They think that till Burqa is on, Mother India cannot provide them what they want.
By Dr Javed Jamil
Burqa symbolizes piety and purity. Secularism is indeed a burqa for our great nation which embellishes it and safeguards it from the piercing eyes of the enemies of its unity and integrity. But for those who want to sully the integrity of someone, burqa is an obstacle. This additional piece of cloth is to be torn apart if the piety is to be ravished. Narendra Modi and his party and the organizations that sustain him are having an eye on the Burqa of Secularism. They have been trying hard for decades to snatch the burqa and bare Mother India. They think that till Burqa is on, Mother India cannot provide them what they want.
It is truly unfortunate that the Election scene is witnessing such a shameless behaviour of a Prime Ministerial aspirant. Muslimphobia has damaged his spirits beyond repair. If “daarhi” has not yet hit his tongue, it is because he himself sports it. Otherwise, by now he would have used “Chor ki daarhi men tinka” idiom to hit his opponents.
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What has started unnerving me however is that his crazy outbursts can disturb the mission of Muslims, which is to bring to the fore an agenda that favours the development of the whole nation, that empowers the deprived majority of the country including Muslims, that brings moral and security issues into focus and that ushers in a new phase of all Indians irrespective of religion, region or caste together for a strong and united India. Muslims must make sure that they set the tone of the debate rather than simply keep reacting to what the others are saying. What irks me is that Muslim organizations and Media too want only to discuss some emotive issues and cannot debate their vision of the whole country.
This is high time a high power committee of Muslim analysts be set up to guide the Community to the elections. This is also high time we finalized the Manifesto for 2014 and beyond, which presents not only Muslim specific demands but also presents Muslim Perspective of the National Development. As I have said in my “Muslim Vision of Secular India” document, Muslims in India have three statuses. They are constitutionally a minority with guarantee to rights that make them equal citizens. As an ideological bloc, they are the second largest majority, which must be in a position to influence the direction of all the policies of the country. And socially, they are part of the deprived majority. All the three statuses deserve equal attention. Right now, we are concerned only about the first, and this can only give in our hands a begging bowl. If we want to play a meaningful role in the national affairs as an empowered community, we need to focus on the other two as well. And this is the biggest challenge for the Elections 2014.
[Dr Javed Jamilis India based thinker and writer with over a dozen books including his latest, “Muslims Most Civilised, Yet Not Enough” and “Muslim Vision of Secular India: Destination & Road-map”. He can be contacted at doctorforu123@yahoo.com or +91-8130340339]
By Dr Javed Jamil
Burqa symbolizes piety and purity. Secularism is indeed a burqa for our great nation which embellishes it and safeguards it from the piercing eyes of the enemies of its unity and integrity. But for those who want to sully the integrity of someone, burqa is an obstacle. This additional piece of cloth is to be torn apart if the piety is to be ravished. Narendra Modi and his party and the organizations that sustain him are having an eye on the Burqa of Secularism. They have been trying hard for decades to snatch the burqa and bare Mother India. They think that till Burqa is on, Mother India cannot provide them what they want.
It is truly unfortunate that the Election scene is witnessing such a shameless behaviour of a Prime Ministerial aspirant. Muslimphobia has damaged his spirits beyond repair. If “daarhi” has not yet hit his tongue, it is because he himself sports it. Otherwise, by now he would have used “Chor ki daarhi men tinka” idiom to hit his opponents.
This is high time a high power committee of Muslim analysts be set up to guide the Community to the elections. This is also high time we finalized the Manifesto for 2014 and beyond, which presents not only Muslim specific demands but also presents Muslim Perspective of the National Development. As I have said in my “Muslim Vision of Secular India” document, Muslims in India have three statuses. They are constitutionally a minority with guarantee to rights that make them equal citizens. As an ideological bloc, they are the second largest majority, which must be in a position to influence the direction of all the policies of the country. And socially, they are part of the deprived majority. All the three statuses deserve equal attention. Right now, we are concerned only about the first, and this can only give in our hands a begging bowl. If we want to play a meaningful role in the national affairs as an empowered community, we need to focus on the other two as well. And this is the biggest challenge for the Elections 2014.
[Dr Javed Jamilis India based thinker and writer with over a dozen books including his latest, “Muslims Most Civilised, Yet Not Enough” and “Muslim Vision of Secular India: Destination & Road-map”. He can be contacted at doctorforu123@yahoo.com or +91-8130340339]