By Dr Ram Puniyani
October 14,
2020
A Year ago,
RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat had stated (October 10, 2019) that Indian Muslims are
happiest in the World due to Hindus. Now he goes on to say that most content
Muslims are only in India. Not content with that he went on to state that “if
there is any example world over wherein a foreign religion that ruled over the
people of a country still exists there”, it is here in India. And further “”Our
Constitution did not say that only Hindus can stay here; hereafter only Hindus
will be heard here; if you want to stay here, then you have to accept the
superiority of Hindus. We created a space for them. This is the nature of our
nation, and that inherent nature is called Hindu”. Wearing the hat of a
historian he stated that many a Muslims fought for Rana Pratap against Akbar,
exemplifying that people of all faiths stood together whenever there was an
attack on India’s culture. He labelled
Ram Temple is a symbol of national values and character.
Most of
these formulations are a ploy to deflect the criticism which RSS, as the
patriarch of Hindu Communalism is facing currently, at home and also
internationally. The plight of Muslims has been deteriorating at rapid pace
during last few decades. Adding on to the violence against them in the wake of
Rath yatras for Ram Temple, the mob lynching’s in the name of cow-beef, the
social intimidations in the name of love jihad, ghar Wapasi have peaked during
last few years. The cumulative intimidation of Muslim community did find its
expression in the most democratic Shaheen Bagh movement. The violence that took
place in the aftermath saw the heavy loss of Muslim lives and great damage to
their properties and holy places. The image of communalism as tormentor of
weaker sections of society is going up, so probably Mr. Bhagwat is quoting
Indian Constitution, which most leaders from his Parivar decry, criticize and
call it as being unsuitable for India as it is based on foreign values. On the
contrary Shaheen Bagh movement showed the peak respect for the same when
‘Preamble of Indian Constitution’ formed its core slogan and ideology.
HINDUSTAN
TIMES VIA GETTY IMAGES
RSS
chief Mohan Bhagwat with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister
Rajnath Singh in a file photo
-----
Undoubtedly,
Indian Constitution wants a plural democratic India while RSS parivar wants a
Hindu nation. For Indian Constitution religions are not foreign or native, they
are universal and we have a full freedom to practice, preach and propagate our
religion, we also have a freedom not to adhere to any religion.
The RSS
Sarsanghchalak probably does not know that nationalism and religion were
separate in the scheme of freedom movement of India where people from different
religions and atheists participated with equal zest in fighting against the
British rule. He may be unaware that in South East Asian countries the major
religion is Buddhism, which originated in this land but is the major religion
in those countries.
The
communal view of History has been the mainstay of his organization, rather his
Parivar’s politics. When he says that even Muslims participated in battle
against Akbar, to save the Indian culture, he is taking the distortion of
History to further level. In what way did Rana Pratap represent Indian culture?
He was a King of Mewar. In what way the battle between Akbar and Rana Pratap was
for Indian culture. Akbar, for that matter most of the Muslim kings, who ruled
here, became the part of this land. Akbar in particular was for multi-faith
society that is why he conceptualized Sulh-E-Kul (Harmony among religions). And
as Muslim Hakim Khan Sur was part of Rana Pratap’s army (saving Indian
culture!), so was Raja Mansingh leading the forces of Akbar! Quiet a garbled up
exercise to project Rana Pratap as symbolizing Indian culture, forgetting Raja
Mansing was leading forces from opposite side.
So far RSS
history has been presenting Rana Pratap and Shivaji as heroes of Hindu
nationalism, now probably they have learnt that both these warriors had Muslims
in their army and similarly their rival Muslim Kings had Hindus also on their
side. These battles have nothing to do as being for and against Indian culture.
As such Indian culture flourished during this period leading Jawaharlal Nehru
to call this as ‘Ganga Jamani Tehjeeb’ (Syncretism, pluralism at peak). The
peak of this was Bhakti and Sufi traditions, which focused on humane aspects of
life.
As far as
Ram Temple being the symbol of national values and culture, we should recall
Bhimrao Ambedkar’s ‘Riddles of Rama and Krishna’, where Ambedkar and later
Periyar criticize the Lord for killing a Shudra Shambuk, when he was doing
penance, killed Bali from behind and banished his pregnant wife Sita on mere
suspicion. Symbol of Indian nationalism is freedom movement and Indian
Constitution.
Indian
Constitution gives equal citizenship rights to people of all religions,
ethnicities, regions and languages. The problem is that communalism regards
this as a Hindu nation and so Muslims and Christians are regarded as
foreigners. Accordingly earlier
Sarsanghchalak M.S. Golwalkar in his book, ‘Bunch of thoughts’; calls them
internal threat to the nation.
To call
that Indian Muslims are happiest in the World due to Hindus or they are most
content in the World, must a joke. In the light of the rising violence against
them, the rising ghettoisation of the community and their declining political
representation tells another tale. To cap it; now a section of media, which is
part of the communal project, is coining words like Corona Jihad, Corona bomb
and the last in the series is from Sudarshan Channel, which sees four odd
percent successful Muslim candidates as Jamia Jihadis and others with them as a
part of planned jihad to take over civil services!
Such
statements like Indian Muslims are most content or happiest is like rubbing
salt on the wounds of a besieged community, which is trying its best to live
the values of Indian Constitution as witnessed during Shaheen bagh movement.
Original Headline: India: Communalists, Indian
Constitution and Muslim Minorities
Source: The Countercurrent
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-politics/to-call-that-indian-muslims/d/123206
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