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.