Criticism of Hate Crimes Cannot and Must Not Come From Muslims Alone; Indians Must Speak Up For Minorities
By
Rakhshanda Jalil
10 Dec 2020
Every now
and then one gets invited to speak at panels and discussions, at litfests and
other public platforms to hold up the minority card. There was a time I would
agree but increasingly now, I have come to believe that in a democracy it
should not be left to the minorities to speak up for themselves, and the
majority must speak for and about the fate of the minorities.
All mention
of fear, silencing and marginalisation, of bullying and lynching, any criticism
of the easy and almost blithe tossing about of obnoxious coinages such as ‘love
jihad’, pointing out the nonchalant normalisation of hate crimes – cannot and
must not come from Muslims alone.
It’s time
for all Indians to speak up for ‘hum-sab’ rather than live in our self-made
islands of ‘I’, ‘Me’, ‘Myself’. What is just as important is for all Indians,
and not just the much-derided ‘libtards’ and ‘sickulars’, to dig their heels in
against the sweeping tide of populism, and a growing sense among the average
Indians who feel their concerns have been disregarded for far too long by
established elite groups.
Let us see
how the Urdu poet has interpreted the idea of commonality, of finding and
making common cause, of speaking up for each other.
First and
foremost, there has been a sense of ownership of everything in this fair land
that is Hindustan. Nida Fazli speaks for many when he says:
Eik Hii
Dharti Ham Sab Ka Ghar Jitna Tera Utna Mera
Dukh Sukh
Ka Yeh Jantar-Mantar Jitna Tera Utna Mera
This one
Earth, our home, is as much mine as yours
This
observatory of joys-sorrows is as much mine as yours
The fiery
activist-poet from Hyderabad, Makhdoom Mohiuddin, too, speaks for working
together towards a common goal:
Hayat Le
Ke Chalo Kaainat Le Ke Chalo
Chalo To
Saare Zamaane Ko Saath Le Ke Chalo
Take along
all of life and all of the created universe
When you
move forward take along the entire world
It is
against this sense of being completely invested in the country, and the world,
that the growing divide and ‘othering’— so evident in recent times — has to be
seen.
The
Mumbai-based Sayyed Riyaz Raheem gives voice to a quiet discontent that nags
away at the heart of a section of the population:
Bahut Kuchh
Kaam Hum Sab Kar Chuke Hain
Dilon Mein
Ghar Banaanaa Rah Gayaa Hai
We’ve all
done much work and achieved a great deal
What’s
still left is to create a place in people’s heart
That those
whose job it was to keep us on the right path actually misguided and lead us
astray is voiced by some poets such as this by Krishna Mohan:
Bhatak Ke
Raah Se Hum Sab Ko Aazmaa Aaye
Fareb De
Gaye Jitne Bhi Rahnumaa Aaye
Led astray
from the path we saw everyone’s true worth
All the
leaders who came only gave us deceptions
Instead Of
Being Increasingly Self-Referential, Let’s Start Looking ‘Outside’
Though, of
course written in another time and context, there’s this sher by Momin Khan
Momin, brimful with regret for a lost world of togetherness:
Kabhi Hum
Mein Tum Mein Bhi Chaah Thhi Kabhi Hum Se Tum Se Bhi Raah Thhi
Kabhi Hum
Bhi Tum Bhi Thhe Aashna Tumhein Yaad Ho Ke Na Yaad Ho
Once there was
liking between us, once there were paths between us
Once you
and I were friends, whether you remember it now or not
To
conclude, let me allude to two examples from recent history, both from outside
India.
In fact, it
is worrying that we are becoming an increasingly self-referential and insular
people.
We seem to
think we are the only functioning democracy and our public positions are
peculiar to us.
In any
public discourse on populism, we invoke a set of totemic images drawn from,
let's say, the partition, or successive elections, communal riots, Ayodhya,
Mumbai, Gujarat and so on coming to recent events around cow slaughter or ‘love
jihad’.
Perhaps We
Need To Look Outside And Draw Lessons From Other Peoples And Other Histories.
The first
is the rather obvious case of Hitler and the rise of fascist forces that tapped
into a populist sentiment in a Germany that was on its knees after the Treaty
of Versailles and a people who were looking for a way to feel good about
themselves after a humiliating defeat. Hitler, who didn't have a majority in
the German Reichstag, went on to form a one-party dictatorship based on
totalitarianism and autocracy.
From
vitriolic beer-hall speeches, he went on to build a certain mass appeal relying
upon an oratory based on hate and opposition – fuelling an existing, though not
widespread, public sentiment.
The outcome
is too well known to be discussed in any detail. But it bears some reflection
for us in India how far a popular sentiment based on hating the 'other' can go,
and how the silence of a majority can eventually be so damning for the
minority.
What
Happens When Populism Is Devoid Of Moral Authority
The other
example I have in mind is that of Vaclav Havel, the last president of
Czechoslovakia and the first president of the Czech Republic. Here's man who
was an extremely well-regarded playwright, essayist, memoirist, born into a
wealthy and influential family, a man who brought together politics and culture
in many imaginative ways, a man who enjoyed great popularity in his own
country, a man of moral authority, a public intellectual such as few
politicians can aspire to be. He also had the ability to go against popular
sentiment when he felt it was required.
So,
populism that is devoid of moral authority, if it begins to operate outside the
rule of law, then yes, populism can be a threat to democracy.
Let me end
by quoting Vaclav Havel, though out of context, because he said it for
post-world war Czechoslovakia, but I want to use it for populism in a democracy
such as ours: “We are all responsible; we are all guilty.”
----
Dr
Rakhshanda Jalil is a writer, translator and literary historian. She writes on
literature, culture and society. She runs Hindustani Awaaz, an organisation
devoted to the popularisation of Urdu literature.
Original
Headline: Indians Must Speak Up For Minorities; Onus Shouldn’t Be On Muslims
Source: The Quint
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