By Syed Mohammad Raghib,
‘Muslim India was my favorite Child, nurtured with love, time, energy and money for more than twenty years, with the objective of focusing on the Muslims situation in India, political, economic, social and educational of noting its struggle and endeavor, its weakness and strengths, and hypocrisy of its friends as well as its unrealizable perceptions, both internal and external. In one word, the object was to compile a record for the next generation of the events & happenings of the last quarter of the 20th century. Muslim India fearlessly brought together all available authoritative information about political under-representation, economic deprivation, its educational backwardness & social degeneration. In the process Muslim India became an institution, acclaimed for his accuracy and impartiality, as it was community, which was as proud of being Indians as it was of being Muslims, thus representing a rich cultural synthesis and confluence. Muslim India was acclaimed both for its reportage and analysis. In a way it became the fore-runner of the Sachchar Report.
In 1996, I lost my seat in the Parliament and thus ceased to have access to official information. I was also no longer in a position to bridge the financial gap. So on completion of 20 years in December, 2002, I requested my dear friend Zafrul Islam Khan, Editor of Milli Gazette, to take it over. He ran it for three years then stopped.
Pressed by some Friends & assured of their support, I began the third phase in July 2006 and kept it going until December, 2009.But the friend who had promised extensive help silently withdrew after the first year! What pained me for 20 years & I kept on distributing more than a thousand complimentary copied to eminent public figures, academicians and journalists. At one stage I appealed to them to become paid subscribers but the response was poor. I tried to raise money through enrollment of Donor-Subscribers and Friends of Muslim India going. But for how long! The real problem was non-availability of skilled staff whose cost had risen & the mounting debt.
Agonizingly, I realized that with poor health and faltering finances had no option to call it a day. So the last issue is in your hand.
I have been wondering how to keep in touch with you to share my reaction to the national situation as it develops. Perhaps occasionally through the internet, I thank all of you who have helped me all these years in one way or the other.
I pray to Allah that before long someone, stronger than me and with better command of resources shall emerge on the scene to fill the gap.
May Allah bless, Amen
(These words are Mr. Syed Shahabuddin’s in his “The Editor’s Desk” titled Khuda Hafiz, Muslim India in the last issue of the magazine, Muslim India, 306, December, 2009)
While reading The Editor’s Desk piece of Mr. Syed Shahabuddin, my tear came out and I was shocked to see how much our community is self centric and careless about the affairs of Muslims. Now it’s tough for me to stop my pen from blaming without hesitation not only community leaders but those capitalist Muslims and intellectuals who just ignored this great work and hardly supported his magazine financially or intellectually during crisis period. The community hardly received this kind of efforts after 1947 partition’s shock from Muslim domain and Muslim society, but if someone comes out for community he was trampled by a group of people for their own political or social benefits, and the same thing happened withMr. Shahabuddin. Our community never approached him with help to stimulate such great magazine which still very much preferred in readers, academics and intellectual’s domain due to good information in all respects. I hope that some people will sincerely look this issue and will revive this magazine which is very significant and as Mr. Syed Shahabuddinsb said in his appeal that,“the object was to compile a record for the next generation of the events & happenings of the last quarter of the 20th century”. If such kind of work is stopped so our next generation will be in trouble and a good planner like him will be again grieved due to nonsupport from the community.It’s time to think about our next generations who will be required such efforts and that resourceful information for their development and for hard competitive condition. Now, due to heavy commercialization of education and professionalism hardlyany good supportive figures available around us apart fromthese people who always are ready to support the community with all their potential.I have few names in my mind that can do this great work in a very positive and muchdesigned way, like Mr. Wali Rahmani sb., who started RAHMANI-30, MaulanaBadruddinAjmal sb.,who started free IAS/IPS coaching institute, Syed ZafarMahmood sb.,who is running Zakat Foundation Of India, and Mr. P.A Inamdar sb.,who is running many educational institutions and many other organization as well like Hamdard Study Circles etc.which is active to produce a dazzling next generation.
Despite all these progressive efforts, we are behind our target and Muslims are worse than SC/ST. The sour fact which always strikes my mind and others’ mind as well is:why are we so backward? Why our community never achieved that certain point which can make community self-dependent?Why our politicians and so called intellectuals just ignore the community to prove their loyalty towards state and some political parties, and to appear more secular? Why our religious institutionsfocus only religious educationand ignore modern subjects. While the Al-Nizamiainstitution of Baghdad, established in 1065, had appointed 33-year-old Al-Ghazaliasprofessor of school in 1091 where politics, bureaucracy, maths, physics, chemistry, history, astrology and other subjects weretaughtto 3000 students. Not only that, after 18th century many Muslims scholars who were basically from traditional educational background did well in Journalism, Politics, History, sociology, mathematics etc. Today’s madrasas have failed to produce such scholars like Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar, MaulanaShibliNomani, Syed SulemanNadvi, MaulanaShaukat Ali, Maulana Mohammad Ali, Syed Ali MianNadvi, MaulanaAbulKalam Azad, Anwar Shah Kashmiri, Muhammad QasimNanotvi, MaulanMaudoodi, PirMeher Ali Shah, AllamaIqbal, RafiqueZakaria, and others.
Now I would like to say here that Muslim community must take their own responsibility and do efforts to generate such classic scholar as it was earlier. We have our long legacy to produce good journalists, doctors, engineers, social scientists, thinkers, mathematicians and many other professional expertsby ourown resourcesfor next generation. If we commit to do that with dedication then we can change the life of thousands of our people who are still waiting for a liberator (Masiha) and we will develop our secular India in which all religious and political options will be available for everyone without any bias and discrimination. Government assistance is good but our own efforts should be sturdier.
Before conclusion, I would like to remind two couplets of AllamaIqbal:
Quwwat-e- FikrO AmalPahleFanaHotiHai
Phir Kisi QaumkeShaukatpeZawalAataHai
KhulteNahinIssQulzam-e-KhamoshKeAsrar
Jab TakTuIseZarb-e-Kaleemi Se Na Cheere
In the light of above couplet there is need to be united on all fronts and work for better education, political and social participation for the progress of this country and community. We must not be fragmented in the name of Deobandi, Barelvi, Khanqahi, Hanafi, AhleHadees orJamiatUlema e Hind, Jamaat E Islami Hind, JamaatAhleHadees, Muqallid and Non Muqalllid etc. We people are sometimes treated as a second class citizen in this country due to fragmentation of thought and political, religious divisions. I hope our religious and political leaders learnt lot from the contemporary politics, social changes, current crisis and from other people who fought for their right and existence with dignity. Due to lack of one voice we are facing lots of problems not only in our village, city, and state but all over the country.
So, it’s my humble request to all those who have great ideas for community, society for their socio-political and educational development which is due since long time to come out with fresh mind and take the responsibility of community and start Muslim India magazine in coming months.
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Syed Mohammad Raghib is a doctoral research scholar in Centre for West Asian Studies at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Email address: [email protected].