|
|
|
|
BOOK
REVIEW
The road to
amity
Indian Muslims:
Where Have They Gone Wrong? by Rafiq
Zakaria
Reviewed by Sreeram Chaulia
Few have steadfastly walked
the thankless road to Hindu-Muslim harmony like Dr
Rafiq Zakaria, one of India's most ardent liberal
thinkers. The theme of Zakaria's 17th book is the
nefarious role 
played by Muslim political leaders
in impeding communal harmony before and after
Indian independence.
M J Akbar, another
rare specimen from the community of the
enlightened, writes in the foreword that the flaw
in Indian Muslim politics after 1857 was the
minority complex based on the specious number
game, the belief that Muslims, being only a
quarter of the population, would always be
subservient to Hindus. "Where have Indian Muslims
gone wrong? Whenever they have forgotten their
Indian roots."
Zakaria takes the bull by
the horns by dilating on how the present
generation of Indian Muslims is suffering the
consequences of erroneous steps taken by its
leadership of yore and now. In the 1940s, Muslim
elites "gave Muhammad Ali Jinnah all the support
he needed" for partition of the South Asian
subcontinent. After 1947, "they resorted to the
same manner of confrontation with the dominant
Hindus, widened the divide and intensified the
hatred" (p xxviii). Ordinary Muslims were
indoctrinated with a "ghetto mentality" and
divorced from the national mainstream owing to
"obstinate adherence to outmoded traditions" and
fear of the ulama (clerical class).
Despite differences in the character of
Islam and Hinduism, there was no move for
partition in medieval times. Muslim rulers who
persecuted Hindu subjects made no effort to divide
territories on communal lines. Common Muslims and
Hindus had largely cordial relations, celebrating
each other's festivals. Despite conflicts between
ruling classes of the two communities,
Indo-Saracenic art, music, literature and
architecture flourished. Muslim poets, writers and
philosophers "went into ecstasy over the secrets
of human emancipation in the Bhagavad Gita" (p
38). Muslim musicians composed raagas in
praise of the Hindu deities Krishna and Shiva.
Urdu literature, from Amir Khusrau to Hasrat
Mohani, bristled with respect for Hindu saints and
spiritual precursors.
The real threat to
India's unity came from Jinnah's "aggressive
separatist stand". His pernicious "two-nation
theory" poisoned communal ties as never before.
His campaign to frighten Muslims that Hindus would
subjugate them to "abject slavery" or "complete
annihilation" inflamed misunderstanding and
passions. Thousands of Indian Muslims combated the
communal virus. Badruddin Tyabjee, Rehmatulla
Sayani, Shibli Nomani, M A Ansari, Hakim Ajmal
Khan, Maulana Azad, Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Hussain
Ahmad Madni, Rafi Ahmad Kidwai, Syed Abdullah
Barelvi, Humayun Kabir et al risked the ire of
their co-religionists to uphold oneness of all
faiths. However, the British "kept Jinnah in the
forefront in any negotiation and did not allow him
to be isolated" (p 100). Lord Mountbatten, the
last viceroy of British India, convinced Congress
leaders that "the only way to get rid of Jinnah
was a divided India. Any form of a united India
would start a civil war" (p 115).
In the
aftermath of partition, prime minister Jawaharlal
Nehru rushed to the rescue of innocent Muslim
victims. His "anti-communalism was not one-sided.
He fought Muslim communalism no less valiantly" (p
125). He opposed separate electorates and
reservation of seats for minorities. His daughter,
Indira Gandhi, was ever concerned about the
psychosis through which Indian Muslims were
passing. In her opinion, "Unless Muslims are made
to feel that they are as much an integral part of
India as Hindus, their attachment to secularism
would remain hypocritical" (p 199).
The
creation of Pakistan fueled Hindu-Muslim
bitterness instead of easing it. Indian Muslims
were more besieged than before 1947. Pakistan is
"a constant threat to their safety and security in
India". Persecuted Bengali Muslims "had to be
eventually rescued by Indian armed forces,
consisting mostly of Hindus". Average Muslims in
Pakistan and Bangladesh still "groan under the
iron heels of feudal cliques backed by the army"
(p 162).
