By Tameemuddin Humble, TwoCircles.net,
Patna: Around 50 volunteers from all strata of the community, who extended their services for facilitating the 6233 Hajis of Bihar at Gaya Hajj embarkation point during the last 45 days, feel unengaged after the last Hajj flight took off from Gaya International Airport on Monday.
More than hundred and fifty persons registered their names for the purpose but about 50 could spared their time, talent and money religiously, regularly and punctually from 8am to 4pm, attending the Hajis of the two flights daily.
Dr Hamid Hussain gives instructions to Hajis and volunteers.
They assisted Hajis, most of them in 70s with no flight experience, in fulfilling all the formalities—from luggage handling to getting their boarding passes, providing comfort to their 3 hours stay at Gaya Airport campus. They supported both the agencies—State Hajj Committee of Bihar and the Airport Authority of India at Gaya without getting any remuneration from any side rather spending their own money on Hajis purely out of their religious passion and to get salvation hereafter.
These volunteers have been providing their services since Gaya made one of the 21Hajj embarkation points in India. Now when the Hajj embarkation ended in Bihar today, some of the volunteers want to spare their time in any other community service, besides earning their livelihood. The civil society and the community leaders may train and engage them in some other developmental works in accordance with their capacities.
Volunteerism found at Hajj embarkation points and on other religious occasions—Iftaar Parties, Eid Milan, Qurbani meat distribution, Eidain congregation, Zakat collection and at times at the Aalmi Ijtima of “Tablighi Jamaat” provides an opportunity for the community leadership to assess the huge community potential in voluntary sector lying unfocused and unorganised.
To streamline it not only for a religious cause but also for the other greater tasks ahead in the socio-political field and also to bring the community together in the interest of its overall development and in country’s interest, a balanced leadership at all level is needed. The voluntary engagement shown on these religious occasions is purely to seek the pleasure of Allah. To dispel the hatred and confusion about Islam prevailing in our country is also a service to Allah hence the culture of non-profit, self-induced activity of community in other secular fields could also be promoted. Our religious leadership will have to discourse that every act of service to mankind whether religious or secular is an act of worship in Islam. Dozens of verses in Quran and sayings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) give emphasis on the selfless service to human being irrespective of one’s cast, creed and religion.
Considering the situations in the country, the first and foremost responsibility of the community leadership is to take the initiatives in establishing ways and means of communal harmony as it bears the brunt of hate politics and communal disturbances most. There is a well thought out conspiracy to polarize the plural society. Only by dint of organised volunteerism, the community could tackle this ever growing problem. Otherwise it has to face the hatred at every nook and cranny of the society. An extraordinary patience together with the character-building is needed.
The community operates through the two types of leadership. One is active in civil society and another represents to the legislative bodies. In both the categories, commonly, the people at the helm of affairs of the community, lack the confidence of the general masses because of their greedy attitudes and the lust of power and wealth. It will have to be vigilant enough while making someone responsible or representative for its affairs. The persons made responsible are generally devoid of community spirit and reach at the chair using the unfair means even to the religious bodies and institutions. It has to check its internal process of selection properly and will have to monitor the implementation of government welfare schemes. The community has to deal with the people chosen in its name for its welfare by the government. Most of them do almost nothing and remain in their office simply by showing loyalty to their masters. The community has loosened enough by its astute people in the last two decades. The civil society must utilise the network of mosques to educate the general masses as well as the intellectual leaders to be honest to the community and the country.
Hajis infront of the terminal.
For the sake of or in the name of minorities, not only the state government but even today’s central government is allocating funds, continuing the policy of earlier government. There is a separate ministry and other institutions at state and national levels that are working exclusively for the minorities in which the Muslims count almost 70% among the six minority communities, though it is not the proportionate beneficiary. Not only these institutions are headed by the community people but also put to the expenses, allocated to it. The purpose of these institutions—Waqf Boards, Minority Welfare Departments, Madarsa Boards, Minority commissions, NCPUL or Urdu Academies, etc. is to make the community at par with the others but the persons at the helm use their offices for the personal glorifications and benefits. Why not be given targets to achieve or else be removed. The primary responsibility of mainstreaming each and every section of the society lies with the government owing to which these institutions are created but the appointment to these chairs are given to those who work most for the party. Article 30 of the constitution gives minorities the right to establish and administer their own educational institutions but that can’t be manipulated for the nepotism and corruption in the institutions.
Unless the community trains and gives orientation to its own human resource at all levels, it can’t accelerate the pace of the development and would remain far behind from other communities. Therefore, it will have to evaluate the institutions under its discretion, whether the people at the helm are working to empower the community as expected or simply fulfilling the official requirements.
(Tameemuddin Humble is the Secretary of the Muslim Empowerment Forum.)