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http://www.ummah.net/kris/imuslims.htm
INDIAN MUSLIMS - AN OPPRESSED
MINORITY
By Abdul Haq
India has a unique experience of Muslim minority. A dominant
minority in the medieval period became a dominated minority, all
of a sudden with the advent of British rule in India. This sudden
change resulted into complex problems. Partition of sub-continent
in Aug 47 converted the Muslim community of India into
‘Pakistani Muslims’ and ‘Indian Muslims’.
This was a great shock as far as Indian Muslims are concerned.
The rulers of Yesterday, now had to live under the ‘Hindu
rule’. Fifty years having passed, the Muslims who opted to
stay in India are still getting a raw deal in every sphere of
life. They are still drowned in the scourge of poverty and
backwardness. They continue fighting the ever-hunting spectra of
communal riots and threats to their religious and cultural
identity. The sense of insecurity experienced by the Indian
Muslims in the post partition period has been compounded in
recent years by the state repression and terrorism under the
‘draconian’, Terrorist and Disruptive Activities
(Prevension) Act (TADA). Under this act 7,9332 people, mostly
Muslims were detained and tortured during 1990-95 across the
country. Though the Act has been repealed, yet about 5000
persons, mostly Muslims, are still in jails.
Hinduism and Islam
Dr Balraj Madhok, former Professor of history at Delhi University
while explaining the term ‘Hindu’ said, "Everyone
living in India is a Hindu. Hinduism is no religion, it is the
name of a civilization (Tahzib), a way of life." He further
said that, "Whereas his (Madhok’s) nationality is
Hindu, his (Madhok’s) religion is Vedic Dharmi". While
giving an interview to ‘New York Times’ correspondent
at Delhi in 1966, he said, "In this country we have never
insisted on religious confirmity and we are not going to start
now. However, one thing we do insist on, is that Muslims become
Indians. They can worship as they like, but they must adopt this
country’s customs as their customs." What all it means
for Muslims is that Hinduism is not so much a religion as it is a
way of life. It prescribes not only how a man must pray, but also
how he must eat, dress, converse, work and die. On the other hand
Islam is much more than this. While asking a Muslim to give up
all but his mosque and adopt the Indian way of life, is virtually
demanding that he should give up Islam and become Hindu. Nobody
can dispute that the Muslims have individually and collectively
the duty and responsibility to mould their personal and social
lives in accordance with the dictates of Islam, which is a
perfect way of life, better than any religion in the world.
Birth of Hindu Revivalism
The Hindu reformers of the 19th century were the pioneers of
Hindu renaissance. foremost among them was Raja Rammohan Roy
(1772-1833) the founder of Brahmo Samaj, which represented the
first throb of modernism in Hinduism. A great admirer of Muslim
thought, he had been deeply influenced by his study of Islamic
works (including Quran) and by Sufism. Yet at heart he was a
staunch Hindu. His deepest yearnings were to turn the Hindus back
to the Vedas. He was thus one of the founders of modern Hindu
nationalism. The message of Rammohan Roy was carried further by
Dayananda-Saraswati, a Gujrati Brahman (1824-1883), who openly
raised the slogan ‘India for the Hindus.’ According to
him, Hinduism was to be the sole religion of the sub-continent,
and the Hindus its sole masters. The Muslims were foreigners and
must be pushed out. He devised a new weapon to fight the Muslims.
It was the weapon of ‘Shuddhi’ or individual conversion
of Muslims to Hindu faith. After the partition of India in Aug
47, thousands of Muslims were butchered cold blooded and forced
to leave India. Since then, Hindu militant Bal Thackeray of Shiv
Sena and other militant Hindu organiztions are of the opinion
that Muslims have their own homeland in the shape of Pakistan
(though they do not accept it from their hearts), therefore they
have no right to live in India.
