SECULARISM: The belief that consideration of the present well being of Mankind should take precedence over religious considerations in civil affairs or public education. (source : Webster's dictionary)
THE BACKGROUND
The Constitution of India was passed by the Constituent Assembly on November, 1949 and came into effect on January 26, 1950. It declared The Union of India to be a sovereign, democratic, republic, assuring its citizens of justice, equality, and liberty; the words "socialist" and "secular" were added to the definition in 1976 by the 42nd constitutional amendment, during the emergency imposed by Smt. Indira Gandhi.
The premise with which we start this discussion leads us to believe that India adopted Secularism as a matter of state policy subsequent to the year 1976, when it was incorporated as a part of our Constitution. The fact that the founding fathers of the Constitution did not find it necessary to introduce this belief as a matter of state policy speaks volumes with regards to the fact of the concept of Secularism being part of the Indian psyche and engrained in our thoughts, and therefore needing no further assertion.
History is witness to the fact that theocracy was never a part of the policy/affairs of the Indian state from times immemorial. Although religion played a very important role in the lives of the citizens, it was kept away from the affairs of the state. The state per se remained completely Secular. Religion remained restricted to the temples and other places designated for it, the Purohit remained separate from the Mantri. India never fought Crusades for the sake of propagating religion.
In fact, the only period of time when the state propagated a particular religion as a matter of state policy was when Ashoka endorsed Buddhism. Ashoka after his experience during the Kalinga war used his army for the propagation of the edicts of Buddhism. One of the major reasons for the decline and fall of the Mauryan empire could be attributed to this intertwining of religion and the state.
In India although the stress was laid on the concept of Dharma, this dharma pertained to duties rather than religion. A king was supposed to adhere to his Rajya dharma, i.e his duties and obligations towards his people and not religion.
THE IMPLEMENTATION
1989 remains a watershed year for the 'Secularism' we witness today. An elderly Muslim lady, Shah Bano sought alimony from her husband. The case had been in the courts for years. In 1989, the Supreme court applying section 125 of the Criminal procedure code, granted her alimony. All hell then broke loose, since there was no common law for personal matters, the Hindu personal act applied for Hindus and the Muslim personal law for the Muslims. Even today, the country does not have a common codified civil law.
The erstwhile Prime Minister Late Rajiv Gandhi initially made a spirited defence of the Court's ruling. Arif Mohd. Khan, a minister in the ruling govt. made an impassionate appeal in the Parliament in support of the Court's decision. But this spirit soon evaporated and life was back to square one. The P.M backed out in the face of resistance from the fundamentalists. That he was under fire politically, because of the Bofors issue did not help matters. The govt. brought in an amendment to annul the court's ruling. Shah Bano was not the only looser in this charade. The fundamentalists had smelt blood. The message that votes matter much more than policy was affirmed.
Bending down before fundamentalists is a double edged sword, for you cannot be seen to be pandering to one community only, since it is not one community alone which makes the hard walk to the voting booth.
The late Rajiv Gandhi started his election campaign later that year from Ayodhya with a call to usher in 'Ram Rajya', the very idea of which was anathema to his grandfather, Jawahar Lal Nehru, the first P.M of India.
The politics of fatwa made its appearance in force for the first time during the elections in 1989, when V.P Singh obtained the blessings of the Shahi Imam. Fatwas have been integral part of secular Indian polity ever since.
With the passage of time, the word Secularism has lost its meaning completely.
The govt. of India (whichever govt. it may be) pays Haj subsidy to Muslim pilgrims going on their annual Haj pilgrimage, pays subsidy to minority educational institutions whereas the law prohibits any govt. grant to institutions imparting religious education. So a school teaching Hindu scriptures does not get any grant from the govt. whereas a madarasa, teaching we all know what, gets grants from govt., ostensibly on it being a minority educational institution. The policy of Reservation does not apply to minority educational institutions.
