Many Muslims have been surprised and even hurt at the article written by Vir Sanghvi in the Counterpoint column of Hindustan Times on Sunday, which is without doubt the most read column of any editor in India. The reason is obvious. Had it been written by any other person it would not have mattered that much but Vir Sanghvi is one of the best editors, an erudite and highly respected journalist. Like many others he also puts the onus on Muslims for not condemning fundamentalism of Muslims. Here is an emotional response that comes straight from the heart.
Muslims don’t remain silent and do condemn but our voices don’t reach you. The Delhi-centric (Delhi/Haryana/Punjab) papers never carry these stories. In small cities all over Northen India Muslims protest and raise voice, but who takes notice! (See the photo up there, not a single a paper published such pictures: Here there are footwear in hands of Muslims and the banner reads: Desh Drohi MF Husain ).
Muslims lack PR skills and the only story that sells is reported by journalists. The fact that story concerns madarsas, so-called fundamentalism, underworld etc. Who cares about reporting the genuine stories and the day-to-day issues of Muslims.
Did Sanghvi’s paper publish the story of protest rally in Bhatkal,  Bhopal and Lucknow where Muslims also held the placards about MF Husain as well. Do they have knowledge of All India Muslim Tehwar Committee and National Secularism Front that organised protests but not a single paper reported them. We still remember the Karvaan-e-Azadi a few years back that passed through the entire nation and none noticed it. The mutts/maths are never a subject of story but madarsas are.
You set the agenda and you write about it. Muslims are absolutely on the borderline and a majority of Muslims barely manages bread everyday. But other than ghettoes, stories about biryani and the lack of liberals coming out, you don’t care write about that. You write about all sorts of appeasements, take issues like Muslim ‘census’ in army that Muslims never demanded. You take the issue of Gudia and then her child and you decide all. See Muslim blogs all over the blogosphere where MF Husian has been condemned, fundamentalism is condemned but does big journo, who goes to big hotels has an iota of time to surf that or interact with ordinary Muslims? Even the ‘kalma’ of Muslims was published wrong in the Big story in the Sunday Hindustan Times. Muslims felt hurt but did they complain? Do you ever see what readers’ letters in columns of Urdu papers like Rashtriya Sahara (Urdu) and Qaumi Awaz Delhi say about fundamentalism of either side.
All leadership Muslims forsake long back to Hindus, either to Mulayam Singh, Lalu, Atal Bihari or anyone but for Muslims. But you never bother to check and pronounce your judgement easily that Muslims don’t condemn. They do, but their voice will never reach your ears. You have your own 2-4 intellectuals representing Muslims like Javed Akhtar and your papers hardly print the letters written to editors on the subjects by Muslims. That’s a fact, whether you agree or not.
Is there any person remotely vicious like Togadia but you give voice to him…..you publish him, any Muslim fundamentalist in India? What Vinay Katiyar said recently, we silently bore. Said nothing. Did you condemn it. I am sure you are not even aware of that. You don’t report that. You report AMU where a girl’s issue becomes national issue.Are there men remotely vicious to what Togadia, Modi, Giriraj Kishore etc among Muslims? What Modi said about Muslim women, you did not even report that.
It was an affront to all women but you chose to ignore that. Muslims are silentlybearing all barbs. Â You remain magnanimous to sometime look at them and pass a judgement. Indian Muslims have no guilt or complex to be forced to come out and beat their chests for the fault of one, MF Husain. We don’t kill our daughters in the womb, Muslims have the best sex ratio in India and that proves we are poor but progressive.
The Maulanas give the bytes and fall in trap of a journalist who wants a scoop. On an issue like Imrana he asks for view, the maulana refuses but then the reproter persists and asks a hypothetical question and forces him to ask what would happen in such circumstances, the maulana answers and the story is ready.
The maulana is approachable and speaks so he gets this treatment:He is misquoted, misrepresented and blamed. Look what happened on Sania’s dress and the virginity controversies. Across the India hungry electronic media reporters in every city go for any maulana who is approachable if only one says that it is wrong or un-Islamic, the entire community is blamed as fundamentalist and backwards.
This state has failed to stop the Togadias from hurting us, poisoning the liberal Hindus and giving us so many wounds in the heart that we don’t want to deal with anyone. And tell me why a state with 3.5 crore Muslims that is Uttar Pradesh can’t open a Urdu medium school in the state. Just because a law prevents that. You know this? Our language was killed, we said nothing. Everday we are condemned, maligned, seen with suspicion, section of media even hates us and you expect us to come out and ‘prove’ our liberal ways. What a joke!
