that recently I was viewing an interview of the Assam chief minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, where his tone and words for the Muslims was not just communal but blatantly biased. So very aggressive and provocative that I decided to stop viewing it after the initial a few minutes. Mind you, this is not one of those rare instances. Many ministers and MPs and MLAs with Right-Wing backgrounders to them talk in the most third-class manner where the minority communities are concerned. Needless to add they are confident enough to mouth the worst possible stuff, knowing that they wouldn’t have to face any of the aftermath. They seem to get away with any of the communal unleashes they throw out, heap at any of the minority men and women and children.
Today, there is little outcry as ministers in the BJP ruled states of the country pass orders for government school children (including those from the minority communities) to sing Vande Mataram, to do Surya Namaskar, to read religious scriptures of a particular religion. Why not scriptures of all religions and faiths? Also, why no questions raised by any of the Child Rights forums on the affect these Hindutva dictates will have on the very psyche of the Muslim children and teenagers?
Provocatively communal remarks and orders are passed regularly by the BJP rulers but there’s no question of their arrest or ouster! Not even when BJP MLA from Ballia district in Uttar Pradesh, Surendra Singh, had publicly said that once India becomes a “Hindu Rashtra”, only those Muslims who assimilate into the Hindu culture will be able to stay in the country. “There are a very few Muslims who are patriotic. Once India becomes a Hindu Rashtra (Hindu nation), Muslims who assimilate into our culture will stay in India. Those who will not are free to take asylum in any other country,” He also claimed that by 2024, India would become a Hindu nation: “As the RSS completes 100 years in 2025, by 2024, India will become a Hindu Rashtra.”
The likes of Sangeet Soms, Sadhvi Niranjans, Giriraj Singhs, Katiyars, Sakshi Maharajas, Togadias, Hedges have been openly and blatantly threatening, abusing, taunting sections of the minority community, yet they move around freely. Also, though news reports had surfaced that the VHP and Bajrang Dal were holding arms training camps in Greater Noida, Varanasi, Ayodhya and in other locales, where the young were getting training to attack the ‘enemy’, yet there was no serious stoppage of those terror striking camps.
One cannot overlook the fact that the three– LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti – who were gleefully hugging each other when the Babri Masjid was getting destroyed by the kar sevaks, were allotted prime slots in the very governance of this county.
In contrast, the state’s fury against several academics – activists for their speeches stands out. In 2019, with the arrest of MM Akbar – head of Niche of Truth, a regular speaker on platforms of Mujahid organizations, and director of Peace International School – questions were raised on the very reasons for his arrest. The case against him was based on the allegation that the text books of Peace School create communal discord, and charges against him under IPC 153(A). – The religious text book for Class II of Peace School had contained a question, ‘If your classmate decides to embrace Islam, what advice would you give him?’ The case was registered following the conclusion of the District Educational Officer of Ernakulam that this question and the answers to it would spread religious hatred. Though the school officials explained that once they found the disputed part of the lesson inappropriate, they had given instructions that it should not be taught, and the publishers clarified that though the particular part was included as an activity to teach children that declaration of faith by truth (kalima shahaada in Arabic)- is the first step to becoming a Muslim yet they were withdrawing the book.
If the establishment wants to remove all possible traces of biased teachings, it ought to look what’s taught in the Right Wing backed /supported schools. In 2016, during an interview given to me, the former IIT Mumbai Professor, Ram Puniyani, detailed the teachings in the RSS run schools- “RSS has single teacher schools, Ekal Vidyalaya and bigger ones as Shishu Mandirs. The pattern of authoritarianism between teachers-taught, senior- junior is very rigid. The main values which are promoted are those of conformism. Along with this, the books in these schools are structured around the mythical history of superiority of Hinduism, that all was well with Hindus till Muslim aggressors came, caste is presented as having given stability to society, Muslim Kings are presented as cruel and so on. The hatred for religious minorities is drilled into the children.”
