BOOK
REVIEW The
road to amity Indian Muslims: Where Have They
Gone Wrong? by Rafiq Zakaria
Reviewed by Sreeram Chaulia
Few have steadfastly walked the
thankless road to Hindu-Muslim harmony
like Dr Rafiq Zakaria, one of India's
most ardent liberal thinkers. The theme
of Zakaria's 17th book is the nefarious
role played by Muslim political
leaders in impeding communal harmony
before and after Indian independence.
M J Akbar, another rare specimen from
the community of the enlightened, writes
in the foreword that the flaw in Indian
Muslim politics after 1857 was the
minority complex based on the specious
number game, the belief that Muslims,
being only a quarter of the population,
would always be subservient to Hindus.
"Where have Indian Muslims gone
wrong? Whenever they have forgotten
their Indian roots."
Zakaria takes the bull by the horns by
dilating on how the present generation
of Indian Muslims is suffering the
consequences of erroneous steps taken by
its leadership of yore and now. In the
1940s, Muslim elites "gave Muhammad
Ali Jinnah all the support he
needed" for partition of the South
Asian subcontinent. After 1947,
"they resorted to the same manner
of confrontation with the dominant
Hindus, widened the divide and
intensified the hatred" (p xxviii).
Ordinary Muslims were indoctrinated with
a "ghetto mentality" and
divorced from the national mainstream
owing to "obstinate adherence to
outmoded traditions" and fear of
the ulama (clerical class).
Despite differences in the character of
Islam and Hinduism, there was no move
for partition in medieval times. Muslim
rulers who persecuted Hindu subjects
made no effort to divide territories on
communal lines. Common Muslims and
Hindus had largely cordial relations,
celebrating each other's festivals.
Despite conflicts between ruling classes
of the two communities, Indo-Saracenic
art, music, literature and architecture
flourished. Muslim poets, writers and
philosophers "went into ecstasy
over the secrets of human emancipation
in the Bhagavad Gita" (p 38).
Muslim musicians composed raagas
in praise of the Hindu deities Krishna
and Shiva. Urdu literature, from Amir
Khusrau to Hasrat Mohani, bristled with
respect for Hindu saints and spiritual
precursors.
The real threat to India's unity came
from Jinnah's "aggressive
separatist stand". His pernicious
"two-nation theory" poisoned
communal ties as never before. His
campaign to frighten Muslims that Hindus
would subjugate them to "abject
slavery" or "complete
annihilation" inflamed
misunderstanding and passions. Thousands
of Indian Muslims combated the communal
virus. Badruddin Tyabjee, Rehmatulla
Sayani, Shibli Nomani, M A Ansari, Hakim
Ajmal Khan, Maulana Azad, Abdul Ghaffar
Khan, Hussain Ahmad Madni, Rafi Ahmad
Kidwai, Syed Abdullah Barelvi, Humayun
Kabir et al risked the ire of their
co-religionists to uphold oneness of all
faiths. However, the British "kept
Jinnah in the forefront in any
negotiation and did not allow him to be
isolated" (p 100). Lord Mountbatten,
the last viceroy of British India,
convinced Congress leaders that
"the only way to get rid of Jinnah
was a divided India. Any form of a
united India would start a civil
war" (p 115).
In the aftermath of partition, prime
minister Jawaharlal Nehru rushed to the
rescue of innocent Muslim victims. His
"anti-communalism was not
one-sided. He fought Muslim communalism
no less valiantly" (p 125). He
opposed separate electorates and
reservation of seats for minorities. His
daughter, Indira Gandhi, was ever
concerned about the psychosis through
which Indian Muslims were passing. In
her opinion, "Unless Muslims are
made to feel that they are as much an
integral part of India as Hindus, their
attachment to secularism would remain
hypocritical" (p 199).
The creation of Pakistan fueled
Hindu-Muslim bitterness instead of
easing it. Indian Muslims were more
besieged than before 1947. Pakistan is
"a constant threat to their safety
and security in India". Persecuted
Bengali Muslims "had to be
eventually rescued by Indian armed
forces, consisting mostly of
Hindus". Average Muslims in
Pakistan and Bangladesh still
"groan under the iron heels of
feudal cliques backed by the army"
(p 162).
