Why Muslim blood should be shed at the Altar of Indian democracy? - By Ghulam Muhammed

Thursday, July 01, 2010

Why Muslim blood should be shed at the Altar of Indian democracy?

A Times of India headline: Dalwai is under fire for riot charge against NCP –(TOI, July 1, 2010 – print edition, page:8 – TIMES CITY) details how the two coalition partners in Maharashtra, Indian National Congress and Nationalist Congress Party are daggers drawn over a seat loss to Congress in Sangli-Miraj assembly election, last year; when MPCC spokesperson Hussein Dalwai made the ‘provocative’ allegation that the Sharad Pawar-led NCP had engineered the communal riot in Sangli-Miraj to win a few seats.

This is what some politicians will describe as chicken coming home to roost for Indian National Congress. India’s 63 year long history is replete with thousands of incidents of communal riots, in which Muslim lives and properties were methodically targeted, apparently with state connivance and at time initiative. The main objective for staging such communal riots targeting India’s beleaguered Muslim minority spread out all over India, was to consolidate Hindu votes for political party or parties. The perfidy was compounded when Congress could play double role in apparently organizing such communal riots, at times with the help and physical mobilization of extremist Hindutva cadre, and getting votes from both Hindus and Muslim voters ---- Hindus for hitting it out on their mortal enemies, the Muslims and Muslim voters, for ensuring their security at the fag end and with cosmetic relief work and soothing words of future security guarantee. The same strategy is now being blatantly followed by Congress colons and as it pinches on the mother organization, it is crying foul.

The case of Gujarat post-Godhra riots were organized by the perpetrators, with clear objective to win electoral victories in Gujarat. The crime paid off with mathematical precision.  Hindutva’s torch-bearer BJP swept subsequent Gujarat assembly polls. Congress could only remain witness to the trickery how BJP has beaten it on its own game.

Now, that Congress in Maharashtra is howling over Sharad Pawar’s alleged role in organizing another gory communal riot in Miraj-Sangli where Muslim suffered heavy losses of life and property, while the politically committed police not only aided during the riots, but later cracked down on Muslims for allegedly organizing the riots. The silent Hindu majority could easily make out who are behind the successful execution of the riot and voted accordingly. The Congress citadel was breached by none other than old Congress stalwart, Sharad Pawar’s NCP, who personally is widely believed to be behind the deteriorating situation during post-Babri Bombay riots, while he remained an inactive Union Defence Minister stationed in Bombay city with army contingents at his command, which he could have used to organize even a harmless flag march to calm down the rioters. He did nothing; for various reasons, mostly political and personal. Now the same Sharad Pawar is under tremendous pressures that most believe emanates from his political ally Congress and to snatch assembly seats from Congress tally, he is reportedly tried the old tried and tested Congress formula of staging communal riots in selected constituencies to consolidate communalized vote banks. The state home ministry portfolio for NCP’s own R. R. Patel could be a good help, in such case of political and communal mobilization.

This poses the stark question: if India’s democracy rests on the blood sacrifices of its 150 million Muslims? The record of the last 63 year’s history of communal riots is ample proof that Indian democracy has most vulnerable and shaky foundations.

As India is now open to globalization in an age of instant communication, it will have to address the problem as to how its democracy should be streamlined so as not to fall back on the Muslim blood-shedding to win electoral victories for its successful ruling Brahmins. With upheaval in the neighboring Muslim countries offering no sign of resolution, India will have to be most cautious in not inviting trouble-makers from across the fast disappearing virtual borders around it. India cannot have double digit economic progress in the days to come, if it cannot handle its internal security without having to become a police state. The recent case of a bearded Muslim civil engineer coming out of an Income Tax office after performing his legitimate business in south Mumbai, grabbed and profusely abused in foulest language by Israeli consulate security staff before handing over to police which were still more brutal with him, even before checking his bona fides ---- with the classic prejudice criteria --- why he should have such long beard and languish around Israeli consulate?

The bias against the bearded Muslim has been noted even by the Muslim- bashing Time of India, when it splashed the news in parts on the first page as well as in more detail in inside pages.

The communal role of police in Maharashtra is increasingly becoming focus of triggers of widespread rage and public show of reaction.

Though India’s Home Minister, Chidambaram has his plate full with widespread ugly situations in Naxalite infested states and now Jammu & Kashmir state, where the public protests have taken the overtones of stone-throwing Palestinian intifida and Indian army’s own Israel-like bloody response by shooting point-blank into innocent bystanders, it will be gross understatement if the state of the nation is not treated as alarming. The fundamental equations of the fast developing scenarios are too explosive to allow any callous, unthinking and short-sighted moves by our governments, both at the center and at the state level. At street level, police have to be more restrained and more aware of the wider complications of their pedestrian reaction to and interaction with Muslim persona, always treated as the other.

Ghulam Muhammed, Mumbai

ghulammuhammed3@gmail.com