Hi. I am a journalist with the Mail Today newspaper in India. I have earlier worked in the Middle East and the UK too. Here, you will find my reports, analyses and opinion pieces on Indian and Middle Eastern politics, Muslim world issues and international affairs.
24 December, 2008
INDIAN MUSLIMS MUST REJECT ANTULAY
INDIA HAS probably suffered more violent deaths this year than Iraq — much of it in terror attacks attributed by their perpetrators to Islam. Yet the big story of 2008 has been the Indian Muslims’ categorical rebuttal of Islamist terrorism, their unprecedented enthusiasm to prevent zealots from maligning their name and the name of their religion. They would now do well to deal a similar blow to vote bank politics which has yet again raised its ugly head to undo the good work done this year.
INDIA HAS probably suffered more violent deaths this year than Iraq — much of it in terror attacks attributed by their perpetrators to Islam. Yet the big story of 2008 has been the Indian Muslims’ categorical rebuttal of Islamist terrorism, their unprecedented enthusiasm to prevent zealots from maligning their name and the name of their religion. They would now do well to deal a similar blow to vote bank politics which has yet again raised its ugly head to undo the good work done this year.
Last week, Union Minority Affairs Minister Abdul Rehman Antulay threw Parliament into a pandemonium by casting doubts on the death of Maharashtra Anti– Terrorist Squad chief Hemant Karkare, calling for an inquiry into it. The world rested certain in the conviction that Pakistani Amir Ajmal Qasab had gunned down Karkare. The terrorist has apparently even confessed. But Antulay suggested the officer may have paid for his investigation into Hindutva terrorism and for putting several people allegedly linked to the Sangh Parivar behind bars in the last couple of months.
In itself, Antulay's non– conformity should not ruffle the feathers of the world's largest democracy. But Antulay's position — of a Muslim MP from Colaba, the Mumbai locality where the terrorists landed and where much of the three– day dance of death took place, and a Union minister for minority affairs to boot — makes his posture on Karkare's death positively diabolical. Antulay is undermining a momentous occasion for Indian Muslims and, by extension, for inter- communal relations in India.
United
Perhaps for the first time, common Muslims, celebrity Muslims and clerical Muslims have come out together in thousands — tens of thousands — to condemn terrorism and say there is nothing Islamic about it. Even before the Mumbai attack, as many as 6,000 clerics had issued a fatwa in Hyderabad, denouncing the massacre of innocents in the name of Islam and had urged Muslims not to be swayed by such satanic ideology.
Since Mumbai, Muslims around the country have rallied against terrorism, observed a muted Eid, wearing a black band during namaz, shunned the annual December 6 Babri Masjid protests and refused to cremate the terrorists in their burial grounds.
Many have blasted Pakistan for spreading terrorism in “ our country”. The response from non– Muslims has been equally uplifting. There has been no broad– brush maligning of the Muslim community as terrorist or ‘ Pakistani’. No anti– Muslim riots have broken out and there has been no hint of communal tension. People have spoken as one, condemning the Mumbai attack and vowing they won't allow it to divide “ us”. The national atmosphere has been a far cry from the putridity of the 1990s, in the wake of the Babri Masjid demolition, or the viciousness in Gujarat in 2002.
But Antulay’s shenanigans have the potential to reintroduce the rancour of yore. A Union minister speaking from the parliamentary pulpit carries enough credibility to discredit his community as a whole. His fire burns the candle of Muslim goodwill from both ends. More obviously, it etches a link between Indian Muslims and Pakistan– sponsored terrorism that the community has been so desperate to erase. Less obviously, it hints — wrongly — that Muslims have a stake in the investigation against Hindutva terrorism.
Hindutva terrorism, like Islamist terrorism, is a case of a few individuals taking the long road to perdition.
Both Muslims and Hindus stand to gain if it is busted, just as both communities will benefit when Islamist terrorism comes to an end. But any suggestion that Muslims have a particular interest in the investigation against Pragya Singh Thakur and others can easily open another faultline between the two communities.
And Antulay’s statements do just that.
Not surprisingly, his statements have found sympathy in some Muslim quarters. The All- India Muslim Majlis- e Mushawarat ( AIMMM), which claims to be an umbrella body of Muslim organisations, has come out in his support. It passed a resolution during its central committee meeting on December 13, demanding a separate high- powered investigation into Karkare’s death. It has also condemned the protests against a man “ who dared to speak out what is in the minds of almost all Indian Muslims.”
Doubt
But this contention was almost immediately neutralised by the Muslims for Secular Democracy ( MSD), which expressed its shock over Antulay’s “ highly irresponsible and outrageous statement”. “ The world is convinced on the basis of evidence provided by the Indian government that the terrorists responsible for 26/ 11 came from Pakistan and belonged to Lashkar- e- Tayyeba,” said a statement signed by Javed Akhtar, Sajid Rashid and Javed Anand of MSD. “ That is why there is a demand from governments all over the world that the Pakistan government act firmly and swiftly against the Pakistan- based perpetrators of terror. Not surprisingly, the Pakistan government is dragging its feet, claiming it has yet to be shown incontrovertible evidence,” the statement said.
It added, “ Very surprisingly, and shockingly, Antulay, a minister in the Union cabinet, has similar doubts.”
Criticism
What should garner more eyeballs are the words of noted actress and former MP Shabana Azmi, who said Antulay’s remarks about the death of Karkare might cause damage to the country’s integrity.
“Antulay’s remarks were unnecessary and unfortunate. He will not get the political benefit for which he made such a controversial statement.
It will rather prove beneficial for Pakistan and harmful for India’s claims at the international level.
The whole nation will have to pay a price for this statement,” she said on Tuesday.
Antulay, the MP, is obviously mindful of nothing more than building a plank on which to stand for the next election from Colaba. In doing so, he is being no different from the many of his ilk who have come and gone.
Indeed, Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh's support for Antulay — of all places — atAzamgarh implies the minister could have even done it in a bid to rebuild his party's Muslim vote bank after the Batla House fiasco.
But none of it will matter if Muslims agree to disagree with him. The community has shown exceptional maturity lately, and it knows how it has benefitted from it. Now, it must not allow itself to fall again into the slimy pit of communal politics. Antulay may win, but millions of Muslims — along with the rest of the country — will lose.
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