India is a vast country with a population of over 125 crores. Out of this, Hindus form nearly 80% and the remaining 20% consists of Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists and Jews among others. Among the minorities, the Muslim population is the largest. From childhood, we have been made to believe that ‘Unity in Diversity’ is our strength. But anyone who thinks that India is like a Rajshri movie family is living in a fools’ paradise.
There have been far too many clashes between the Hindus and the Muslims in the past. The 1992 Hindu-Muslim riots, the 1993 bomb blasts, the 2002 Gujrat riots, Muzaffarnagar etc. are still fresh in our minds. The political masters in India have only contributed in further increasing this divide with their discriminatory and appeasement-oriented policy-making. In spite of all this, the majority of people from both sides want to co-exist peacefully. Yes truth!
Although Muslims are a minority in the country, they have never been treated as second-class citizens here by the common Hindu. There have been a large number of Muslims who have been very popular and successful among all Indians. Abdul Kalam was probably the most celebrated president in the history of independent India. He was respected by Hindus and Muslims alike and the entire country mourned his demise last year. Mohammed Azharuddin was the captain of the Indian cricket team for a long duration until he was suspended for allegedly being involved in match-fixing and bribery. In fact, Azhar has led India in three World Cup campaigns, which no Indian captain till date has.
There have been sportspersons like Zaheer Khan, Sania Mirza, Mohammed Kaif, Irfan Pathan among others, who have made it big in this country. Aamir, Salman and Shah Rukh Khan have ruled Bollywood for over twenty five years now. A R Rahman has been the numero uno music composer in the country for the last twenty five years now. The people named above are the prominent ones and there are plenty more. All the people mentioned above are no doubt talented, but the broader point is that the general Indian public has always considered a person’s religion as irrelevant. On the other hand, it is also a fact that people like Amitabh Bachchan and Sachin Tendulkar have many Muslim fans.
It can be argued that the common Muslim is treated way better in India than many of the Islamic countries, where Muslims from the subcontinent are not treated well. The Muslims in India have privileges, which people from other communities do not have. In fact, Muslims are also given a Haj subsidy by the government to visit their holy pilgrimage in Mecca.
Muslim institutions have the right to give preference to students from their communities under Article 30. The Muslim Personal Laws have elements of Sharia in them. Even to date, Muslim women are at a disadvantage when it comes to marriage and succession, alimony and inheritance. It can be safely said that Muslims have been treated at par with the Hindu majority (some may say that they have been treated better than the Hindus) in India.
In spite of all this, we have poisonous politicians like the Owaisi brothers and Azam Khan, who repeatedly try to inject into the minds of the common Muslim that they are treated badly by the Hindu majority. Not all Muslims get carried away by the likes of Owaisi. When Akbar Owaisi gave his venomous speech in Hyderabad, he was condemned by the likes of Farhan Akhtar and Javed Akhtar. During the award wapsi drama last year, script-writer Salim Khan made a statement that minorities are safe in India. There are many more such instances.
But sadly, the liberal Indian Muslims are getting trampled by the fanatic ones.
Let us take some of the recent events. When Yakub Memon was hanged, hundreds of Muslims took part in his Janazah. Why should this sympathy be shown to a terrorist who was one of the accused in the horrific bomb blasts in Mumbai? Let us take the recent death of Hizbul militant Burhan Wani. A lot of Muslims have resorted to violence and expressed solidarity towards his Jihadist cause. In Malappuram district in Kerala, Pakistan flags are hoisted regularly. During Akbar Owaisi’s speech, there were a large number of followers encouraging him by shouting ‘Allah hu Akbar’.
Zakir Naik, who spews venom against other religions, has a lot of followers in India. Looking at all the events, the message to the liberal Indian Muslim is as follows: Make your voice heard. Do not let yourself be overshadowed by the fundamentalists. Speak up against the terrorists and terror sympathizers as much as you speak up against Maya Kodnani or Babu Bajrangi (they deserve to be condemned too).
Make no mistake, your entire community is slowly but surely getting stereotyped because you guys, although you form a far larger portion of the community, are not as assertive and vocal as you must be.