Whatever the intention behind introducing Secularism as a part of our constitution, today it has become the last refuge of the politicians, who fall back upon the cliche of 'Secularism' while hiding their misdeeds. Therefore, the Sacchar commission can make recommendations regarding giving reservations to Muslims in govt. jobs, posting Muslim teachers in colleges in Muslim dominated areas. The pretext being that this will ensure greater representation to the minority community in govt. services and bring them into the mainstream.
The moment the idea of dividing people on the basis of religion, by providing jobs based on their religion is challenged, the person is branded as 'Communal' and treated as an outcast. No politician worth his salt is willing to answer the query regarding the necessity of reservations on the basis of religion more than 60 years of Independence. Why has no effort been made to provide quality education by the govt. schools free of cost or at subsidised rates? Quality education to all citizens irrespective of their religion would have negated the very need to reserve post for a Hindu or a Muslim. It might sound simplistic, but education open doors for progress, not Secularism as practiced by the politicians.But then again, an educated citizenry might see through this farce being played out in the name of secularism and stuff, so why educate?
Even the war on terror is being seen through the prism of the so called Secularism. Therefore the Shahi Imam can come to Saraymir in Azamgarh to express his solidarity with the family of Bashir, who was arrested for the terror attacks in various parts of the nation. The Shahi Imam can then brazenly claim that Inspector M.C.Sharma who was killed in the Jamia Nagar encounter was killed by the police themselves, in order to frame the Muslims. As far as conspiracy theories go, this statement is at par with the findings of the U.C.Banerjee commission which arrived at the conclusion that the train at Godhra was burnt from the inside by the kar sevaks themselves. But any one opposing the statement of the Shahi Imam or questioning the U.C. Banerjee commission about the reason why hundreds of people surrounded the train while it burnt and not helping the burning passengers is bound to be labelled 'Communal'.
Explosions in various parts of the country have become so routine that any single day which passes of peacefully is treated as an aberration and people are apprehensive about the next day bringing something even more grave. The security agencies who as it is are undermanned, demoralised and lack clear directives, are being made to conform to the Indian standards of 'Secularism'. The National Human Rights Commission has questioned the encounter at Jamia Nagar and openly accuse the police of targeting a 'particular community'. The same people never empathise with the victims of terrorism or the Kashmiri Pandits forcibly driven away from their homes.
The proposition of targeting a particular community would have been laughable, if it was not so dangerous. My request to these Hon'bles is to look around and 'get real'. Even the progenitor of terrorism, Pakistan is feeling the heat from this Frankenstein, and so are countries like Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Egypt. But nowhere does this shrill cry of targeting ' a particular community' while fighting terrorism raised.Bombs do not differentiate while killing innocents, be it the mosque in Hyderabad and Malegaon, or the Sankat Mochan temple in Varanasi, or the Akshardham temple in Gujarat.
At times it appears that the bombs practice more Secularism since it does not differentiate between a Hindu, Muslim or Sikh, whereas our institutions differentiate everything into religious categories.
THE CONSEQUENCES
The Secularism being practiced in the country has resulted in dividing everything into a Hindu-Muslim issue. The vacillation by the Govt. in tackling terrorism for the sake of a vote bank has resulted in a situation wherein every Muslim is being treated as a suspect, because the common people have no faith in the determination of the political parties. A feeling has gained ground that the politicians will deal everything with their plea of 'secularism'.
It is an extremely unfortunate situation because as all Hindus cannot be categorised as nationalists, so all the Muslims cannot be categorised as terrorists. It is extremely unfair for a complete class of people to be treated as something which they definitely are not. Or maybe this is what our politicians desire. Labelling Muslims as terrorist will only consolidate the feeling of alienation and increase the ghettoisation, resulting in more votes in their favour. This marriage of convenience between Democracy and Secularism bodes ill for the future of our nation.
