By Dr Mookhi Amir Ali,
Apropos “Why can’t Rahim behave like Ram or Robert?” by Mohd Asim [Economic Times 10/05/2010. For the reasons that are too complex it has become necessary for Rahim’s survival that he has to bend backwards not so much to show his patriotism but to be one of the crowd.
The jubilation at the news of Kasab’s capital punishment was obscene. The pronouncement of the death sentence was a grim event reminding us of the unfortunate obligation of a state to break a human being’s neck to kill him. It was no occasion to raise the victory sign nor to fire crackers on the road. But if Rahim does not join Ram and Robert in the celebration he will be branded pro-terrorism. It is like if he is not with them he is against them.
In the present circumstances it is the misfortune of the Muslim that if he fails to react to an event in the manner expected of him the consequences can be lethal. None other than the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is on record stating that Muslims faced the wrath of Hindus because they did not condemn Godhra enough. What Vajpayee said means that Muslims should have come out on streets to condemn their own community and the ISI the moment Narendra Modi announced that it was their co-religionists in conspiracy with Pakistan’s ISI who were responsible for torturing the Sabarmati express.
Varanasi blasts in March 2006 were squarely condemned by Muslim groups and individuals across the country and abroad like Syed Shahabuddin of All India Muslim Majlise Musawwarat, Munaf Zeena of Council of Indian Muslims [UK], Khaled-ur-Rahman of Indian Muslim Council of US. Numerous Muslims stood at Hazrat Abbas shrine at Lucknow and sent out a prayer for each dead at Sankatmochan temple. Fatwas came from all over India asking terror groups not to kill the innocent in the name of Allah and Islam. Still a prestigious English daily in India found this denunciation too little.
And since Rahim is not capable of thinking rationally he does the crazy things like holding the placard asking to hang Kasab at Bhendi Bazar or like going to Azad maidan and praying in front of television cameras for the defeat of Pakistani team in a cricket match.