By Ubaid ur Rahman Mohammed for Twocircles.net,
One might have many issues with someone, what they stand for or what they say. It is fine to criticize them for what one feel as issues, shortcomings or problems. It is perfectly possible one might feel the criticisms are worthwhile, while others might disagree on their substance.
I felt that a recent article on Asad Owaisi (Actions, not speeches are important) was an example of a criticism lacking substance or at least coherent construction of arguments. The article is all over the place, big on Owaisi’s ‘exaggerations’ and ‘half-truths’ while the article itself has many glaring exaggerations, half-truths, innuendo, nitpicking, and unfair/unexplained conclusions. I did wonder how this article passed the editors. In any case, I accept the possibility I might be wrong, either totally or partially, and would like to be corrected and explained.
Just to make clear, please do not conflate the criticism of this article with the defense of Owaisi, for it is not meant to be.
I have put my thoughts, questions in a list, with each number indicating a direct quote from the article. Each of them has a sub-text with my comments/thoughts/questions.
1. Actions, not speeches are important
a. Really? With the system we have today, are you saying only actions are important, speeches are not? (Giving the author the benefit of doubt, I will interpret it as speeches are less important than actions.)
2. But there is a general weakness––especially among Muslims––to be carried away by the rhetoric.
a. Brandishing whole populations/community.
3. Owaisi is no match to the intellectual level of the above two {Jinnah and Shahabuddin} and it seems that he has not learnt from the mistakes they committed.
a. What mistakes of Jinnah should Owaisi have learnt from? Not to partition the country?
b. What mistakes of Shahabuddin should Owaisi have learnt from?
c. How can he learn when, according to you, he is no match to their “intellectual level”?
4. Yet it goes to the credit of his admirers to become his fan without ever understanding his real message.
a. How do you know this?
5. But Jinnah’s era was different. There was no TV, no information technology revolution, no NRIs––many of whom having no idea about what is actually happening in the country yet would relish in floating fantastic and rubbish ideas on social media.
a. Jinnah was fluent in English and could hardly speak Urdu––the language of majority of Muslims of the sub-continent––his mother tongue was Gujarati. Yet it goes to the credit of his admirers to become his fan without ever understanding his real message. It is a topic of further research as to how his followers––90 per cent of them never understood his English––agreed to his call of partition of the country.
b. How do you theorise Jinnah’s English speeches reached his “admirers” directly in English? Through English media only?
c. Can you reconcile the above two snippets?
6. NRIs––many of whom having no idea about what is actually happening in the country yet would relish in floating fantastic and rubbish ideas on social media.
…
Perhaps the mentality then was that everything said in English is all right, and should be blindly followed. About two centuries of British influence might have conditioned the mind.
a. Why is the second snippet not an example of, what you call “fantastic and rubbish” posted on social media in, first snippet?
7. For them delivering a tit-for-tat speech in Parliament or in a TV studio is the only criteria for being a good leader––even if what is said in them may be half-truths or exaggerations.
a. “Owaisi is going to be honored [for his tit-for-tat speeches with half-truths and/or exaggerations] with SansadRatna award 2014 for overall best performance in 15th Lok Sabha.
b. His speeches in Lok Sabha taking on national political parties and union ministers alike with questions and empirical data have always made other Muslim parliamentarians look as non-existent.
c. Recently Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh was caught in surprise by Owaisi’s ‘googly’ when he raised the issue of wakf properties during the tabling of the land acquisition bill in parliament, forcing Mr. Jairam to admit his ministry’s mistake and to recognize wakf as a serious matter yet to be deal in the bill.” For more info on the same, please read the following article: http://www.twocircles.net/2013dec24/asaduddin_owaisi_bags_sansad_award_2014.html
8. For example it must be investigated as to why Asaduddin Owaisi –– once again another barrister––started getting much more space in national media after November 12, 2012 when his party parted ways from Congress. This is so notwithstanding the fact that he has been an MP since 2004 and MLA since 1994.
a. Is this Owaisi’s fault now?
9. He may be surviving in the walled city of Telangana’s capital because it is a Muslim dominated pocket. Otherwise, political obituary of the Owaisi family would have been written long back.
a. What do you mean by “walled city”?
b. Also, did he move there because it is a “walled city” and he could be politically and/or physically safe there?
10. The example of Jews in the United States, where there is two-party system––and little scope for forming smaller parties––can be cited, though many would not accept it because of entirely different situation.
a. The chutzpah.
i. “NRIs––many of whom having no idea about what is actually happening in the country yet would relish in floating fantastic and rubbish ideas on social media.”
ii. A non-US citizen, non-US resident is proposing a US example to follow
b. Can you be specific and link to exactly what that “example of Jews in the United States” is?
c. Anyway, you cited it, but do you accept it?
11. Why go elsewhere, but confine to multi-party India. By forming social alliance with regional parties Muslims have increased their representation in UP, West Bengal and Bihar––much more than many other states.
a. “[Owaisi’s] community consciousness is recognised in the parliament where major Muslim MP’s are seen bound with the partylines.” (http://twocircles.net/2013dec24/asaduddin_owaisi_bags_sansad_award_2014.html#.VjEdKrerT4Y)
b. What did increased representation help with?
12. At least one data is enough to cancel out the effect of propaganda of discrimination. Is not it a fact that in 2012 out of 72 who qualified for the MBBS test of AIIMS 12 were Muslims, mostly girls––several of them among the toppers and in the general list. A number of them ended up as gold medallists.
a. Please demonstrate how “At least one data is enough to cancel out the effect”.
13. Owaisi played such a politics in Maharashtra that yielded no good for the Muslims.
a. Are you talking in terms of seats won?
b. What would you consider a benchmark for “good for the Muslims”?
14. What he did in Bihar is something shocking. For a month he kept parroting that his party would be contesting 24 seats, but managed to get just six candidates.
a. What do you mean by “manage”? Did he approach many but only 6 said “yes”?
15. How can a leader go for electoral battle without ever doing his home-work?
a. Come on…
16. Has any party in the history of independent India made such a faux pas in the middle of the battle?
a. Has any? You should know better, don’t you think?
17. Perhaps Owaisi is not aware that two-thirds of the 24 Assembly segments of Seemanchal are not Muslim-dominated as he and his party men tried to project.
a. Why “Perhaps”? You seem to be so sure that he has not done his “home-work”.
18. Majlis leaders try to befool the people by highlighting selective and outdated data.
a. Something like this? (“At least one data is enough to cancel out the effect of propaganda of discrimination. Is not it a fact that in 2012 out of 72 who qualified for the MBBS test of AIIMS 12 were Muslims, mostly girls––several of them among the toppers and in the general list. A number of them ended up as gold medallists.”)
19. Now Owaisi’s supporters are feeling cheated. A sizeable number of them who were rooting for him till recently have started suspecting him as a BJP agent as alleged by many of his opponents.
a. Sure. Assuming you talked to them or read about their “feeling cheated” would you please cite?
b. But again, you imply 90% don’t have any idea of what their leader is saying. Do you place these “feeling cheated” supporters among the 90% or among the other 10% or a mix?
c. Is yourbenchmark total 100% should not feel cheated at all?
20. AIMIM may have to pay a heavy price for this political blunder. Its likely plan to contest West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections in 2016 and 2017 respectively lies shattered.
a. Why the “may have”? (You next sentence says their 2016 and 2017 plans “lies shattered”)
21. Instead of a “Hawa-baaz” (windbag) what Muslims in India need is a statesman.
a. OK.
b. Just one thing, why did you have to add “(windbag)”?