The other fall out of this flawed practice of Secularism has been the suppression of the moderate Muslim voices, who have retreated into the background, while the extremists take centre stage. Shah Bano was the starting point and the govt. action ( or inaction) yielded complete space to these fundamentalists. The question as to why the extremist voices are said to represent Secularism, begs an answer. The moderates are convinced that the govt. will side with the extremists when push comes to shove, so why compromise one's life and honour? An informal discussion with the editor of a leading Hyderabad Urdu daily, Siyasat Times, revealed that he had faced threats to his life while opening a call centre training centre for Muslim girls, in order to uplift their stature, not from the Hindu fundamentalists but from local Muslim fundamentalists. So much so for secularism, Indian style.
The act of the Jamia Milia University Vice Chancellor Mushirul Hasan, in deciding to fight the legal battle for the students arrested for their complicity in the terror attacks in the country is a link in the same perverted chain of 'secularism'. Agreed that everyone is innocent till proven guilty, it is still not understood that how a centrally funded University can take the onus of fighting a legal battle on behalf of these students. The money being provided to these Universities is Public Money, isn't it? We do not pay our taxes for them to be utilised in this ungainly manner, do we? Even the statement of the Vice Chancellor that they will be utilising money generated from their own resources, cuts no ice. Students getting admitted into the University are paying a subsidised fees on account of it being a Central University, and the fee is being submitted on account of them obtaining the services of a central University, nothing less and nothing more. What makes this money the private property of Jamia Milia University, Mr.Vice Chancellor? And furthermore, what message is sent to the misguided youth at large? That they are being persecuted by the state and only their fellow religionists will come for their help!
Recently an IPS officer was penalised for pointing out the anomalies of the sixth pay commission unduly in favour of the IAS officers, on the pretext of violating the Conduct rules. I wonder whether the same conduct rules apply for the Vice Chancellor, Jamia Milia University, since he for all practical purposes is a central govt. employee. But our esteemed HRD minister has publicly supported the stand of the Vice Chancellor. So much so for secularism.
The security agencies are demoralised to start of with, and such 'Secular' acts further enhances their insecurity. Why not let the law take its own course,instead of vitiating the already poor atmosphere!! Why does this country not care more for people who give up their lives at the call of their duty? How can people like the Shahi Imam raise questions, which only exacerbate the morale of the security forces, and get away without any legal or constitutional remedy for the officers? How can Ram Bilas Paswan roam around with an Osama bin Laden lookalike seeking Muslim votes, without the law taking its course? Is the minister not aware of the avowed pronouncement of this terrorist rgarding India being enemy no.1 along with U.S.A, Israel and Russia? All for the sake of 'Secularism' of course.
By the way, maybe the Vice Chancellor of the Jamia Milia University would enlighten us with the amount contributed by them for the recent horrible floods in Bihar. Or their 'Secular' hearts bleed only for a certain cause.
These so called 'Secular' acts also gives credence to the assertion of the lumpen elements on the other side of the fence, regarding the govt. taking sides. The only looser in this battle is the common law abiding citizen of the country, who only desires basic amneties, equality before law, equal opportunites irrespective of caste, creed or religion.
32 comments:
I have been dying to see the spirit that we've grown up with...wondering that somewhere, anywhere, in all the reams of newspapers and in the news channels someone will have the guts to say we don't really need to prove our credentials as secular, it's a part of our everyday life and shall be so. So kudos to you for having brought that out!
Terrorism is a different ball game altogether and should be treated as such, as should all other incidences of crime/injustice instead of linking them to religion, caste, creed.
Last week on Times Now, prime time, Arnab Goswami was speaking on the same lines when he said - has it become fashionable to speak of human rights for terroists?
Maybe it has. As it has always been fashionable to say outrageous things - point is, in matters like these it has serious ramifications.
If it's to be a play of words then instead of "secularism" why don't we say "tolerance". Tolerance for others rights, point of views, way of life etc. I find the word "tolerance" infinitely easier to understand than "secularism", which anyway sounds wrought with politics. And by using the word "tolerance" it puts the onus on all groups to be tolerant of others - dogs to be tolerant of cats, cats to be tolerant of mice, ants to be tolerant of human beings etc etc. Jokes aside, you know what I mean...
