Amit Kushari (IAS Retd.)
Nowadays there is a lot of controversy as to what is true patriotism and true nationalism. Quite frequently Muslims and Christians are being asked to demonstrate openly and actively that they are true patriotic Indians. Their patriotism is always suspected by the others. Usually the Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains are not suspected because the religions that they profess are naturally grown religions of India — and it is expected that they would not have any extra territorial loyalties. Since Christianity and Islam were born outside India, Muslims and Christians are often suspected to be disloyal to the nation. They have to almost slit open their chests to show everyone that the image of Mother India is glowing inside their heart ——— just as Hanuman did to prove his loyalty to Lord Ram. There is so much suspicion all around that a Muslim sometimes hesitates to disclose his name and tries to get away by only disclosing a short nick name by which his family call him, like Raju, Munna, Dilloo, Bittoo. Often I have to coax them “ Bhai, asli naam batao na ! “ Only then I find out that Munna is actually Munawar, Dilloo is actually Dilawar, Raju is actually Rezzak. What a pitiable situation we are in! Muslims are being asked to recite “Bharat Mata ki jai” or “Bande Mataram” which means victory to mother India or “ Mother India I salute you! Normally a patriotic Muslim should have no difficulty in saying this, but when a Hindu or Sikh asks him to say so he feels suffocated and feels someone is holding a knife at his throat to prove his Indianness. Then he may say obstinately “nahi bolunga mein—jaao kya kar logey?” This is what happened to Owaisi(majlis-e-ittehad-ul-musalmeen) and his Maharashtra party MLA, Waaris Pathan. They said they have no objection in saying, Jai Hind but will never chant, “Bharat Mata ki Jai!” because they feel that this is associated with the RSS which they perceive as a narrow minded Hindu organisation whose main job is to bully Muslims and Christians through their fringe groups like Bajrang Dal, VHP etc. They associate the word, Bharat Mata, with the picture of Bharat Mata propagated by the RSS—which is a goddess riding on a tiger with a ‘trishul’ in one hand and a flag of India in the other. In the back ground there is a map of undivided India (India, Pak,and Bangladesh combined).
The Muslims naturally have a reservation in bowing their head before a goddess because it goes against the basic tenets of Islam. I cannot understand why should we force Muslims to do something against their will. Isn’t it enough if they say ‘Jai Hind’? Is it their fault that their ancestors did not migrate to Pakistan? Weren’t the Indian leaders of 1947 responsible for their staying back in India? Didn’t they give them assurances of safety and equality in free India? After seventy years, is it fair on our part to continuously ask them “Do this, do that, or else go back to Pakistan.” The fringe groups are often raising such slogans. How can they live in mental peace in such a situation? If highly placed Muslims like Aamir Khan and Sharukh Khan also feel some intolerance in the air, just imagine what the common poor Muslims, living in lanes and by lanes must be feeling in their day to day lives. Nowadays another phenomenon is causing agony to the Muslims. If they have a fight with anyone on any trivial issue their enemies go to the police and complain that they suspect them to have links with the ISIS. Or they tell the police that while passing by their house they could smell beef being cooked. I do not know how a person can suspect beef cooking from the smell but there are many instances when the police have come knocking on the doors of innocent Muslims suspecting them of having links with ISIS or cooking beef and then dragging them to the police station followed by endless harassment. Beef is a prohibited item in many states of India, barring Kerala, Bengal and the North East.
The case of Muhammad Akhlaq being beaten to death in Noida for a wrong suspicion that he had stored beef in his fridge is still fresh in our minds. Recently a similar incident in Mewar, Rajasthan has shamed the whole country. A few Kashmiri students were cooking mutton in their hostel room. Some people accused them of beef eating and they were attacked by a mob. They were later dragged to the police station and detained for 26 hours. The meat, on laboratory examination, was found to be normal mutton. This incident sent shock waves in the Kashmir valley. Hasn’t this incident increased the distance between Delhi and Srinagar ten times? If we can’t be truly secular how can we convince the Kashmiri Muslims to identify themselves wholly with India? How can we expect Mehbooba Mufti or Farooq Abdullah or Omar Abdullah to form a government in Srinagar in coalition with a nationalist Indian party? The fringe Hindu groups are doing immense harm to Mother India and how can we believe that they are truly patriotic? Only by shouting slogans like “Bharat Mata ki Jai” one does not become a darling son of Mother India. Mother India has crores of Muslim children living in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. If we donot love the Muslims living in these three countries, how will Mother India love us? If we continually fight with our brothers and sisters, how can our mother shower her affection on us? Politically, today India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are three different nations in the legal sense and we do need a visa and passport to travel to any of the three but there is no doubt that we are the children of the same Mother India. Our sense of patriotism should not be too narrow.
(The author is former Financial Commissioner, J&K Feedback to the author at 09748635185 or amitkus @hotmail.com )
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