By Sayema Sahar,
If I am a Muslim I can only be a terrorist attached to some militant group and would be used for fake encounters whether to get departmental accolades or political traction.
If I am a Muslim I can only be used as a vote bank during elections!
But now I refuse to let myself be another Ishrat Jahan or Sohrabuddin or Kausar Bi… I refuse to make myself available to satisfy your political ambitions.
With the reality of Ishrat Jahan encounter out in front of all of us, it’s high time for a common Muslim to put his/her foot down on being used by our own community leaders and our political leaders.
It’s high time we realize that our socio economic stand is zilch, no political party be it, the self proclaiming custodian of the rights of Muslims, the Congress party or the Bharatiya Janata Party has done anything for us. It’s high time that we realize that our identity has to be more than a vote bank during elections.
Ironically, the Muslim leaders for their self-seeking interest for sharing political power treat their community members as market commodity and bargain with political leaders.
It was due to the interest of our political leaders that the subcontinent witnessed the horrors of religious division and subsequently partition.
Partition not only took a terrible toll of life, it also gave rise to the concept of polarization which till date is being exploited by our politicians to the full.
The Muslims who chose to stay back in India at the time of partition, for the love of their country could never be allowed to be called Indians by our politicians.
Politicians like Narendra Modi, Advani, and the extremist groups like RSS and VHP.
For Heaven’s sake we are as much Indians as you Mr. Modi or you Mr. Advani.
The BJP, to consolidate the Hindu voters in its favor criticizes the Congress for pursuing appeasement policies towards the Muslims. But where are the appeasement policies??
The most anticipated Justice Rajinder Sachar Report had made numerous recommendations for urgent governmental action to redress the problems of Muslim backwardness. This is essential not only in the interest of equity and fair play. It is also in the national interest because no country can hope to progress if it leaves behind 150 million of its population, but how does the government fair on those recommendations, even after 5 years ?
If any government or any political party would have done anything for the upliftment of India’s largest minority, the demographic profile of this community would have been so different.
The comparative statistics of employment of Muslims are shocking, whether in government, PSUs or the corporate and private sectors. Muslim job ratios are a quarter or less of their population.
Educational backwardness remains an area of concern even in 21st century for this community, no government has ever taken any significant step for the upliftment of this community.
There was just a mad rush by all the political parties, to woo this community by raising hue and cry for protection of their religious identity. The political and religious leaders if at all did anything, it was to sow the seeds of hatred between the Muslims and the non Muslims.
Hatred and zero tolerance towards Muslims kept flourishing with the support of religious and political leaders.
Muslims are not able to rent accommodation in cosmopolitan areas or buildings, leading to their ghettoisation. I am a burning example of the discrimination faced by the Muslims even after 6 decades of calling ourselves a secular state!
This was in one of the national capital region where I live, we had to rent an accommodation for ourselves, we saw a couple of houses and even finalised them only to be told in the end “aap log Muslim hain? Yes, I said. Without any delay came the answer- “phir hum apko makan nahi de sakte …
I was really shocked as an insult could not have been more blatant! I was exposed to such deep rooted feeling of hatred for the first time as back home we were brought up in a very secular set up with my parents going that extra mile to participate in all the festivals that India celebrates so that their children develop a feeling of brotherhood and tolerance for all religions. We never ever stayed in a Muslim dominated area, so Deepawali and Holi was as much our festival as Eid or Ramazan!
But we would be a sad dismal percentage of Indian population!
The percentage of tolerant Indians Hindu or Muslim could never increase because our politicians were doing politics of hatred for their interest and for their benefit.
Moving on to the fake encounter of Ishrat Jahan in Gujarat, wasn’t it to satisfy the political ambition of the Hindu poster boy and a strong prime ministerial candidate of the BJP — Mr. Narendra Modi?
Mr. Modi talks about the development in Gujarat, so why has he left the Muslims to suffer serious deprivations of economic, social and cultural rights which is a result of the ongoing legacy of the 2002 state-sponsored communal pogroms?
Muslims displaced in the 2002 attacks have been denied an adequate standard of living, including access to adequate food and housing.
The Government of the State of Gujarat has failed to acknowledge the very existence of these colonies, let alone address this ongoing humanitarian crisis.
Yet we see the head of Waqf board in Gujarat extending unconditional support to Mr. Modi in the forthcoming elections, and the religious leaders offering caps and scarves to Modi .. what are their motives… this if for you and me to answer!
Today, nine years since the communal violence directed against Muslims in Gujarat, it is time the Government of India fulfils its commitments and obligations, which are guaranteed to all men and women living in India.
(The writer is a Delhi-based journalist, can be contacted on [email protected])