Education is a majorly pertinent point. Must watch the movie "Aamir"...the movie is about a young educated muslim man, a doctor called Aamir, being coerced by a hi-fi goon to pass on a bag supposedly of cash to some criminals, under the threat of his family being finished otherwise. Eventually that bag turns out to have bomb which Aamir is asked to leave in a public bus...Aamir does not do that and gives up his life instead. This young man at one point in the movie says that "noone gets things easy and I have worked hard to get education and move up in life, and like me anybody can irrespective of religion. I don't think I have been deprived". I thought that was very relevant. Haven't we heard anecdotes how one or the other of our grandparents had to toil to get education to move up in life- and I am sure all of us have heard something of this sort. These are not just stories when they are told to us, these are to inspire us isn't it? To tell us that we need to work hard instead of just crying "foul foul foul".
I guess that's something that does not go down well always, because it means you need to work hard to get what you want. You can't just expect it to fall in your plate through special treatment. And hard work is anathema when you can get things easy by just threatening and coercing...sometimes killing.
And man - hard work is anathema to politicians.
When you can build an image by just getting the tv to cover you picking dirt and mud with masons, a little before elections...that should do wonders for your image. You don't really need to work for it, isn't it?
In the late nineteenth century when Raja Rammohan Roy and other reformists were working for the emancipation of women through sati re-marriage and education - i don't think there was any reservation provided or any systematic violence resorted to by groups of women towards our countrymen to atone for the treatment meted out to women for centuries.
Even today women are mercilessly raped irrespective of caste, creed, religion - we still don't get reservations and women don't even go round blasting bombs.
I wonder what kind of "men" these are - who ask for reservations and kill others to get even for ills meted out to them. Instead of working their way through it!
Do these "men" think of their old parents at home, or children who will be orphans when they die trying to kill someone else. Who will take care of those innocents -the shahi imam?
God help our country man!
Spot on.
We call ourselves a democracy,but paint people with designations if they beg to differ with us. For example I was watching Javed Akhtar on television yesterday, rolling his eyes over theatrically and calling everybody who does not agree with him 'communal'. In a discussion like this you start of from a negative, you have to prove that you are not communal, but simply raising points which need to be addressed. Why does Mulayam Singh and his friend Amar singh not answer questions regarding horrible roads, non existent sanitation, absence of law and order, children dropping out of school at the primary level, which are worst in the Muslim areas in U.P.No sir, nobody will reply to these questions, but the person posing these questions will be branded communal. Perhaps Javed Akhtar would have also told us about the individual efforts made at his level to uplift even one Muslim family(not his own ofcourse). But then maybe these communal questions should not be raised.
The 'secular' position regarding terrorism is that it is the outcome of the riots in Gujarat. Therefore killings of innocents is an act of 'revenge'.I wonder who a Muslim kid who is orphaned in in a terror attack, is going to seek revenge from.......
It's actually a very contentious issue, because the moment you say the things we speak of as rationale for not resorting to violence someone is bound to kill it saying "what will majorities know"...which is why i insist that look at women, however many policies or laws may be made - at a social level and most times within families too they will be violated, mentally or physically, for that matter look at "senior citizens" and the same applies to them...obviously this cannot be generalised (not all suffer by god's grace), but you do see crimes against them and they are by all means vulnerable groups.
Do these groups not feel cheated? Of course they do. Why do they not resort to means resorted to by these particular groups of men we're talking about?
Quite the contrary of what these men from the minorities would like us to believe, they are not vulnerable or violated, they are mentally and physically aggressive...that's what our so called "leaders" have precipitated out of their politics after independence
Maybe we should turn to Martin Luther King to learn how how violated and backward minorities can come back into mainfold in a dignified and intelligent way. Even today negros and women fighting for the top post in the USA is a big thing...they've fought for their rights too haven't they? and still are...