Alienation of Muslims
In terms of numbers, the Muslims are only next to the Hindus,
totalling 95.2 million (1991 census) and constituting about 12
percent of the population, yet they are considered by the Hindus
even less important than the Jains and Buddhists who are only
0.43 and 0.41 percent of the population respectively (1991
census). A prominant Hindu writer S. Harrison admits that the
dominant note in the Hindu attitude towards Muslim today is that,
"Hindus have a natural right to rule in modern India as a
form of long overdue retribution for the sins of the Mughal
overlords. It is not enough that unified state with a Hindu
majority, clearly dominant over a Muslim minority now reduced to
12 percent, has been established at long last in the Indian
sub-continent. The fulfilment of Indian nationalism requires an
assertion of Hindu hegemony over the Muslims of the subcontinent
in one form or the other." The cumulative outcome of all
this is that according to Jai Prakash Narayan, "The Muslim
population has been so much cowed and demoralized that they are
not acting according to their convictions. They are afraid that
if they expressed their real feelings, their loyalty will be
suspected."
Interference in Muslim Religion
Apart from being made to suffer a host of disabilities,
political, cultural and economic; the Indian Muslims have often
been subjected to a campaign of interference with their religion
as well. It usually takes the form of slanderous attacks on Islam
made in school text books, or in the press, desecration of
mosques and shrines, or deliberate incitement of feelings of
religious hatered against the Muslims. In most of the Hindu
dominated Indian states, Hindu religious beliefs, philosophy and
methodology have been introduced into the text books in the name
of Indian culture. This is to an extent that a glance through the
officially prescribed school text books leaves an impression that
those responsible for them regard India (a multi religious
country) as the home of Brahmans and attach value only to their
deities, temples, religious customs and practices.
Adverse propaganda against Islam
The books dealing with the heritage of India
exclusively enumerate Hindu heritage and gloss over everything
Muslim. The Muslim heroes in medieval Indian history have been
treated as ‘aliens’ and ‘strangers’, the book
‘Hamara Purwaj’ prescribed for classes VI, VII and VIII
in the state of Uttar Pradesh is an instance of such unfair
treatment. A text book on history approved by Bihar State
Government entitled ‘Gayania Uday Basic Itihas’ carries
an alleged picture of the Holy Prophet under the caption
‘Eishwar Ke Peghamber-Hazrat Mohammad.’ The author
makes the statement that the Quran was written by the Prophet
himself. It is not only contrary to the Muslim belief but also an
adverse propaganda against Islam. The book also makes indecent
remarks about Hazrat Khadija, one of the Prophet’s wives. In
Rajisthan as well, text book prescribed in Schools contain
derogatory references against the Holy Prophet. The Director of
education Rajisthan, issued instructions to authors to see,
"That lessons in India and other subjects deal with the
importance of cow at all stages in a suitable manner." The
content of prayers recited in state schools is also very
objectionable, grossly violating the constitutional guarantee of
religious freedom so far as Muslims are concerned.
Desecration of Mosques and Shrines
Countless incidents can be cited of the desecration of mosques by
the Hindu communalists during the last few decades. In 1961, the
Indian Rehabilitation Minister made the claim that all the
mosques and graveyards had been resorted to the Muslims. Refuting
this statement, Maulana Hifzur Rahman produced a long list of
mosques and graveyards not restored to the Muslims but had been
auctioned by the Rehabilitation department. Some of the names of
mosques and shrines mentioned in the list are Masjid Qazi Serai
(near Thana Mehrauli), Masjid Begampur Khurd (near Kalu Serai),
Masjid Chuna Mandi, Masjid Mantola Pahrargang (Delhi), Masjid
Qabrastan Golebazar, (Thana Reading road, Delhi), Masjid Thana
Civil Lines Delhi.Qabrastan village Ladha Serai, Mehrauli,
Qabrastan near Dargah Hazrat Khwaja Qutbuddin), Qabrastan behind
Thana corporation office, (Mehrauli), Qabrastan East of Eidgah,
(Mehrauli), Qabrastan Gurgaon road, Qabrastan Gole Market, Thana
Reading Road, (Delhi), and Qabrastan Motia Khan, Pahargang
(Delhi).
Tragedy of Babri Mosque
The 16th century historic Babri mosque was razed to ground by
thousands of Hindu fanatics in Ayodhya, (UP) on 16th Dec 92.