PS: What we do now when so many are blind? Will someone send this photo to the journalists and papers who say Muslims never raise voice?
Adnan
For those of you who haven’t read Vir Sangvi’s article in HT on 11th Feb 2006, here is the link for it.
The Silence of Liberal Muslims
Adnan keep it up.
But Alas when will we Indian Muslims have an English Dialy?.
Mindset is same liberal or otherwise . Muslim will always pay for their disunity.
Dear Wahab Bhai,
Who knows! Inshallah things will change. All of us should be positive and make our little efforts and the dawn will not be far.
Where did you get this picture from? I am just curious. Is there a medium which points out such reports?
Jain sahab. Being a journo-kind, I knew the photographers all of whom had taken the photos but were not printed by their papers I asked them to mail me. These protests occur but are never reported. The Muslims are not smart enough to take out candle light processions to grab attention and make real news.
This photo is actually irrelevant to Vir Sanghvi’s point. I am not sure it is a sign of liberalism to condemn M F Hussain – it may even be construed a sign of illiberalism to do so. Sanghvi is referring to the condemning of fundamentalism of Muslims by liberal Muslims – this is not such a case. I for one stand for Hussain’s right to paint anything he wants – though I am unlikely to go and see it since it will probably offend me! The test of liberalism is not in condemning offence against others – that is easy to do. The true test is when you stand up for the right of another person to say something even if it offends you. When you can stand up and say that Rushdie has the right to publish the Satanic Verses, even if one disagrees with it completely and is offended by it. The statement – ‘I vehemently disagree with what you say but I will defend your right to say it’ – is the essence of liberalism.
I don’t think Sanghvi primary target in the article is necessarily liberal Indian Muslims, despite the title of the article. His primary target, based on my reading of the article, seems to be liberal Hindus, who he accuses of using double standards till now.
I disagree with Sanghvi but not on his point that liberal Muslims don’t speak out enough against the illiberalism of their co-religionists. He is not making the claim that there is nobody who is speaking out – he is making the claim that such people are few and far between. And I tend to generally agree with him on that. Pointing out an odd protest or statement against fundamentalism here or there like Adnan has done does not disprove Sanghvi since it was never his claim that these odd statements don’t exist.
Where I disagree with Sanghvi is in his assumption that it is hugely different amongst Hindus. That there are vast numbers who come out and protest against fundamentalism of their co-religionists. I don’t think that the proportion of Hindus speaking out against fundamentalism within Hindus is vastly larger to begin with. Of course, Hindu society is much more heterogeneous than Muslim society and this tends to bring about more discordant voices in general. But the Muslim community is no monolith either. The vocal group amongst the liberal Hindus are a somewhat larger proportion of the Hindu population because the proportion of educated middle-class (or above) Hindus is much larger than amongst Muslims and liberalism is usually the preserve of the large-city middle-class. Those who are barely eking out a living, whether Hindu or Muslim, are hardly likely to come out and protest against fundamentalism within their community. And even a majority of the middle-class is unlikely to come out and protest – but there is a vocal minority within the middle-class. As the Muslim middle-class expands, we will surely hear more voices – maybe commensurate with the proportion of such voices in the Hindu community – or maybe more or less. But certainly more than today.
One other point Vir Sanghvi misses is that one is more likely to hear such liberal voices in a secular, multi-religious society like ours rather than homogenous Muslim societies. The failures that Sanghvi points to are actually in such societies, not in India. Some of these societies are highly literate and affluent (e.g. the Gulf countries) and yet the liberal voices there are suppressed. However, our assessment of the liberalism amongst Indian Muslims should not be driven by the failures in other societies.
Finally, I notice quite a bit of a persecution complex in this blog (not just this post, but in the blog as a whole). The prescription at the end of the day (getting rid of ‘disunity’), made by one of the respondents, also reflects a similar persecution complex. I don’t think it is an accurate representation of reality. And I don’t think it is healthy.
If persecution complex seeps in, inadvertently, it is definitely not healthy but sense of desperation does lead towards it and it is not very uncommon.
When a politician/rabblerouser says ‘Babar ki aulaad’ to Muslims or in parliament one hears an MP makes a comment linking a Muslim MP with creation of Pakistan, one is bound to get disgusted. Because in India, Hindus and Muslims are a ‘qaum’ for centuries you don’t expect such things and get terribly upset. And in such situations you do get this feeling of helplessness. Why this brazen fundamentalism is not condemend by majority community. And Muslims are to keep hearing the barbs and bear these ridiculous and insulting remarks. But please keep on commenting, dialogues and debates should go on.
