(3) News around the world - Human Rights violation
*Revivalism of religious rights is a challenge to democratic secular
constitution*
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat
Immediately after the Delhi bomb blast, the police as usual, claimed to
have cracked the case by arresting several people in the South Delhi's
Jamia Nagar area. Vice Chancellor of Jamia Milia Islamia, Mushir-ul-Hasan,
who was seen to be a villain in the community on his forthright comment
on the prohibition of ' Satanic Verses', became a hero as soon as he
decided that the University would provide all the legal assistance to the
alleged terrorists who were student of the University. While 'seculars'
have applauded the case, the Hindutva affiliates are up in arm against
this, terming it unconstitutional as well as appeasement of the Muslims.
I am not entering into this debate on what is right and what is wrong as
some people have decided to become judgmental terming one community
always wrong while other always feel that it is victimized without
introspecting our own self. Prof. Mushirul Hasan recently said in a
meeting in Delhi as why should Muslim always be answerable to
everything that is happening around them. He was actually saying that
why do we expect Muslims only to react when there are bomb blasts or
there is a Fatwa. His question was that the debate liberal verses
fundamentalist Muslims is a sham and nobody ever think of other
communities in the same way. Have we ever talked of a liberal Hindu
verses communal one? That question would not arise as the upper
caste Hindus are always perceived to be liberal one. Prof Hasan
suggests as why should Muslims in India be responsible for whatever
happening elsewhere? Of course, Muslims of India are not responsible
for whatever is happening in Bangladesh, Pakistan or any other 'Islamic'
country but definitely they can speak against the treatment that minorities
gets in these countries. Let us not speak about ordinary Muslim who is
working harder for his survival in this country but why should those who
champion the cause of Muslims remain mute to such things. Are we so
naïve to say that there is nothing common in South Asia and we remained
neutral to things happening in our neighbourhood even when majority
of us have relations in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan as well as
Sri-Lanka. If the things in our neighbours do not affect us then
Karunanidhi and entire Tamilnadu should not have felt the jitters
because of the conditions of Tamils prevailing in Sri-Lanka.
Now, the debate revolves around the students who were picked up by
the police as well as the encounter that was carried out by the Delhi
police in Batla House. Much worst is the case when 'breaking news'
appears and a reporter gets 'confession' from the 'terrorist'. If we
accept police confessions as the proof then why the Indian media and
agencies are afraid of not accepting the same when an Indian prisoner
in Pakistan confessed his hand in bombing.
Unfortunately, we are in the midst of an information war. Whether it is
the Islamic sites or the Hindu fascists, every one is speaking to their
own converts. And the biggest casualty here is the truth and freedom.
Fact of the matter is that in this game of religious war, the common man,
the poor and the women are at the receiving end. All talks of reforms are
closed down as the main threat is then perceived from outside the
community.
It is unfortunate that a legal aid given to a person is considered against
the nation. One can disagree on the nature of support but one can not
deny right to defence to those 'alleged terrorists'. The political
degeneration of the country is so much that none is going to believe in
the truth. Hence every community should be vary of these power hungry
politicians who are selling the country to the private parties, engineering
communal and caste riots and then coming with great ideas for a secular
idea. Sorry, in the state of affair, the credibility of our political class is so
low that it gives strength to fundamentalist forces as they appear better
than others. People easily ignore that corruption and dishonesty is not
just in financial term but also in the ideological form.
As the elections season approaches we will witness continuous violence
against the minorities in the country. Muslims are already in the receiving
end and now the Christians are also being targeted systematically. The
Hindutva propagandists have planned every thing well in advance and
how to describe each of their action which has one agenda in different
forms. The Muslims therefore are easily described as 'terrorists', suited
to each one of us in India after George Bush's notorious Islamic Fascism
and ' either with us or our enemy' statements. Christians, the blue eyed
boy of Indian establishment are now at the receiving end. Despite
churning out best Brahmins of the Hindutva brand today, the Christians
face the dilemma of the political system in India. Surely, evangelism is
part of Christianity but definitely there will always be violence on such
cases as Hindutva's targeting Christians is a threat to freedom and
liberty of choosing one's faith. It threaten the Dalits indirectly to be ware
of such conversion to either to Christianity or Islam, else you will meet
with the same fate.
