Look Beyond The Camel
By Dr Rafiq Zakaria
12 September,2004
Asian Age
In a thought-provoking article in the Indian Express, Sagarika Ghose has shown how the emerging market-led democratisation has started demolishing the walls of prejudice against Indian Muslims; in her characteristically literary style she writes, "Demagogues whip up ancient hatreds and spur on their ignorant armies to kill and rape. Petty manifestos screech 'enemies', 'anti-nationals', 'traitors'. But the whirlwind can no longer be stopped, it comes ever on, it bounds over the spindly wickets of prejudice and soars upwards to the sky. To the sky where a certain tricolour flutters. A tricolour that, 50 years ago, committed itself to the poorest voter and to the most destitute child and promised them the arrival of this whirlwind. Behold the icons of a new India: Irfan Pathan, Zaheer Khan, Mohammad Kaif, Aamir Khan, Tabu, Azeem Premji, A.R. Rehman."
Nevertheless, despite the whirlwind of which Sagarika Ghose has so feelingly spoken, the prejudice against Indian Muslims in large sections of Hindus still persists: the common Muslims are its worst sufferers. And what is most disheartening is that more and more Hindus seem to be averse to the promotion of any reconciliation with Muslims much less in the furtherance of Hindu-Muslim unity. The hardliners among them have succeeded in painting a picture of an Indian Muslim which alienates him from a common Hindu; it evokes wrong reaction in him. He looks at a bearded Muslim wearing a cap on his head and a Muslim woman, with a veil on her face and a long robe from top to bottom and feels that he or she is so different from him. Appearances are no less vital for affiliation. Then there is the religious connection that is wrongly attributed between the so-called jihadis and Indian Muslims. This has created the most unfortunate psychological barrier. These terrorists not only bring shame and disgrace to Islam but cause the greatest harm to Indian Muslims, who are suspected by a number of Hindus being aligned with these terrorists or being sympathetic to their acts of terror...
Indian Muslims must readjust themselves to changing circumstances; they had done it successfully at the initiative of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan on the eve of the British Raj; they accepted the replacement of the Quranic punishments with those provided by the new rulers in their civil and criminal codes that were imposed on them; they paid interest on loans taken from the banks though it was prohibited by the Quran; they acquiesced in the banning of stoning to death for adulterers, though it violated the Quranic injunction; they strongly protested against the enactment of the Shariah Act, which invalidated child marriages - its biggest defender was Jinnah. In many other respects also they accepted the new legislations though many of these were not strictly in accordance with the provisions in the Quran. So much so that the British Raj was, by and large, hailed by most of their leaders.
There is no reason why Indian Muslims should not follow the direction as shown to them by Sir Syed; he was, of course, condemned by the ulema and even denounced as a heretic but the community on the whole accepted his leadership and took to the new pattern of life, turning in a new leaf especially by taking enthusiastically to English and other modern subjects of education and by agreeing to move forward by shedding the old shibboleths. Some serious thought in the same way has to be given by the community to come out of the rot into which it has fallen; even Allama Iqbal had suggested in his memorable Madras lecture that "the claim of the present generation of Muslim liberals to reinterpret the foundational legal principles, in the light of their own experience and the altered conditions of modern life is, in my opinion, perfectly justified. The teaching of the Quran that life is a process of progressive creation necessitates that each generation, guided but unhampered by the work of its predecessors, should be permitted to solve its own problems." I fail, therefore, to understand why Indian Muslims are now making such a hue and cry about carrying out certain necessary reforms in their Personal Law, when several Muslim countries have already enacted them. The shameful manner in which the Muslim leadership handled the Shah Bano case brought nothing but disgrace to the community, the new law of maintenance that it got enacted has thrown many Muslim women divorcee to the streets. Triple talaq has been condemned by the ulema, but such is their aversion to reforms that they have refused to disown and discard it...
Furthermore these dignitaries live in a different world which has lost its relevance now. Akbar Allahabadi has rightly mocked at them:
The Shaikh has advised his followers
Why should they travel by train when camel is available?
Indian Muslims must realise that these old-fashioned venerable men cannot see beyond the camel; the technical revolution has escaped them. Therefore Indian Muslims must shut them out of their lives if they are to have meaningful existence.
I am particularly distressed by the miserable condition of the Muslim youth; they have become rudderless; they have lost hope about any prospect in this country. They need to be galvanised; they must get themselves educated at every level and be provided with every facility to acquire professional and technical knowledge so that they are fully equipped to compete and shine in whatever field they specialise in. Their parents must give up their traditional outlook of sticking to the worn-out methods and norms and not keep their children away from all forms of modern education. There is no jihad better than this; it must be fought by them resolutely so that they can overcome the hurdles and difficulties that they may face. To succeed they have to exert themselves to their utmost capacity and bring out the best in them by utilising their talents to the fill. They should not waste their time and energy in indulging in accusations against others; these only provoke more ill-will and give no relief nor justice. Their leaders have tried this game ever since Partition and, as I have pointed out, brought nothing but disaster for the community. The bitter past is over, it is the emerging present with its wonderful opportunities that will take them forward. In the words of the indomitable Winston Churchill: "The stern compression of circumstances, the twinges of adversity, the spur of slights and taunts in early years, are needed to evoke that ruthless fixity of purpose and tenacious mother wit without which great actions are seldom accomplished."
I have always believed that standing on one's feet is the only solution for the ills of Indian Muslims. Doles and reservations will only keep them backward. They must harness their own energy and try and prove to be better than others in every sector. Also, they should work for cooperation and not confrontation. I have, therefore, continued to insist that they must pursue the path of reconciliation between Hindus and Muslims; after the genocide in Gujarat it has become most difficult. But whatever the odds, placed as Muslims are in India, it is the only way to ensure their security and even prosperity. Hindu-Muslim unity can alone bring them a safe haven in this country. Hindus must realise that it is in the interest of all that 150 million of their co-citizens are brought out of the slough of despondency and given equal opportunity to grow and develop. They must take Indian Muslims as their partners and encourage them to come up in life. Prejudices and suspicions are counterproductive; nor does hatred advance a nation; it has already done much damage to the polity. The two communities are so linked that each has to help the other; camaraderie among them is essential for both development and integration. Each has to help the other to make the country strong and prosperous.
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