Thursday, September 6, Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport Nagpur. Scene: A group of terrorists captures an international airline and wants to capture it. On the other hand, a team of armed commandos is taking action to get the aircraft freed. All the terrorists have donned skull caps viz. white round woven caps and long shirts. That is, no one has any doubt in their being “Muslim”. The commandos belong to the city police and Agricultural Security Force. But this was not a real incident of terrorism or hijacking rather a mock drill to teach how to save an aircraft when “Islamic terrorists” make a bid to capture and blast or hijack it. Also, there was a message being floated that only “Muslim terrorists” and none else can hijack an aircraft. This was indeed a blunt but very serious and dangerous mischief and it was but quite natural for Muslims to protest against it. Therefore, protesting against it, some Muslim organisations sent a letter to the state home minister RR Patil. (Sunday Times of India, September 9)
Will it yield some result?But, will this protest yield some result? Inference says no, a big no; for whatever is happening is in accordance with the set policy. Had the voice and protest by Muslims and human rights groups been effective enough, the unprecedented arrests of 18 Muslim youth from Karnataka, Andhra and Maharashtra had not continued for five days since August 29. These arrests took place at a time when countrywide protests against implicating Muslim youths for alleged terror acts had been staged for the last few months. The message is that however serious Muslims’ protest might be, government agencies would do whatever they want to. And no one has any right to question this act of theirs. All will have to accept whomsoever they declare as terrorist and capture them. Everyone will have to accept the stories or statements attributed to them. In this very city of Nagpur, a few years ago, the police shot down some youth allegedly for attacking the RSS headquarters. When a group of responsible citizens questioned it, the police mocked at and denigrated them.
Where is Muslim leadership?Does this recent incident in Nagpur not strengthen the idea that the image of entire Muslim community is being projected as a terrorist group? Up till now it had been witnessed in films and TV serials and conscientious Muslims, having taken it as the professional and TRP need of professionals, used to relieve their mental agony; but what will you say when security agencies too started doing this. – As for the Muslim leadership, the first reality is that it does not exist in an organised and united form. And even if it is present in the form of scattered groups, it seems it stands tired. And, after all, how far can this poor leadership go on to the path of protest. Otherwise the barbaric arrests of 18 Muslims and stories and statements attributed to them are not so trivial that a living and conscientious community remains silent. – The problem is only that they see only whatever is visible, and have nothing to do with what all this is and why it is happening, what mentality is working behind it and with which objective and planning, with which methodology, and wherefrom they are getting weapons. And those who are doing all this against the Muslim community are confident that this is patriotism while the fact remains that this is detrimental to the nation. In this regard, Muslim leadership has to play dual role: to deliver the community from this trial and to save the country from her friend-like enemies.
Will it yield some result?But, will this protest yield some result? Inference says no, a big no; for whatever is happening is in accordance with the set policy. Had the voice and protest by Muslims and human rights groups been effective enough, the unprecedented arrests of 18 Muslim youth from Karnataka, Andhra and Maharashtra had not continued for five days since August 29. These arrests took place at a time when countrywide protests against implicating Muslim youths for alleged terror acts had been staged for the last few months. The message is that however serious Muslims’ protest might be, government agencies would do whatever they want to. And no one has any right to question this act of theirs. All will have to accept whomsoever they declare as terrorist and capture them. Everyone will have to accept the stories or statements attributed to them. In this very city of Nagpur, a few years ago, the police shot down some youth allegedly for attacking the RSS headquarters. When a group of responsible citizens questioned it, the police mocked at and denigrated them.
Where is Muslim leadership?Does this recent incident in Nagpur not strengthen the idea that the image of entire Muslim community is being projected as a terrorist group? Up till now it had been witnessed in films and TV serials and conscientious Muslims, having taken it as the professional and TRP need of professionals, used to relieve their mental agony; but what will you say when security agencies too started doing this. – As for the Muslim leadership, the first reality is that it does not exist in an organised and united form. And even if it is present in the form of scattered groups, it seems it stands tired. And, after all, how far can this poor leadership go on to the path of protest. Otherwise the barbaric arrests of 18 Muslims and stories and statements attributed to them are not so trivial that a living and conscientious community remains silent. – The problem is only that they see only whatever is visible, and have nothing to do with what all this is and why it is happening, what mentality is working behind it and with which objective and planning, with which methodology, and wherefrom they are getting weapons. And those who are doing all this against the Muslim community are confident that this is patriotism while the fact remains that this is detrimental to the nation. In this regard, Muslim leadership has to play dual role: to deliver the community from this trial and to save the country from her friend-like enemies.
13/ 09/12 khabar-O-Nazar by Parwaaz Rahmani, sehrozaDAWAT, translated by: Abu Yusuf
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