If the home ministry had been strong enough to take action in each of
these issues, the Sangh Parivar and its goons could not have got such
freedom to assault any one at their will. Patil represent at best the
duality of Congress party in dealing with the communal elements.
Congress, which actually was a representative body of a majority of
diverse Indian communities once upon a time despite its Brahmanical
character slid in the decimation after 1980s as Indira Gandhi started
using the upper caste Hindu sentiments and the first call was Congress's
role in subsequent elections in Jammu and Kashmir and then operation
Blue Star in June 1984, when the government ordered Army assault at
the Harmandir Saheb. It mobilized the Hindu population of the country
despite the fact that Sikh were completely marginalized. None had
bothered to wipe the tears of those Sikh families who became victim of
this marginalization.
But the rulers have understood well that by making mockery of law and
vilifying one community, you can easily come close to power and therefore
there is always a danger in India which is the entry of brahmanical
supremacy through various doors. Through, the Hindutva propaganda
and vicious violence against minorities, through the congress in action
which allow the Hindutva lunatics to carry on their threat to minorities
and Congress than proclaiming their sole protector and thirdly, through
the state apparatus which has completely been Hinduised in the name
of terrorism and goes by the same way as have inherited from the
British and finally through secular platform which look different from
Congress but a motley group of disgruntled politicians mainly from the
upper caste Hindu background, secularism for whom means sitting with
some Holy priests, who can cry against the Indian state and the
government of the day. Secularism has other vanguards also in India.
Whenever these things happen, we see the same faces at one platform
swearing in the name of secularism and protecting 'minorities'.
So far, Indian secularism has always been of pampering communities
through bad examples like issue of terrorism, uniform civil code, Shariat
and so on. None of them have time to feel that secularism is participation
in nation building and socio-cultural political life of the country. And
therefore, anyone who believes in secularism, must feel convinced that
Muslims are one of the most vulnerable communities in India at the
moment. A majority of them live in poverty, malnutrition and deep
insecurity. There is a hidden biasness against them in the government
and even in the secular circles. If the secular parties were so much
concern, they should have been more worried about the common
Muslims and not with the issues of giving certificate who is a terrorist
and who is not. Instead, one would have thanked to ensure fair
participation of Muslims in our administration, in police and paramilitary
forces, in our industries as well as civil services. Alas, our politician would
never venture to think as why Muslim participation in our power structure
is reducing and that it need redressed. As long as this happen, only the
caste Hindus will be the leaders of Muslims in the name of secularism and
those Muslims who do not believe in these fundamentalist leaders will
either be termed as liberals or terrorists.
India's basic problem lies in this certification of what is terrorism and
what is not. While the Advani and company want every Muslim to be
arrested and hanged for the 'blasphemy' of challenging the Indian
state, the Indian 'secular' parties and political activists, seems to have
lost faith in the political structure. And in this, the fundamentalist grains
the most because those who do not believe in democracy and secular
values are actually the biggest beneficiary of the secular state.
The threat to Indian statehood is bigger and vital but the response has
been mute and reactionary. Rather than proactive, it is becoming more
in the form of symbols and so called unity of all the reactionaries who
are outside the brahmancial reactions. So, it is becoming a fight between
the Hindu reactionaries and all other reactionaries who do not like them.
Can India survive a fight between different reactionaries? Where will be
the common person and her interest? All these reactionaries are opposed
to basic human rights, whether right to livelihood, right to choice and
right to abort. They preach gospels and are against individual freedom
and right to question religion.
Yes, these reactionaries only feed each other. They cry against the other
except questioning their own misdeeds. The state of India has become
a virtual enslave to these religious heads. It would have been greater if
the Hindus, Muslims, Dalits, Sikhs, Christians demand for secular laws
and secular values san the fundamentalist leaders. The longer the
leadership goes to the religious fanatics pretending peace mongers,
the more dangerous the entire issue of diversity. These priests actually
do not fight a political battle but a battle of religious supremacy. They
know the weaknesses of others but not ready to discuss their own
issues. They scuttle all kind of reforms with in the communities and
therefore this war of various religious identities in India is going to
defeat people's movement for reform. Secular groups must be vary of
this and join hand in such a war where a common man can challenge
the religious head of the community and even question him.