Why would our so called minorities not adapt more peaceful and by far more effective means? Why will the mulayam singhs and amar singhs not adapt such means for them? Or for that matter why will the imams not do that?
God knows - the muslim little kid will turn into a terrorist and the hindu little kid will turn into a beggar! or vice versa...who knows!
The minorities do not take thepeaceful way of putting forward their issues because the 'secular'leaders will not let them in order to grind their own axe.Look at the pulse polio programme for children,these leaders of the country ensure that permission of some obscure maulana (basically a local rogue)is required and a certificate of polio drops not being 'un islamic' obtained before the state can proceed with this life saving act.The idea of family planning cannot even be suggested for the sake of'secularism'. I mean how long will this nonsense be allowed to perpetrate? While we talk of 'secularism', our actions suggest completely otherwise, because a secular state will not permit this kind of absurdity. Look at France,it has abolished all kinds of religious head gear in school in order to maintain a secular atmosphere at school. Even the Sikhs in France are up in arms. Our P.M, who was 'ashamed of the violence in Orissa' while on French soil, was snubbed by Nicolas Sarkozy, when he raised this issue in the same visit. The time has come to Walk The Talk.
Secularism is a word by the politicians for themselves. The irony is that the most vocal supporters of secularism are those who dont contest a general election. Be it Amar Singh, Arjun Singh or our beloved comrades karat and surjeet.
Our country faced terrorism in Punjab long before the jehadis, but we were able to curb it with the determination of one KPS Gill and political will of late Beant Singh. But we are at loss with the jehadis. Reason: That terrorism was by sikhs (not a pan indian vote bank)and here we are dealing with a pan Indian vote bank.
Not a single politician except akalis raised the issue of a community being targeted at that point of time not even Jaaved (Akhtar) Saheb. The other difference is that sikh terrorists targeted the politicians and common man both but the jehadis are targeting the common man only. The obvious conclusion is that these terror attacks are politician sponsored.
The electronic and print media must also take the resposibility of continuously reporting the pseudo secularism of the politicians. Most of the correspondents are afraid to write against the osama lookalike or UC Banerjee report.
The latest missive from the 'DEFENDERS OF SECULARISM'society comes from Amar Singh who like the Shahi Imam asserts that inspector M.C.Sharma was killed by the policemen themselves in order to frame 'a particular community'. I mean is this is how we treat people who give up their lives for the call of duty? All for the sake of 'secularism' of course. After this nonsense we pretend to be shocked at the depletion in young people joining the army!!
The recent events in Assam are a pointer of things to come if this trend of mindless pandering for votes is not stopped. For years the govts. have turned a blind eye to infiltration from Bangladesh, we all know why.....don't we?
Better you should have checked the facts from the Finance section of the Jamia Milia before making a frivolous allegation against the Vice Chancellor of a Central University.
Terrorism in Punjab was curbed not only by the sheer determination of one KPS Gill(who later on did a lot for upliftment of Hockey in the country!)or one Beant Singh.The sheer fact is that the CIA lost interest in it and shifted its starategy to the Gangetic belt.Remember Mandal/Kamandal/Rise of Kanshi Ram.And these are blatant facts.
Way back in 1984 when Pritish Nandy Was editor of the (then published)Illustrated Weekly of India, he published a detailed report regarding the game plan of CIA.The report was backed up by some original papers.Any one can check from the archive section of The Times of India.Pritish is also hail and hearty ,he can also throw some light(it is another matter that his priorities are now Katreena/Kareena/Salman)
In this context, we must also try to establish the link between Amar Singh's trip to USA(before the no- confidence motion was passed)and also his trip to Sarai Meer(Azamgarh).The CIA game plan is on.Similarly,the rise of Bajarang Dal's and Thackrey's of the day are also notto be treated in isolation.
Coming to the topic -Secularism-Indian Version,I think that the secularists also have the right to live in the country along with the fundamentalists.To me both are two sides of the same coin ever willing to dance to the tune of Uncle Sam.