In fact, I had first heard the former Delhi University Professor Nalini Taneja talk in an open forum of the history taught in the RSS run schools. It was a shocker, as she read out and aloud several of the provocative passages from the text books taught in the RSS run schools… “The history texts are nothing but unadulterated illustration of the RSS view of history and use of history for its sectarian agenda – Aryans are the original inhabitants of India, Indian civilization is essentially Aryan civilization, the ancient period of history when Hindu rulers ruled was golden and India had enormous advantages during this period. The coming of Mughals brought darkness, cruelty… Hedgewar, Gowalkar, Savarkar are amongst the greatest freedom fighters. Muslims as a community are traitors. Hinduism is synonymous with nationalism. Also, caste, child marriages and sati are defended. Muslims, Christians and Parsis are called foreigners. Urdu is referred to as a foreign language.”
It is not known what awaits us in this election year- 2024. Apprehensions and worries and fears are spreading out, as this sarkar insists on using religion for political mileage. It’s rather too obvious; even the naïve do understand the game plans of the Right-Wing forces in this election year, but they seem utterly helpless. After all, the masses cannot outdo the state might, even as political tactics are only compounding the tense scenario. There seems a crisis turning point in the very democratic setup as there’s little of the democracy and more of the very obvious political Agenda. Tense times, with relays of what more could unfold to unsettle and sabotage and silence the democratic structures …rather, whatever remains of them.
SANDEEP PANDEY – WHAT A COMMITTED MAN!
Received this message from the Lucknow based activist-academic Sandeep Pandey, who has decided to return his Magsaysay Award and also all his US degrees in the backdrop of the “role of the US in war in Gaza.”
To quote Sandeep Pandey on this: “When I received the Magsaysay Award in 2002, a little controversy was created due to my decision to participate in a protest outside United States embassy in Manila against the impending attack on Iraq, immediately a day after the award ceremony in which the award was handed over by the Philippines President. The then Chairperson of Magsaysay Foundation had tried to dissuade me from participating in the protest on the pretext that it’ll harm the reputation of the foundation.
“My contention was that the award mentioned my participation in a peace march in India for global nuclear disarmament from Pokharan to Sarnath in 1999 and hence my anti-war position was well known. I had to honour the decision taken at a peace conference at University in Manila which, coincidently, concluded on August 31, the day Magsaysay Awards were handed over, to stage a protest at US embassy as I was invited to the conference as well. After the protest on September 1, a Manila newspaper, in an editorial challenged me saying that if I was the principled man that I would like them to believe then I should return the award to the US embassy before returning to India, this made the decision easier for me. I returned the cash component of the award from the airport which came from the Ford Foundation of the U.S. but in a letter to the Chairperson of Magsaysay Foundation I said that for the time being I was keeping the award as it was named after a former popular Philippines President and had been given in my country to personalities like Jayaprakash Narayan, Vinoba Bhave and Baba Amte, whom I considered as my ideals. I had mentioned in that letter that if the Magsaysay Foundation ever thought that I was harming their reputation too much, I would be happy to return the award as well.”
He further details: “I think that the time has now come. Magsaysay Award is primarily funded by Rockefeller Foundation and the category in which I received the award is funded by Ford Foundation, both American foundations. Given the role of US in blatantly supporting Israel in the current offensive against Palestinian citizens, more than 21,500 of whom are dead, and still continuing to sell arms to Israel, it has become unbearable for me to keep the award. I, therefore, am deciding to finally return the award too. I would like to apologise to the people of Philippines if they feel hurt because of President Ramon Magsaysay’s name associated with this award.
“My protest is only because of the American connection with the award… I have to take the hard decision because I think US is singularly responsible in encouraging Israel to continue its aggression against Palestinians contrary to the popular world opinion. It could have played the role of mediator, like it once did, and tried to negotiate peace between Israel and Palestine. Creation of sovereign state of Palestine and its recognition by United Nations as a full member is essential towards the solution of the problem. But it is strange that US, which not very long back handed over Afghanistan, much bigger in area, to Taliban on a silver platter knowing very well that it was jeopardizing the civil liberties of common Afghans, especially the women, parrots the Israeli position about Hamas being a terrorist organization ignoring the fact that Hamas has won an election in Palestine, unlike the Taliban.
“I feel that it is time to call out the double standards of US government… it is inexplicable why the US chooses to turn a blind eye to the misfortunes and sufferings of the Palestinians and overlooks the crimes of Israeli defence forces. Had it been any other country, it would have imposed sanctions against it, like it did along with the rest of the world against South Africa, when apartheid was still practiced there.”
—–
Have you liked the news article?