The problem is what is an administrative problem has been made a
national problem and an ideological fight on the secular vision is
completely been termed as communal problem. The hoodlums of the
Hindutva are roaming free, taking course of action which they like and
finally the political patronage.
It is important to understand the current crisis in India is self created by
the Hindutva protagonists which in turn strengthen the similar forces
elsewhere as the religious heads take over as the leader of the
community. Now, one should ask the government what is the need to
discuss about what happened in Adilabad. A shameful and most
atrocious incident happened in Andhra Pradesh when a Muslim family
of six was burnt alive by the Hindu militants and nothing happened. It
is tragic that the government seems to be sleeping and the incidents
just passed as we see so much from the secular gangs about Batla
house simply because the things happened in Delhi and you make a
good news but why we keep quiet on what happened in Adilabad which
should have put all of us to shame and shock.
Many of our friends say that Muslims do not need to speak all the time.
Why not? We all need to speak all the time against fundamentalism.
Muslims are no exception. If we do not speak the space will be taken
over by the fundamentalists gangs who need some enemies to fight
with and if there is no enemy they will create one.
Indian media as well as activist-politicians are treading dangerous path.
Here people are already being declared as terrorists according to their
religion. But the interesting news has just appeared in the Indian
Express when for the first time the mainstream media has reported in
its front paged item that behind the Malegaon and other blasts, the
police believe the hand of Hindu Jagarn Manch.(Indian Express, Delhi
October 23, 2008). I am sure the next day there will be many ifs and
buts and not all Hindus would be declared as 'terrorists'. Question is
why the entire community should be vilified for the act of a few if they
happen to be from the community. Indian media and society will have
to ponder over this before putting any question.
Normally, these 'liberal' Hindus are more dangerous. Often they put
question as 'we accept that every Muslim is not a terrorist but why
every terrorist is a Muslim'. This question is often asked to me and my
answer is simple. It depends on your definition. You have not called
people who can burn a family in Adilabad or Ahemedabad as terrorist.
You have not called those who raped the nun and killed her as terrorist.
You do not call who start his Rathyatra with a trail of blood behind it,
as terrorist. You do not even stop him from becoming a prominent
minister. You talk of morality but for others as you have information and
media with you.
Yes, we are living in time when each one of us is passive about our own
issues and about own communities. We have documents, truths and
everything about our communities. We want to sale that victimization
mindset. And it is here we are getting nowhere. Those who do not read
history will always misinterpret it as we only believe in what our
forefathers have told us. That is the beginning of fundamentalism and
radicalism in our self. Therefore the Hindu liberal intellect would always
say as why no Muslim country is either secular or democratic. It won’t
understand that in Algeria and Turkey the military had always
intervened to stop a democratically elected government in the name of
secularism. That the Islamic fundamentalist groups had been winning
elections in these countries providing ample fuel to 'secular' army to
intervene in the interest of the nation.
It is important to understand the issues in wider perspectives and not
be judgmental simply because somebody has got a newspaper and a
channel in his hand. Media, academics as well as activists in India need
lot of introspection. We simply do not speak on issues but are divided
on communities line, both simply justifying their own positions. None of
them dare to speak and support the dissent with in their own
communities. As most of our communities want to listen to only those
ideas which they have been conditioned and writers and activist know
that and therefore vilify others. The biggest victim of this calumny is
free thought and human rights which are perhaps still far cry with in
each of these communities. Our state just represents our existing
mindset. Why should we pretend that a democratic India is secular India
also? The dirt in the name of secularism need to be cleaned first. Those
who take shelter in the name of secularism need to believe in its
perception and practice otherwise India is heading for a Afghanistan
kind of a situation where we all will be speaking for our respective
communities and not for those whose rights are violated and dignity
challenged. It is a grave challenge and we must think it over. Give a
space to common man please do not make the religious thugs an
alternative to what is happening among us. A country victim of religious
hatred cannot look again to the mindsets who have concealed hatred
in their heart and pretended smiles on their faces when they meet for
a photo session.