A fundamentalist is a fundamentalist till he comes to the power; he becomes secular thereafter(remember the tenure of BJP).And the tenure of PM in waiting as home minister of this country was almost at par with Shivraj Patil if not worse.
We have two types of hearts in the country and it is a pity that both the types bleed for the cause which only concerns them.
And this in the land of Gandhi!
Our politicians are beyond comparison.They have been able to make every group understand that other one is being benefitted more .Group ,one can make on any thinkable basis of classification of population be it caste,language ,age, gender etc.
After reading all these blogs one thing is missing both from writer and us ,is there any solution?Except moving out of the country?
Interesting - the CIA bit.
We all deduce/know/guess/think there is a bigger game plan, a bigger picture to this.
The secularists or fundmaentalists are obviously just to keep people distracted...so are the bomb blasts. A heavy price we're paying for the distraction though
Point is we are playing into their hands and the point remains that's largely because we do lack in "something"
Unity? Pride? Discipline? Tolerance? Loyalty?
It appears to me if each one of us was able to exercise these "virtues" in our day to day life - actually and really exercise them...we might just be able to hope for better days
But then one can't preach, its an individual choice after all...and apparently we are a democracy
I guess then it is pretty much upto our good sense what we'll do...and what kind of a nation we'll build
Solutions,or at least what I perceive as solutions have been suggested in the blog.Provide the basics of life viz. better roads, water which can be drunk safely directly from taps, quality education etc. and then let everybody fend for themselves.No special favours. Similarly stay focussed on the fight at hand, terror cannot be fought with a'please all approach'.It has to fought with an iron hand which is guided by an iron will.
Power can be utilised and misused as well. Secularism has been a power of Hindus for years. Survival of Hinduism even after hundreds of years of Mughal & British rule in the country is miraculous. But it can be taken in other way as well, depends upon the way one thinks and situation.
Most of the times, the power is misused. Sometimes one does not even realise that he is misusing it and completely unaware of the consequences.
Be it Gandhi, Nehru, Jinnah or any other leader all have influenced their followers in their own way for their selfish reasons. What they got out of it ? Perhaps, reserved their places in Currency Note, Postal Ticket etc. but PUBLIC ? Public has to face the consequences nothing else.
The third law of Newton applies in all the aspects of our life. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. It seems the current situation is the reaction of past actions of their leader.
On the other hand there are examples that Hindu whenever have brought their feelings into actions, have achieve their rights. Though, it is unfortunate to fight for their cultural & religious rights.
Be it the issue of Shrine Board or Ayodhya, the Hindu united and fought against the Government. Now, it is the turn to fight against communism and terrorism.
Well Mr. Bobby ! You made me think about it. That is enough, keep going.
Attention Mr. Anonymous ! Think twice before writing. It is not at all frivolous allegation against anybody. It is just a fact that have been brought to the notice of public by Media.Better check your knowledge about Rules for a Government Employee. It seems you are a Govt. employee.
You are simply challenging the Media who have published the facts. You mean to say they also should ascertain about the facts.
All of us know that whatever we are writing or reading here is on the basis of Media only. Don't forget, nobody out here is collecting their own information.
I agree with the view expressed that the politicians are hiding their failure behind the veil of 'secularism'. There is rampant lawlessness,poverty,unemployment, non existent healthcare(notthe private ones which not many can afford) rather than proving our 'secuarism' over and over again. The point raised in the blog as to whether we were not secular pre 1976 is thought provoking to say the least.Never even thought it that way!
Well Mr Shank,it appears that you have a great faith in Media.Media is not sacrosanct.The society will be in great trouble if every one starts believing and acting and blogging on the basis of media reports.My suuggestion to the blogger and you was and still is to verify the facts from Jamia Milia.And if they have not contributed a single penny to the PM relief fund then you are most welcome to criticise.Another simple way is to just pay Rs 10 and get all the information under RTI act.
Till then my comments of frivolous allegation will hold.
I am not lucky enough to get a govt job despite having done my post-graduation.