Maybe I was not clear enough about the persecution complex part of my post. My intention was not to blame you or anybody else for this complex. Rather, the blame lies on society as a whole. It is unhealthy for our society if a minority community harbours a persecution complex. And we must all work, through our words and deeds, to remove the sense of desperation that you refer to, to the extent possible.
dear adnan
thanks for u r picture
why r u hiding it
this picture is great slap on those mouth who think that muslims are diffrent
i m not against of muslims,
but i m protesting about that think when near about 500 peopla mob were going to kill nurcerry, and kg’s school children.
what is the mistake of that children who dont know the diffrence between hindu and muslims, all these people were forgot that “GHAR SE MASDID THI BAHOT DOOR CHALO U KARLE, EK ROTE HUE BACHHE KO HASAKAR LAYE”
And for that i wrote this article
I really appretiate u r work, dont hide u r picture
i will help u
thanks for picture
Thanks Gulshan dear. I couldn’t understand though what you meant by the mob going to kill nursery and kg children? Are you talking about any recent protest?
Adnan,
All that bit about Togadia and Giriraj Kishore and others- and you ask whether there are Muslims like that?
Arent there? Werent Indian Muslims involved in various terrorist activities throughout India? Please understand that the Muslim community needs to police itself- we liberal Hindus are fed up of seeing many of our overtures go into the ground. Let me ask you a comment- do you believe that Hinduism as a religion, deserves equal respect as Islam? If so, how many of your fellow Muslims believe that? I am curious to know. Because in my limited interaction- its split 50/50. Such things *hurt* us much more than the bomb blasts, we lose faith.
As regards condemning the blasts- I thank you for your personal sentiment, but where were the 50, 000 Muslim marches against Pakistan and Musharraf? Where are the dozens of Muslim orgs countrywide organizing bandhs to send an unequivocal message to Pakistan that it has killed enough Indians in the name of Islam? Why dont Indian Muslims take their religion back from what the Pakistanis have done?
I have been secular all my life- I have grown up amongst Muslims, eaten with them, played with them, some of my closest friends are Muslims. Yet- as a community, my religion is rejected my many Muslims. I am accosted by Muslim maulvis who pompously tell me about how Islam is superior to Hindus, and with a flock of followers behind them. I am told how great the Mughals were- when they slaughtered countless Hindus and had non Muslims pay the humiliating jiziya tax.
In short- as a secular, liberal Hindu- please walk with us. Not behind us and expect that we are not humans and we can ignore all that happens to our community at the hands of Muslims who quote the Quran as rationale, and hurt us time after time
All the best
Venkat
BTW, please dont take my words in the wrong sense- I merely compressed a lot into a little.
The Indian Muslims have been setup in this trap for long. First accuse them with all the assumed things and repeat everyday till muslims themselves accepts. Whether its muslims terrorists, appeasment, population, see no liberals muslims in the community.
Interesting work, Adnan.
But it seems you have the horse before the cart on several issues.
Firstly, it was the Muslim psyche that resulted in advocacy of the Two Nation Theory and the resultant Partition. So, a general suspicion of Muslim patriotism is natural.
Secondly, condemning M.F. Hussain is immaterial when no Muslim Indian condemns the official religious intolerance of Muslim nations. Has any Muslim Indian refused to go on Hajj in sympathy with his fellow Hindu Indian who cannot publicly practice his faith in Saudi Arabia ?
Has 50,000 Muslims gathered to protest the visit of the Saudi monarch – like they did against George Bush – for the bigotry and brutality which the Saudi religious system imposes on the fundamental rights of “kaffirs” and especially “mushriks” ?
Has any Muslim Indian organization made an effort to end the terrorism being conducted in the name of Islam in Jammu & Kashmir under the pretence of a “freedom struggle” ?
In such matters they are mostly silent, and this silence is deafening.
Therefore, when a handful of Muslims ( note the camera angle designed to capture only a few Muslims in such a way as to fill the whole frame ) suddenly protest the long-granted artistic freedom of M.F. Hussain, that too only at a time when the Muhammad cartoon controversy is putting a pressure on Muslims to change their own hypocrisy about such matters, it carries little conviction.