Zakaria strongly asserts that any
solution of the Kashmir dispute on the
lines desired by Pakistan will reopen
the floodgates of vehement communalism.
"The best way of silencing the
Pakistanis and preserving Kashmir's
integration with India is to strengthen
the link between Kashmiri Muslims and
Indian Muslims" (p 405). Terrorism
perpetrated in the name of jihad in
Indian Kashmir is a major cause of
Hindu-Muslim hostility. Zakaria cites
Imam Ghazali, popular as the
"Rejuvenator of Islam":
"If Muslims did not destroy
terrorism, terrorism would destroy
them" (p 203). To gloat over acts
of terrorism and hold jashn
(celebrations) depicts "utter
crassness and lunacy".
The economic condition of Indian Muslims
is worse than that of the Scheduled
Castes and Tribes. Muslims have as much
to blame as the government for their own
backwardness in education. They fail to
capitalize on common facilities for
educational uplift. Purdah
(veiling women) and fear of coeducation
deter female children's progress in the
secular world. Zakaria urges Indian
Muslims to cooperate with Hindus through
intensive contact on a daily basis. The
former have "their place only in
India and they have to get emotionally
involved in her affairs, trends, ethos,
conventions and traditions" (p
450).
Hatred can be overcome only by love.
Since a generalized scare exists among
Hindus that Muslims will demographically
overtake them, Zakaria calls upon
Muslims to eschew polygamy and adopt
family planning vigorously. Triple talaaq
(arbitrary divorce) and the hajj
subsidy have to be abolished. The
ostrich-like behavior of such leaders as
Syed Shahabuddin and Imam Bukhari harms
Muslims by keeping communal rancor
alive. Hindus in turn have to live with
150 million Muslims, who cannot be
wished away. Threats from the champions
of Hindutva to eliminate Muslims have to
cease.
Highlighting the more liberal facets of
the lives of historical figures can
clean mental cobwebs. Shivaji, the
Maratha warrior king, had one-third
Muslim soldiers in his army. The supreme
commander of his navy was a Muslim. The
first thing Shivaji did after a conquest
was to promulgate protection of mosques
and Muslim tombs. "He was more
liberal and tolerant than the best of
European potentates" (p 315). Swami
Vivekananda, the apostle of humanism,
saw the real unity of India in
Hindu-Muslim goodwill in the villages
and averred, "A junction of the two
great systems - Vedanta brain and Islam
body - is the only hope" (p 327).
The politics of hate is eating into the
vitals of India, last demonstrated in
the communal horrors of Gujarat. Zakaria
takes the electronic media to task for
its deep-rooted neglect of progressive
Muslim viewpoints. It gives undue
publicity to mullahs and fanatics.
"If a Muslim demonstrates
backwardness, it is news. If he exhibits
progressiveness, it is not news" (p
356). The most evident barriers against
improvement of Hindu-Muslim relations
are riots. Governments and political
parties treat them as law-and-order
problems, without tying them to economic
problems of livelihood among all
religious communities.
Indian Muslims live in depressed
conditions as hewers of wood and drawers
of water, lacking a cogent middle class.
Zakaria asks them to harness inner
strengths and be self-reliant.
"Give up asking for doles ... never
seek patronage" (p 427). The
mindset of the community has to be
transformed by "disarming
terrorists and disowning bigotry"
(p 464). Indian Muslim perception
warrants sea changes. Religious
prejudices and narrowness of spirit have
to be won over by compassion of the
likes of the greatest Sufi, Jalaluddin
Rumi:
Then listen! I am lover of love
My love transcends all creeds
Suffused with Urdu, Persian and Hindi
poetry, Zakaria's erudite publication
will rate as yet another milestone in
the peregrinations of the Indian Muslim
caravan.
Indian Muslims: Where Have They Gone
Wrong? by Rafiq Zakaria. Bharatiya
Vidya Bhavan, Mumbai, October 2004.
ISBN: 81-7276-352-2. Price: US$11; 565
pages.
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