Yes I am also challenging the media that they should not misguide the people and should ascertain the facts before publishing any news item.
Thanks Mr. Anonymous for putting forward your point quite forcefully. Criticism is always welcome. It appears that you are offended by the part regarding the donation for the Bihar floods. Nowhere has any aspersion cast about the Jamia Milia or its respected Vice Chancellor, the only point was a request for an enlightenment from the University about the donation for the said purpose.
The media reports over fighting out the legal battle of the arrested students over which blogging is done is there for everyone to see, and should have been avoided by Prof. Mushirul Hasan(the V.C), who himself has been at the wrong end of the ire of the maulanas on numerous occasions. And by the way before the plea of providing a fair opportunity to the accused is raised, let me state that the courts function on the rule of law, appoint counsels for the accused if they cannot get one on their own. So there was no need for the Vice Chancellor to step in, for it sends wrong signals which best be avoided in these volatile times. If this trend for populism continues, we are in for troubled times.
But anyway, everybody has a right to decide as well as opine in a democracy, and shape the future of the country in the way he wants it to be.
Well, let me get to the core of this. Maybe i am oversimplifying or something, but this remains a personal opinion.
Consider this. Most children, by and large, continue to practice all the good traits inadvertently. They may not have a name for it but only the assurance that it proceeds from their parents. Gradually, they learn terms like compassion, tolerance, equality, obedience..all of which they had hitherto practiced, although without a name. So, now, whenever they do something good, they immediately have a name to refer to. Everytime they help a stranger, they think they are compassionate. Every act in accordance to their parents' wishes now becomes obedience.
So be it with the men of our times. Every little act of 'morality'(another terminology)becomes a big deal; a 'cathline' for journalists, a 'property' for filmmakers.
Let my pledge be simple. Let us practice tolerance, sans the tag of secularism. Let us first practice humanity, sans the tag of religion.
Kudos to the writer for such 'thought provoking'...thoughts!! (or is it termed blog??)
Tolerance, compassion, humanity, such simple concepts but extremely difficult to find in the present times, where as very observantly pointed out every act is done with an eye on the publicity meter. People at times appear intentionally dishevelled for the busy look, try to outshout the opponent as if shouting makes the point as the truth.
Today I personaly went to Jamia Milia and want to inform you that the University has contributed about 7 lakhs to the PM relief fund for the victims of Bihar floods.
Muslims are also nationalist and they do not need to give certificate each time a blast occurs or a terrorist is caught.
Thank you Mr. Anonymous for taking such pains. An informed citizenry is the best weapon against misrule. Vigilant citizns like you give hope to this nation. Now let us see how much expenses are charged for the legal proceedings for the accused the University is standing up for.
Agreed that Muslims do not need anybody's certificate for being nationalists. The same point has been brought out expilictly in the post,as I believe you would vouch for.
But the political game being played out in the name of 'Secularism'cannot be allowed to go on. The basic requirements of the country need attention on a priority basis rather than who is more 'secular'! Stand up for education, health care, removal of poverty, unemployment and stuff.How about better roads,uncontaminated drinking water for all?
I am really glad to see that an educated person, who prefers to remain in complete anonymity, has taken the trouble to cross-check with the University to authenticate his/her point. Full marks to his/her undying spirit!
But almost without being aware of it, he/she throws light on two simple points- 1)That he/she hasnt scrutized the remaining part of the article with such deft!
2)That the writer's 'allegation' was certainly not a 'frivolous' one.
Kudos to writer again for his 'action-provoking' thoughts.
I have read the article and do agree with the writer's view point and also disagree in bits and parts.
If the word 'frivolous allegation' is inappropriate then that can be replaced by 'frou-frou allegation'.
People talk of RTI, which is based on transparency,and talk from behind the veil of anonymity.People talk of others making 'frivolous allegations' and call some honest writings concerning all of us as 'frou frou allegations' (propaganda against the govt.! for people with not so advanced English).