According to Indian media reports, the Hindu Zealosts and
India’s one of the largest Hindu fundamentalist political
party BJP are again threatening to build a grand temple on the
rubble of this mosque. Hindu fundamentalists openly announce that
they would, "Purify India of Muslim remnants." It was
during 1949 when Babri Masjid was first raided. A group of
vandals entered the mosque and placed the idol of Ramlallah. The
successive Indian governments patronized the Hindu
fundamentalists under different garbs, which ultimately turned
into an uncontrollable demon.
Responsibility of the tragedy
It is an established fact that the government of India did not
take any action to disperse the mob despite the fact that it was
aware of the heinous designs of the unholy gathering. Instead of
saving the mosque from destruction a number of government
officials were reported to have watched the scene gleefully,
inciting the mob to deliver a final blow to bring down the
structure. The reluctance of government to either call in the
army or Central Reserve Police to protect the mosque, spoke of
understanding between Shiv Sena and the Union government of the
Congress. Reports indicated that the assault on the mosque was
effectively abetted by the guards. An Indian journalist Yuvraj
Mohite, while recording his statement in the court of Mumbai
said, "Bal Thackeray, founder of Shiva Sena ordered the
massacre in Dec 1992 after the demolition of Babri Mosque. The
double-dealing Congress Ministry of the then Prime Minister
Narasimha Rao at the centre did almost nothing to Prevent the
distruction of 450 years old Babri Mosque by the BJP-VHP and
other anti Muslim elements". ‘The Statesman’ of
new Delhi (2 Dec 92) reported, "The VHP and Bajrang dal
cadres were taught demolition methods by a retired Brig of the
Indian Army in a month long training camp in a Hindu village in
Gujrat State and that the State government had full Knowledge of
it". Some Indian Newspapers reported that India’s
intelligence agencies had informed Narasimha Rao
government’s Home Ministry about the specially trained
squads raised by the BJP and VHP cohorts to destroy the mosque
but the then Home Minister, Chavan, showed utter indifference and
hypocracy.
BJP vs Indian Muslims
The Upsurge of Hindu fundamentalism in the states under the
BJP’s rule, Rajisthan, Haryana, East Punjab and Delhi has
been a source of serious concern to the Muslim minority there.
But the resurrection of the BJP’s rule over Utter Pradesh,
India’s most populous state with a sizable Muslim community,
since late Sep this year has sent a shiver of apprehensions among
the Muslim minority. As the top ranking BJP leader and the man
behind the tragedy of Babri Mosque, Kalyan Singh is now again in
power in this state. The hard line Chief Minister of Maharashtra,
Manohar Joshi, a member of the BJP’s ruling echelon,
punished the state government secretary for cultural affairs,
Govind Swaroop, a broadminded civil servant, for including Mr.
Jinnah (Quaid-e-Azam) in a list of India’s freedom fighters
for a TV documentary film and for ranking him with Mr.Gandhi and
Nehru in the fight against the British. Shiv Sena, is a Nazi
style communal outfit so intense in its hatred towards Muslims
that its fascist guru, Bal Thackeray, forbade the Pakistani
cricket team from playing in its power base city of Mumbai a few
years ago. In order to promote the Hindutva brand of militant
Hindu fundamentalism, the BJP led state government of Rajisthan
organized a massive celebration on 18 Jun 97 of the 421st
anniversary of the ‘Battle of Haldighat’ to honour
Maharana pratab as a Hindu hero for his war against Akbar, the
Mughal emperor. An Indian Hindu journalist, C.P Bhambhri, in New
Delhi’s ‘Hindustan Times’ of 31 Jul 97 comments,
"The BJP, RSS, VHP and other allied organisations, without
any shadow of doubts are using the culture and history of India
to Promote the concept of a Hindu nation which was a victim of
Muslim rulers and their purpose is to consolidate Hinduism around
a specific religious ethos selectively chosen by political
leaders" .He further writes that "The BJP hate list of
Muslims continues to unify the Hindus against their religious
enemy as revealed by Indian history, the BJP will like to
re-write the constitution for establishing a strong Hindu
state".