Zakaria strongly asserts that any
solution of the Kashmir dispute on the lines
desired by Pakistan will reopen the floodgates of
vehement communalism. "The best way of silencing
the Pakistanis and preserving Kashmir's
integration with India is to strengthen the link
between Kashmiri Muslims and Indian Muslims" (p
405). Terrorism perpetrated in the name of jihad
in Indian Kashmir is a major cause of Hindu-Muslim
hostility. Zakaria cites Imam Ghazali, popular as
the "Rejuvenator of Islam": "If Muslims did not
destroy terrorism, terrorism would destroy them"
(p 203). To gloat over acts of terrorism and hold
jashn (celebrations) depicts "utter
crassness and lunacy".
The economic
condition of Indian Muslims is worse than that of
the Scheduled Castes and Tribes. Muslims have as
much to blame as the government for their own
backwardness in education. They fail to capitalize
on common facilities for educational uplift.
Purdah (veiling women) and fear of
coeducation deter female children's progress in
the secular world. Zakaria urges Indian Muslims to
cooperate with Hindus through intensive contact on
a daily basis. The former have "their place only
in India and they have to get emotionally involved
in her affairs, trends, ethos, conventions and
traditions" (p 450).
Hatred can be
overcome only by love. Since a generalized scare
exists among Hindus that Muslims will
demographically overtake them, Zakaria calls upon
Muslims to eschew polygamy and adopt family
planning vigorously. Triple talaaq
(arbitrary divorce) and the hajj subsidy
have to be abolished. The ostrich-like behavior of
such leaders as Syed Shahabuddin and Imam Bukhari
harms Muslims by keeping communal rancor alive.
Hindus in turn have to live with 150 million
Muslims, who cannot be wished away. Threats from
the champions of Hindutva to eliminate Muslims
have to cease.
Highlighting the more
liberal facets of the lives of historical figures
can clean mental cobwebs. Shivaji, the Maratha
warrior king, had one-third Muslim soldiers in his
army. The supreme commander of his navy was a
Muslim. The first thing Shivaji did after a
conquest was to promulgate protection of mosques
and Muslim tombs. "He was more liberal and
tolerant than the best of European potentates" (p
315). Swami Vivekananda, the apostle of humanism,
saw the real unity of India in Hindu-Muslim
goodwill in the villages and averred, "A junction
of the two great systems - Vedanta brain and Islam
body - is the only hope" (p 327).
The
politics of hate is eating into the vitals of
India, last demonstrated in the communal horrors
of Gujarat. Zakaria takes the electronic media to
task for its deep-rooted neglect of progressive
Muslim viewpoints. It gives undue publicity to
mullahs and fanatics. "If a Muslim demonstrates
backwardness, it is news. If he exhibits
progressiveness, it is not news" (p 356). The most
evident barriers against improvement of
Hindu-Muslim relations are riots. Governments and
political parties treat them as law-and-order
problems, without tying them to economic problems
of livelihood among all religious communities.
Indian Muslims live in depressed
conditions as hewers of wood and drawers of water,
lacking a cogent middle class. Zakaria asks them
to harness inner strengths and be self-reliant.
"Give up asking for doles ... never seek
patronage" (p 427). The mindset of the community
has to be transformed by "disarming terrorists and
disowning bigotry" (p 464). Indian Muslim
perception warrants sea changes. Religious
prejudices and narrowness of spirit have to be won
over by compassion of the likes of the greatest
Sufi, Jalaluddin Rumi:
Then listen! I
am lover of love
My love transcends all
creeds
Suffused with Urdu, Persian and
Hindi poetry, Zakaria's erudite publication will
rate as yet another milestone in the
peregrinations of the Indian Muslim caravan.
Indian Muslims: Where Have They Gone
Wrong? by Rafiq Zakaria. Bharatiya Vidya
Bhavan, Mumbai, October 2004. ISBN: 81-7276-352-2.
Price: US$11; 565 pages.
(Copyright 2005
Asia Times Online Ltd. All rights reserved. Please
contact us for information on sales, syndication and republishing.) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
All material on this
website is copyright and may not be republished in any form without written
permission.
© Copyright 1999 - 2005 Asia Times
Online Ltd.
|
|
Head
Office: Rm 202, Hau Fook Mansion, No. 8 Hau Fook St., Kowloon, Hong
Kong
Thailand Bureau:
11/13 Petchkasem Road, Hua Hin, Prachuab Kirikhan, Thailand 77110
|
|
|
|