Obviously talking of education,healthcare, better roads, opportunity for all etc.is propaganda. That is why the politicians fool all of us with due anonymous help.
As regards the V.C of Jamia Milia for whom the concern is being felt, pray tell me what happens if the V.C of Utkal University took up the cause of Dara Singh or the V.C of Guru Nanak Dev University took up the case of Beant Singh and Satwant Singh.
Frou frou allegations indeed.
But let us wait till Mr. Anonymous takes efforts to obtain the legal cost which will be incurred by Jamia Milia on behalf of the 'students'!
Propaganda indeed.
Arvind ji,thanks for informing us that Dara Singh was a student of Utkal University at the time he was implicated for burning a priest and his family.Thanks also for informing us that Beant and Satwant were also the students of Guru Nanak Dev University at the time when they opened fire on the then PM Mrs Indira Gandhi.
We should have faith in our legal system and even if one person is proved innocent in court of law;I think the stand taken by the VC of Jamia will be vindicated.And if the court finds the students guilty of ghastly crime against humanity then the entire cost should be recovered from his pocket.
Anonymous ji, we all know why the V.C of Jamia Milia is standing up for the accused.Don't we?
But since we are 'secular' we better not say it. How about the person (Atif i believe) who was killed in the encounter and who was studying there on the basis of a fake certificate from Allahabad University? But nobody blames the university for this because fake certificates cannot be eliminated in this country of ours. So it would have been better for the V.C to stay out of this business, whether the money is recovered or not from his pocket in no way negates the act which he should have desisted from.
But anyway to each his own
Interesting discussions going on between Secularists and Non Secularists.
Loved the word "frou-frou allegations" used by anonymous ji.
Thank God you blamed the University and not the minorities for for fake certificates of one killed terrorists.
Will the real anonymous please stand up. Very difficult conversing with so many.
Since anonymousji is really on the side of the secularists and I have been sent to the side of non secularists,my query is to the 'secularist' why were the minorities in the rest of the country silent when minorities in the Kashmir valley driven away? Why were no missionary schols closed down to protest this act of violence? why was no fatwa passed against the 'terrorists' or the 'freedom fighters' for the secularists? These poor people were minorities after all, weren't they. But then secularism is a one sided story.
after reading a lot and fro-fro allegation from Anonymous ji I could not understand why this has been misunderstood with wrong intended pepole to prove them right,who can explain the activity going on within the specicific and identified area? was not this is the responsibility of the community to expose the indivisual despite pepole are justifing the whole act in the name of nationalism. what is this?why waiting for the media and the system to crack the link why no indivisual from the community is coming up and giving the link
wait the flame will not leave any-body because the free mind is working behind all this.
I tend to agree with the views that the Muslim community needs to seriously introspect, but then perhaps the experiences of people like Arif Mohd.Khan (mentioned in the post, in case of any confusion) stops them from doing so. But then these are hard times, and hard issues will have to faced boldly.
The farce which is being played out in the name of Secularism has to be exposed for what it is, a simple way to fool the people from confronting the basic issues in the country.
It seems that if one wants to be termed as secular, one should not talk about terrorists who claim to be doing something holy (in their opinion) but do talk about those who are doing the same in the name of religion but are of different faith. The user of this definition should be termed as pseudo secular. Our political establishment actually profess this type of secularism, as they treat the minorities as VOTE BANK.
Talk of a community being targeted is good politics whereas talk of Roads, Health Care etc is very very bad politics.
Every law abiding common man of this country irrespective of his/her faith is SECULAR. Period. I feel we all brlong to this category and hence don't need any certificate from anybody.
Talking of vote banks, the weavers in U.P are in a pitiable condition due to factors such as advancement in the industry which eludes them, govt. apathy.Some of them have taken to unskilful jobs like driving rickshaws. Incidentally most of the weavers, if not all are Muslims. Why does not a single 'secular' heart bleed for them? No one will call for a 'judicial' enquiry, nobody will bear their legal expenses, no one will talk of their problems on TV. Any opinions?
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