Let us just accept the fact- India’s secularism has always been an endangered commodity since decades or that is what we have been told repeatedly, years after year. Yet, we as a country have thrived and progressed together while maintaining the pluralist and secular structures of India. Surprisingly we managed to do all this without writing letters to the leaders of the outside world.
Almost all of us would have heard of Mr. Azam Khan who besides being a veteran politician of Samajwadi party is also currently a senior cabinet minister in the Akhilesh Yadav government of Uttar Pradesh.
Going by his past antics and statements it is not astonishing that “controversy” section is the largest part of his Wikipedia profile. Surely not much of an achievement for someone who has been a member of legislative assembly for eight terms!
In his latest bid to grab headlines, Azam Khan has asked for UN intervention in Dadri lynching. Considering that one of the portfolios held by Mr. Azam Khan currently is that of Parliamentary affairs minister, it would be safe to imagine that he must be well aware of the terms democratic, republic and sovereign.
Yet, he deemed it fit to write a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to seek his intervention in a completely internal matter of India. In his bid to do so, he not only bypassed the democratically elected government of a billion plus people but also ignored all other available channels of constitutional remedies which are always on offer to every Indian citizen for any and all grievances.
Keeping in mind the fact that Mr. Azam Khan is also a lawyer by qualification he can’t be given a benefit of doubt for surpassing Indian judicial channels.
Seeking international intervention in an internal issue of a sovereign nation by a citizen of the same country can easily be termed as being anti-national.
Ironically #DadriLynching happened in Uttar Pradesh which has a Samajwadi Party government under the leadership of Chief Minster Akhilesh Yadav and throughout his three year long tenure there have been strong whispers of other senior leaders virtually running the government. Besides names of Mulayam Singh Yadav and Shivpal Yadav, Azam Khan also prominently figured in the list of people running the UP government from behind the curtain.
So probably if Mr. Azam Khan is dissatisfied with his own governance capabilities he should have simply resigned or if that was not enough he could as well have initiated steps for dissolution of the state government, but jumping directly to the United Nations seems both foolish and desperate.
The political reality is that Azam Khan seems to be really worried and agitated by the fact that he was left behind by another parliamentarian Mr. Asaduddin Owaisi, who incidentally shares a common political agenda, beliefs and methodology as being practiced by Mr. Azam Khan for years. Being beaten in one’s own game tends to leave a sour taste in anyone’s mouth. He might as well be angry with his own political bosses for allowing a growing competition to his style of politics to enter into his arena.
And as they say, desperate times call for desperate moves, which not necessarily are very sensible or well-thought!
In what should shame Azam khan more is the statement by Sartaj, son of deceased #DadriLynching victim who requested him to refrain from doing politics over the death of his father on being told about Azam Khan’s letter to UN.
Mr. Azam Khan, we know it is nothing new for you. You once attempted to divide the conquerors of Kargil peaks in terms of Hindu and Muslim. Being such an experienced politician and leader if you would have ever visited a front post of armed forces you would have easily realized how only Indian soldiers serve there without any other such religious identities.
It might be too much to ask from you but what you can do is when you retire on your bed tonight, just try to smell the fragrance of independent air that you breath every moment before making such statements and take a look at the wealth and position that you have accumulated in years living in the same land which you today claim is under threat by some unknown monsters of your imagination.
Believe me letters haven’t kept this country free and thriving for so long. They won’t do the deal even now.
Your, mine or our India might not be as pleasing to your unlimited desires as you might want it to be but for the sake of a country that has given you so much, you can least not try to demean it on an international forum.
Does it look like a tough request Mr. Minister?
Thank you for penning down my exact thoughts on the matter. The jerk is a minister, they are running the state, and he needs to go to the UN? I think Hindus should learn a lesson from here. Next time they should write letters to Saudi et al. if there are doubts on how our sickulars interpret the peace book. At least then the media might take a note of the others in this country.
Dear Ashish i and TFI
Read carefully. Please refrain from writing such “provocative” article regarding certain politicians. Not long time ago a journalist was burnt alive for questioning certain politician and party. Not long time ago, a Muslim teenage boy was jailed and harassed by cops for writing his views against certain politician. This reader want to point out that as a common man, you and I do not have freedom of expression or thought. It is reserved for our politicians and media. You and I are nobody to question them. This reader is concerned about you and TFI. India does not need free thinkers like you. You should pack your bags and move to USA or UK where they value people’s life.
Thank you and Jai Hind.