Where is the condemnation, indignation, mass protest by 50,000 Muslims against the UP Minister declaring a bounty against the Danish cartoonists ? Silence there once again.
Where is the uproar when a mullah here, a maulvi there, a maulana here, an alim there – and dare I say, privileged, educated Muslims everywhere – speak of Hindu religion as “shirk” and “kufr” and unworthy of respect in public sermons and private discourses ?
Why is it that Muslim Indians appear genuinely worried about the welfare of Muslims in distant Palestine and Iraq, but are least concerned about the welfare of their own Hindu brethren down the street in Jammu & Kahmir, Varanasi, Delhi, Godhra etc ?
These are the real problems that Muslim Indians must address, Adnan. By talking irrationally and emotively like “We don’t kill our daughters in the womb, Muslims have the best sex ratio in India and that proves we are poor but progressive” , you miss the forest for the trees.
Hi Well Wisher,
With regards to the points you have made
1. You said “Firstly, it was the Muslim psyche that resulted in advocacy of the Two Nation Theory and the resultant Partition. So, a general suspicion of Muslim patriotism is natural”.
Answer: Please refer to the pre partition literature of the Sangh Parivar, much of which is widely available on the net. Read their theory of ‘One nation and one people’, you will know what forced Muslims to protect their identity and their “people”
2. “Secondly, condemning M.F. Hussain is immaterial when no Muslim Indian condemns the official religious intolerance of Muslim nations. Has any Muslim Indian refused to go on Hajj in sympathy with his fellow Hindu Indian who cannot publicly practice his faith in Saudi Arabia ?”
Answer: This logic, “if Muslims of Arabia dont let Hindus practise their religion, then Hindus of India shud do so to Muslims” is similar to the sangh parivar’s idea “I want to rape your sister because Babar’s soldiers raped my great grand mother”. We have as much control over Arabs as we have the power to protect your ‘grandmother’ from Babar’s soldiers.
3. You wrote: Has 50,000 Muslims gathered to protest the visit of the Saudi monarch – like they did against George Bush – for the bigotry and brutality which the Saudi religious system imposes on the fundamental rights of “kaffirsâ€? and especially “mushriksâ€? ?
Answer: My question to you is, if you are so much against the “bigotry and brutality” being imposed on Hindus in Saudi, why doesn’t the Indian Government force Saudis not to do impose? If the Muslims can stand up for their rights in India why cant the Hindus do so in Pakistan or Saudi Arabia? Is the revenue from Saudi and Saudi Oil more important to you than your faith or dharma?
4. You said “Has any Muslim Indian organization made an effort to end the terrorism being conducted in the name of Islam in Jammu & Kashmir under the pretence of a “freedom struggleâ€? ? In such matters they are mostly silent, and this silence is deafening.
Answer: Please do your home work well. More Muslim policemen and women and innocents have been killed fighting terrorists in Kashmir than all of Hindus put together.
5. Therefore, when a handful of Muslims ( note the camera angle designed to capture only a few Muslims in such a way as to fill the whole frame ) suddenly protest the long-granted artistic freedom of M.F. Hussain, that too only at a time when the Muhammad cartoon controversy is putting a pressure on Muslims to change their own hypocrisy about such matters, it carries little conviction. Where is the condemnation, indignation, mass protest by 50,000 Muslims against the UP Minister declaring a bounty against the Danish cartoonists ? Silence there once again.
Answer: Please give all the Indian muslims three decent meals a day and we will hold your banners and do all the above you have mentioned for as long as you want.
6. Where is the uproar when a mullah here, a maulvi there, a maulana here, an alim there – and dare I say, privileged, educated Muslims everywhere – speak of Hindu religion as “shirkâ€? and “kufrâ€? and unworthy of respect in public sermons and private discourses ?
Answer: Those who say this are the Sangh Parivar equivalent within Muslims. Both the communities’ extremists can be reduced but not eliminated, we all know that.
7. Why is it that Muslim Indians appear genuinely worried about the welfare of Muslims in distant Palestine and Iraq, but are least concerned about the welfare of their own Hindu brethren down the street in Jammu & Kahmir, Varanasi, Delhi, Godhra etc ?
Answer: As for Indian Muslims in J&K again please refer to number 4 of the above arguement. And for your point that Indian Muslims care more for Palestine and Iraq than Varanasi or Godhra, this is not true. Which means, what you are telling is a misconception, a hearsay. Indian Muslims care more for their own food than for people in distant lands, be it Godhra or Palestine.