Replacement of Muslim names by Hindus’
The Maharashtra government’s hostility to Muslims under the
BJP- Shiv Sena ministry has been so blatant in recent years that
the old towns bearing Muslim names are being systematically given
Hindu colour. The historic city of Aurangabad, once ruled by
Muslims has been named as ‘Sambhajinagar’ to honour the
family of the anti Mughal Shivaji. Similarly a very old city of
Osmanabad is being given a Hindu name. Eliminating the Muslim
names of many other towns is on the Shiv Sena’s agenda.
Anti-Muslim riots
Anti-Muslim riots are a common feature in India. Some of the
recent ones are as follows:-
1) In the state of Gjurat, which the BJP ruled till Sep 96, the
Muslim minority has been incessantly terrorized and victimized.
Mumbai’s ‘Economic and political weekly’ of 26 Jul
97, published horrifying accounts of the murder of many Muslims
in the village of Kukas in Mahesana district last June. On 29
Jun, truckloads of armed Hindu ‘chaudharies’ attacked
the Muslims in kukas, hurling filthy abuses on them, burnt their
houses and hacked to death with knives many of them.
2) In many districts of Gujrat, there are pockets of 25 to 30
Muslim families who are subjected to periodic terrorization and
arson. Teenage Muslim girls from poverty-stricken peasant
families are either forcibly bought or kidnapped for prostitution
in Bombay or smuggled to oil rich gulf states for slavery.
3) Deploring the plight of Muslims in Gujrat, an Indian
journalist Satyakam Joshi, wrote in Mumbai’s ‘Economic
and political weekly’ (26 Jul 97), "The rise of the BJP
and its front organizations in Gujrat after 1980 has come as a
blow to Muslims who are being reduced relentlessly to a second
class citizenship. Their legitimate demands are not on the state
agenda. Their harassment by the Hindu fundamentalist forces,
remains unmitigated. To considerable extent, the fundamentalist
forces have been able to channelise the middle class Hindu psyche
against them".
4) In the anti-Muslim riots in Maharashtra, specially Mumbai,
armed marauders of the ‘Army of Shiva’ had inflicted
death and destruction on terror striken Muslims while the police
was looking on indifferently or even conniving with the Hindu
extremists in killing Muslims of Mumbai.
Discrimination against Muslim community in services
According to 1991 nationwide census., Muslims constitute 12.60
percent of the total Indian population. However, the
representation of Muslims in the parliament, state legislatures,
administrative services, armed forces, police and para military
forces, educational institutions and the private and public
sectors is far below their proportion. The percentage of the
Muslims in the civil and foreign services is less than a quarter
of their population. According to a white paper, prepared by All
India Milli council (AIMC) and presented to Prime Minister Inder
Kumar Gujral, on the performance of Indian Union during last 50
years, there were only 116 Muslims out of a total of 3883
administrative officers (2.98%), 45 out of 1433 police service
officers (3.14%) and 57 out of 2159 foreign service officers
(2.64%). In central government, Muslims constitute 1.6% of all
class I officers, 3.9% of all class II officers and 4.4% of the
technical supervisory staff. According to an official report
prepared by Dr. Gopal Singh Committee, there is a marked
disparity between Hindus and Muslims in economic, social and
educational field. The committee’s report based on a sample
survey of 80 districts across the country, found that there were
only 92 Muslims out of 2698 students in Engineering colleges. The
number of Muslim students in the MBBS course in 8 universities of
eight states was only 98 out of 2895.
Conclusion
The Muslims of India are in a state of dilemma, whether to accept
humility in the form of Indian nationalism (based on secular
ideas) or to preserve their Muslim identity. They have to
rationalise whether by accepting the secular nationalism they
will be given equal status like Hindus or will they remain aliens
as they are. The Hindu desire to absorb the Muslims into Hinduism
through Indian nationalism still persists. They have already done
this with Jainism and Budhism and they are working on other
communities living in India as well.