To question the patriotism of the Muslim community on the ground that it refuses to "worship" India as a concept is to make a mockery of the real meaning of patriotism and national loyalty.
As the anniversary of the cataclysmic event of 26/11 draws near, undoubtedly the country will relive the painful and humiliating memory of its powerful financial capital held hostage for more than 36 hours by a group of murderous terrorists sneaking in from Pakistan, challenging the might and capabilities of the Indian nation. But instead of replaying those dark moments, Indians ought to remember with pride the aftermath of the tragedy. The days after the terror strikes saw a spontaneous nationwide outpouring of sympathy for Mumbai with all communities united in their anger and outrage at the impunity with which Pakistan-based jihadi terrorists had struck at India.
Indeed the Indian national spirit triumphed in that dark moment with thousands of citizens of diverse cultural and social identities rallying together to support Mumbai in that traumatic phase. There was a remarkable absence of communal violence with even the Shiv Sena in Mumbai resisting the political temptation of baiting Muslims in that stressful period. As a new generation of Indians made the political class and the political system the targets of their ire, one refreshing change was that there was absolutely no focus on communal and social identities. Projected was a collective sense of “we Indians” against the external intruders. All this showed that the enduring sense of national unity was a solid asset that helped the country tide over what could have been a deeply disintegrative challenge.
It is clear that with the United Progressive Alliance government emphasising its commitment to secular governance and the preservation of cultural pluralism, the minorities, especially the Muslim community, find little conflict between their civic identities as Indian citizens and their cultural and religious affiliations. When national identity is defined in cultural nationalist terms, the loyalty of minority groups to the national identity comes under intense pressure. In an increasingly disturbed security environment with terrorism sharpening in intensity in Pakistan, it is imperative that the UPA remain unswerving in its acknowledgment that without secularism and internal communal harmony, it would be difficult to fight terrorism.
In a departure from its usual reticence, the election campaign for the 2009 Lok Sabha saw both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi asserting that terrorism and communalism were two aspects of the same challenge and that a country divided by communalism could not fight terror. The logic of that argument needs to be sustained forcefully today in the face of renewed challenges to the minority groups’ assertions of their cultural rights. The UPA must not allow the BJP which is battling its own internal demons to resurrect majoritarian Hindutva campaigns mounting pressure on the cultural rights of the minorities especially Muslims. The latest incident in which BJP leaders Murli Manohar Joshi and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi have sought to put Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram and a section of the Muslim community on the defensive is a case in point. The 30th general session of the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind at Deoband, western Uttar Pradesh adopted a resolution on November 3, upholding a fatwa of 2006 by the Deoband Ulema, describing the singing of the Vande Mataram as anti-Islamic because some of its verses were against the tenets of Islam.
The Deoband clerics apparently took pains to ensure that their objections to the singing of the Vande Mataram were not to be seen as being unpatriotic. The resolution that was adopted said categorically “Patriotism does not require singing of the Vande Mataram. We love our country and have proved this several times but Vande Mataram violates our faith in monotheism that is the foundation of Islam … We love and respect the mother but do not worship her.” It went on to demand that “the issue of Vande Mataram should not be deliberately raised for causing communal discord and threat to law and order.” It was also pointed out after discussions amongst the participants in the meeting that the resolution was necessitated by the fact that the song was being introduced in several government schools in BJP-ruled States.
It must be recalled that historically the Vande Mataram song did not become the national anthem precisely for the reason that it had strong Hindu connotations by depicting the Indian nation as Goddess Durga. Not only did Muslims object but virtually every other minority had objected, leading to the Jana Gana Mana being adopted as the Indian national anthem. The essence of the idea of cultural pluralism is to ensure that every religious or social group is allowed its own cultural space in which it has the right to practise its own beliefs and traditions. How would it be right to question the patriotism of Muslims and other minority groups because of their rejection of a song that is by no means the national anthem?
To accuse the Deoband Ulema, a critical support group in the fight against terror, given that it issued a fatwa against terror last year, of “a separatist mindset” as the BJP’s Mr. Naqvi did on Wednesday is to needlessly provoke a confrontation. Mr. Chidambaram who had clearly made a special effort to underline the UPA’s commitment to cultural pluralism by participating in this conference did well to assert that “a nation can ignore its minorities only at its peril”, that Islam could not be viewed as “an alien faith” and that India was for Muslims, the land of their “forefathers” and of their “birth”. But subsequent attacks on his participation in the Deoband conference by Dr. Joshi and Mr. Naqvi, asserting that his presence gave legitimacy to the resolution opposing the Vande Mataram song appear to put the Home Minister on the defensive with his stating that he was not present when the resolution was passed.
The UPA government, which in its second term has promised that it views communalism and terrorism as two equally dangerous aspects of the same challenge, must not waver in its defence of the rights of minority groups to have their unique cultural assertions. Given that the Indian national identity as defined in the Indian Constitution is anchored to civic and territorial parameters, there is no inherent conflict between loyalty to the Indian nation and a community’s own religious beliefs. To question the patriotism of the Muslim community on the ground that it refuses to “worship” India as a concept is to make a mockery of the real meaning of patriotism and national loyalty.
As the framers of the Constitution wisely concluded decades ago, when they rejected the idea of including a reference to God in the Preamble to the Constitution, imposing such a concept would go against the spirit of the Constitution. As H.N. Kunzru told the Constituent Assembly during the debate on the Preamble, “Such a course of action is inconsistent with the Preamble which promises liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship to everyone. How can we deal with this question in a narrow spirit?”
