Nikhat Zareen’s Neglect Showcases a Broken Indian Society
By
Arshad Alam, New Age Islam
28 May 2022
The
Government Has Not Announced Any Financial Reward For Her So Far
Main Points:
1. Nikhat
Zareen recently won gold in world boxing championship.
2. India has a
culture of announcing financial rewards for such performers.
3. But there
has no gesture so far either from the state or the central government.
4. Muslims have
been quick to point out that this is so because of her religious identity; and
yet Muslims themselves have not organized any function to felicitate her.
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Nikhat Zareen is an Indian amateur boxer. She won
gold medal at the 2022 IBA Women's World Boxing Championships. She won gold
medal at the 2011 AIBA Women's Youth & Junior World Boxing Championships
held in Antalya.
-----
It is
customary for various agencies of the Indian state to award cash prize and
other felicitations for those sportspersons who win international medals.
Nikhat Zareen, the girl from Hyderabad, brought glory to India by winning gold
at the world boxing championship. Ideally, she should have been felicitated by
central and state governments and concerned ministries. We saw how India
erupted in celebration when another Indian boxer, Mary Kom, brought laurels to
the country in Olympics. In the case of Nikhat Zareen, it is unfortunate that
such public recognition has been completely absent. Surely the prime minister
has tweeted in appreciation and the Telangana government has announced a cash
prize of five lakhs but this is too little for a girl who has made all Indians
proud. Cricketers who wait at the stands get more money than what is being
offered to Nikhat.
Money certainly
is not everything. But surely, in the Indian context, it is a great motivator.
Many sports persons in India come from very humble backgrounds and such prizes
go a long way to ensure that life becomes easy and secure for them. Moreover,
it also acts as a motivator for other potential players in the field. Moreover, Nikhat is a Muslim, and she has
broken many barriers, religious and cultural, to achieve her goal of becoming a
world champion. In all her interviews, she has recalled how community members
dissuaded her father. They told him that boxing was a men’s sports and that
Zareen should not wear shorts, as it was unacceptable in Islam. It is the great
determination of this father-daughter duo that they did not listen to such
third-rate views. Her struggles and eventual gold should have made all of us
doubly proud. And especially when this government prides itself on the slogan
of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, the lukewarm reception to the achievement of
Nikhat tells us that something has fundamentally broken in our national life.
Nikhat Zareen
-----
Muslim
organizations have been quick to point out that Nikhat has been treated like
this because of her religion. Unfortunately, there is nothing to suggest
otherwise. The political conditions obtaining in the country have made sure
that there is a negative premium on Muslim identity today. Anything remotely to
do with Muslims and Islam is being frowned upon. So called secular political
parties and social organizations who earlier vouched for Hindu Muslim amity
have fallen silent. Some have in fact gone to extreme lengths to distance
themselves from anything Muslim. The shunning of Nikhat Zareen seems to be part
of the same trend. Nothing can be more unfortunate than this. This girl could
have become the toast of the nation; brought together religious communities
which could have strengthened communal harmony. But the short sightedness of
our political class, both the ruling party and the opposition, have wasted this
opportunity. The opposition always cries that India is being divided under the
current dispensation. And yet, in not rising to the occasion and felicitating
Nikhat, it has proved that it is not a worthy opposition; that it is not wedded
to any higher principle and has no alternative vision for this country. The way
Nikhat has been neglected only proves that there is no longer an opposition in
this country; that all the talk of Ganga-Jamuni Tahzeeb is a mere
eyewash to win some brownie points. It is like political and social
organizations have cancelled Nikhat, and only because she is a Muslim.
But those
Muslim organizations who are arguing that she is being discriminated against
because she is a Muslim, also need to answer what they have done for Nikhat
Zareen. At a time of worldwide negative attitude towards Muslims, she could
become a valuable resource to break religious stereotypes. Unfortunately, one
does not hear of any plans to felicitate Zareen by any Muslim organization. The
politician who currently masquerades as the sole spokesperson of Muslims in
India, Asaduddin Owaisi, should have organized a gala function in her honor.
But nothing of the sort has happened. One cannot say the same thing about the
All-India- Muslim Personal Law Board, regressive as it is to the core. But it
could have at least issued a statement in support of Zareen. But then, when a
Muslim girl is ordered to go off stage by clerics in Kerala simply because of
her gender, we know that nothing better can be expected from them.
Not very
long ago, sport was above religion and caste and governments never made any
distinction on that basis. Sania Mirza was also a Muslim but she was showered
with various financial rewards whenever she brought laurels to the country.
Looking at the lukewarm recognition that Nikhat has received, it appears that
even sports is now being evaluated through the lens of religion. This was a
moment of triumph which should have been celebrated by one and all. Alas, the
opportunity to rise above sectarian religious identities has been wasted;
instead, Nikhat has become the symbol of a divided and broken nation.
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A
regular columnist with NewAgeIslam.com, Arshad Alam is a writer and researcher
on Islam and Muslims in South Asia.
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/nikhat-zareen-indian-society/d/127115
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