The AIMIM supremo, MP from Hyderabad and a staunch supporter of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Asaduddin Owaisi has talked sense yet again. After his victory in the Kishanganj bypolls recently, Owaisi seemed to be flying in the air, until on the 9th he was faced with the Ram Mandir verdict by the Supreme Court.
Although many of us are ideologically opposed to Owaisi saab, however, his fiery speech at Hyderabad after the verdict has indeed impressed many. An equally fiery crowd unequivocally shouted and screamed in support of the man, therefore, it is only befitting to call him the representative of Muslims in India. Calling the speech an emotional one would be an understatement. It was an ocean of pain, yet pride, which Owaisi went on exuding. One can only feel pity for the man, and hope that his words will be taken into consideration by Muslims in India.
Although PM Modi had appealed to the public to not perceive the verdict either as a victory or defeat, yet Owaisi seemed to be evidently frustrated with the Ram Mandir verdict. Till a month ago, a chat with the man on the issue would end with him stating that the Muslims, AIMPLB, and him as an individual would accept any verdict which the Supreme Court delivers.
In his public address after the Ram Mandir verdict, Owaisi drags in LK Advani and tries to superimpose his ‘legal logic’ over the people keenly listening to him. He says that “If the Masjid is illegal, how is Advani still on trial, and if it is legal, why has it been handed over to the Hindus?”. Yes, this is the legal logic I was referring to. Profound indeed. He further explains the pain of some people breaking into his house and the house being gifted to the people who broke into it. Sad.
Owaisi goes on to say that Muslims are the second most deprived people after Dalits. He claims that Muslims are deprived of schools, and are instead offered police stations in residential areas. He claims jails are filled with Muslims. In totality, Owaisi tries to say that innocent Muslims are being incarcerated by the oh-so-terrible Indian state. Yet, remarkably, Owaisi makes a claim in the name of Allah, that even the poorest of Muslim would contribute to rebuilding the Babri Masjid and that the required collection would be fulfilled within 48 hours. He goes on to add that Muslims therefore do not require crumbs of pity thrown at them by the Indian state (read Indian state as Supreme Court). According to him, the fight was not over a piece of land, but rather over the legal ownership of the Masjid.
He says, “Babri Masjid is our legal right. We were not fighting for the land. We don’t want anything in charity. Don’t treat us like beggars. We are respected citizens of this country.”
Owaisi has set an admirable precedent for Indian Muslims to follow if they consider him their leader. The Muslims should refuse to accept the five-acre land gifted to them in ‘khairaat’, and instead the land could be used to set up an institution which would help the society at large, like a school or a hospital. As for the Masjid, according to Owaisi, Muslims can buy land and build one Mosque themselves. Not only will this instill a sense of pride among the Muslims, but will also be an inspirational move for generations to come as according to him, Muslims have self respect and dignity. They should also look up to Owaisi and his fearless brother Akbaruddin, who had claimed that a police withdrawal of fifteen minutes would be enough for ‘them’ to sort out and teach Hindus a lesson.
Owaisi is steadily emerging as a voice for Muslims to look up to. His profound logic is heart-wrenching and inimitable. It is yet again a reminder to Muslims that a person who can speak good English can always be taken seriously, irrespective of how much trash the speech has.