8. These are the real problems that Muslim Indians must address, Adnan.
Answer: The problem is not Muslim’s alone. Extremism has to be fought at every level by both Muslims and Hindus. And Hindus have to stop justifying their atrocities by telling “But Muslims do this in Arabia or Kashmir” or “Babar did it to my forefathers”. I don’t have the power to prevent some idiot claiming to be a Muslim in Kashmir or Pakistan from killing a Hindu. But yes, what I know is if I am threatened, I would do what it needs to protect my life and my women folks honour. And I hope the wise among both the communities prevent that situation from arising. For that day, it will not be Hindus or Muslims who will be harmed, it is Indians who will harmed.
Jai Hind!
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Hi,
I thought the debate was going a little astray here, but this blog exaclty shows the point that vir sanghvi was trying to make.
The people who are protesting m.f. hussain, the muslims and the hindus, are not liberal but just the opposite, they are fundamentalist. A liberal would defend m.f. hussain’s art no matter how offensive it is to whoever. A liberal would defend the right to publish and create the danish cartoons, the satanic verses, water, fire, and the davince code.
Liberalism doesnot mean supporting people from other communities or other religions, it means supporting every indiviuals fundamental rights.
I personally believe that liberal people in india do not raise their voice enough neither hindus nor muslims nor other communities. But it is true that in perception from the english media is that liberal hindus raise their voices more than liberal muslims, you might argue that it is the media’s fault and it very well might be.
But all in all the above argument fails to give one piece of evidence where liberal muslims have spoken up for liberalism, but it is based on examples of muslims protesting m.f. hussain, which is an example of fundamentalism itself.
varun
Adnan & Bangaloreboy786…
You mentioned that all Muslims should be provided 3 meals everyday. Probably you expect the Muslim community should now be given more liberty over & above that is provided.
The Indian Government subsidises the Haj visit for all Muslims. No other minoroty community shares this privilege.
There is a Mosque in Ayodhya where nobody worships for more than 50 years. I am not a Hindu. But I feel that when a vast majority of Hindu’s feel that a grand Hindu temple needs to be built in the Birth place of Lord Rama why can all the muslims not support this cause willingly. Same is the case of Mathura & other places also.
You mentioned that the sex ratio of M/F in muslims is the best. However I feel that the Muslim is one religion which exploits women the maximum. You can unanimously divorce any women & not give her any alimony.
I have many Muslim friends. Let me tell you that most of them are more concerned about Muslims in other countries than their fellow Hindu’s in India.
Riots have happened against Hindu’s & other monority communities also. You will always have people like Togadia (you found him offensive). I feel he has his right of speech same was as the Maulana’s talk openly.
I would agree with Vir Sanghvi. The modern liberal muslims needs to come out more openly for uplifting the conditions of the fellow Muslims & also speak against the religious hegemony.
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Hi Adnan.
I believe that the reason muslims everywhere are being looked down upon is because of the tension that has been created by extremist muslims all over the world. Everywehere from our Kashmir, Israel, recents incidents in France, London Bombing, 9/11, the destruction of hindu temple in Lahore Pakistan for building a shopping complex, Christian massacre by extremeists in Indonesia, forceful conversions of Hindus in bangladesh and Bangladeshi muslims crossing the border into assam and other bordering states and forcully converting people to Islam.
Although these activities are performed by extremeist muslims they are perfromed on such a LARGE SCLAE THAT the better half of the muslim community is overshadowed by them.
We cannot blame THE Indian government, public or the west for blaming Islam for terrorism.
I truly understand that most muslims are PEACEFUL people who just wnat an ordinary life just like anyone else.
But the reason this has increased all over the world is due to the lack of action from peacfull muslims who fail to have their voice heard in the media. They are trying though.
I have nothing against Islam. I have lots of muslim friends with whom i have visited the mosque quite often and they have visited the temples.
Look all i’m saying is that if muslims all over the world speak out against this false image of Islam, things would turn around. UNITY LACKS AMONG PEACFUL MUSLIMS AND IS INCREASING AMONG THE EXTREMISTS OF ISLAM. Unity lacks among Muslims all over the world for changin the image of Islam.
One or two websites like these won’t help. If massive protests are organized all over the world against the terrorist groups who give islam a bad name I’m sure there would be a reaction.
The image of Islam has been deterorating continously for the last half of the century. It will take massive efforts and an organized system to bring it up to the level it truly deserves.
If anyone wants to comment please mail me at successfever@gmail.com