For Dr. Joshi and his cultural nationalist colleagues to persist with describing the Deoband fatwa against the singing of the Vande Mataram song as “against the provisions of the Constitution” would be to misread recent Indian history. There can be no clearer assertion of the responsibility of the Indian state to provide for cultural pluralism and also of the rights of the citizens of India to enjoy cultural and religious freedoms, than is set out in the Indian Constitution. Cultural pluralism remains India’s strongest card and its best defence against attempts to wreck its integrity or weaken its national structure from inside and outside.
Keywords: 26/11, Mumbai blast, . secularism, religion, Vande Mataram, Muslim community, patriotism
Comments:
I really do not understand why the BJP cannot understand that its stance is flawed even after its recent poll debacle. Excessive Hindutva looks like terrorism. They keep on poking unnecessary topics only to find themselves embarrased at the last. They are still unable to sink the idea of communal harmony. These tactics are no less than our deadly neighbour's tactics against its incumbent talibans. Wake up BJP. Wake up!!
If, as union home minister P Chidambaram has said, India was for Muslims the land of their "forefathers" and their "birth," India should also ensure that countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh in particular also view their minorities like Hindus, Buddhists, Christians and others in like manner. It is said that one can choose one's friends, but not one's neighbour. Yet, it is sad to note that India over the years has not only allowed but also encouraged Pakistan and Bangladesh 'sanitise' themselves of their minorities, these very minorities, who like the Muslims of India, have an equal right over Pakistan or Bangladesh as the land of their "forefathers"
and of their "birth." Sad to note that Pakistan and Bangladesh at independence had a sizeable number of minorities, but owing to the policy of discrimination on religious grounds, which these countries had adopted, minorities in Pakistan and Bangladesh have been reduced to an insignificant minority. This 'sanitisation' of Pakistan and Bangladesh of their minorities, many will agree, has also contributed much to the rise of Islamic radicalism in these two countries. This should be food for thought for those who seek to communalise India.
A study of national anthems of all Islamic republics will reveal that the land has been figuratively idolized. In Bilādī, bilādī, bilādī- the anthem of Egypt comes a line Misr yā umm al-bilād (Egypt, the mother of all lands). Similarly, the national anthem of Bangladesh (actually written by Tagore)has sentences like O ma,Phagune tor amer bone Ghrane pagol kôre (In spring, O mother mine,The fragrance from your mango groves) and again Ma, tor mukher bani Amar kane lage (O mother mine, words from your lips are like nectar to my ears). Even in anthems where the land has not been described as mother, the fervour for it makes mincemeat of the Jamiat assertion that Muslims can't bow before anything or worship anyone except Allah. Throughout history Muslims have bowed before Badshahs (monarchs), Pirs (saints) and Dargahs (shrines).
One national anthem which has been incorporated by the makers of the Indian consitution is in practice for six decades without any objection from any community.
Patriotism has no connection with national anthem it can be expressed in many ways by individuals.
The issue raised by the BJP is meaningless. Who prevents them from singing Vande Mataram. In this country no one has ever raised any objection against our National Anthem. The BJP should work for cultural pluralism because India's "Unity" is based on its "diversity". We must keep our tested motto "unity in diversity" always before us. We, all, need to fight against poverty, disease, illiteracy and ignorance. Communalism, terrorism and violence have no place in a democratic set-up. Only "inclusiveness" can help us to achieve peace, progress and prosperity.
Where in the world can you see such harmony? A Hindu does know the way his brothers are treated in other parts of the world, just as a mere creature, in Bangladesh, Pakistan and alike. He knows that his fellow brothers during the partition had to put down everything and come over to India. They were literally thrown out. He also knows that this is his land, this is his home country. No one can question him over here. Everything that he do and provide is totally upto his will. Then also he says, "The Muslims are like our brothers. May be they follow a different culture, but they are One Among Us. They should also be treated like us. The judiciary the executives the police all should treat them just like they treat us" We, Muslims, are also given the right to preach our faith in this soil. We have the SAME RIGHTS as others. Where else in the world can you see such equality of rights for the minority. WE MUSLIMS, ARE PROUD TO BE INDIAN AND WILL ALWAYS REMAIN. We are thankful for what our brothers from Hindu community had given us. Yes, we know there have been many instances against our community. But we also ain't perfect. We should all condemn the atrocities anyone from any community does to harm the unity among the PEOPLE OF INDIA. Let's corner the villains. They don't have any religion, They are just winded toys that hits at places. If we all come together and understand each other, all these clashes could be wiped off, atleast from our Mother Country.
I completely agree with Priyadarsi. There is a tendency of various minority groups in India to stoke up non issues too. On one hand, we have A.R. Rehman singing Vande Mataram and on the other hand you have the mullahs issuing fatwas against it. The BJP and the mullahs have a herd mentallity where they want to there herd (a.k.a. their respective religious base) together by whipping up useless issues. Instead of having resolutions about employment, education, development, etc., they would rather play to the galleries. Its the problem with both the sides. No one should be excluded. But coercion leads to nothing. So let us wait for an equilibrium to set in. Whenever an equilibrium is manufactured or imposed, it leads to disasters. Let the equilibrium set in on its own.