Muslim Attitudes and Indian Society

Muslim community in India has sensed that the present UPA government and the present Prime Minister are their best bet to extract political concessions from Indian government and society. To add to the sense of “awakening”, as veteran spokesman of the community puts it in his talk to Association of Indian Muslims in USA, BJP appears to be in a decline that does not look like reversing in foreseeable future.

There is something really ugly about the Muslim community in India demanding concessions such as reservations in educational institutions and jobs. I had to think why it arouses such unpleasant feeling in us, when we see such political aggression amongst Muslims, as Muslims (and not as individuals in other ideological groupings).

I listed the sources of unpleasantness as follows:

1. This community partitioned India saying they won't live “under” Hindus. They claimed they are a separate nationality and they cannot be part of a Hindu majority society.

The demand for welfare now, from the same “Hindu” state is not just incongruous. It tantamounts to making an effort to achieve political supremacy over Hindus. Anyone who has read Islamic texts, knows how deep rooted is Muslim desire to claim that they have, they deserve a superior status over kaffirs. A typical Hindu like me sees echos of the same mentality in the desire for reservations now.

2. The community, the mainstream of it, never apologized for partition, let alone make amends. Conceding Ram Janambhoomi temple would have been an opportunity but the supremacist mind cannot let go of an inch. Remember Duryodhan's famous reply to Pandava's demand ? Sui ki nok barabar bhi jameen nahin milegi.

3. Reservations per se are abhorrent to a middle class Indian like me. Reservations started for former untouchables since they were treated worse than animals by our ancestors. Here, by the way, is an example of how a remorseful community seeks to make amends for it's ancestors wrongdoings. I suppose we have to just forget that Muslims will ever even think of it.

But coming back, reservations were for Dalits because of the way they were treated by Hindus in centuries gone by. How are they justified for other castes, let alone Muslims ? The OBCs did not suffer the same kind of discrimination. The Muslims were ruling classes in most parts of the country.

There is no ethical justification for either OBC reservations or Muslims. It is purely the political power they posses, that is being used to extract concessions wrongfully. It is an injustice being institutionalized. Every injustice harms society in the long term. Hence the feeling of unpleasantness for every patriotic Indian.

4. In no Muslim majority geography, do non-Muslims have equal rights to Muslims. Let alone any special privileges such as reservations. In Muslim majority lands, forget human rights, basic security of life and dignity is taken away with impunity. Pakistan cleansed out all Hindus. Bangladesh has taken the process much forward. Our own Kashmir valley has been cleansed of Pandits. But in Hindu majority India, not only should we give all human rights and political rights, but now also special privileges.

I wrote all the above to pinpoint why it is such a revolting sight to see Syed Shahabuddin (or any Muslim for that matter), belligerently demanding reservations – the slogan in West Bengal, proudly informed by Shahabuddin is: No reservations for us, no votes from us !!

I think all right thinking Hindus and indeed all non-Muslims should give up any hope that Muslims will abandon that burning, seething desire for supremacism. Islam never progressed on any great theological logic, any demonstrated conceptual or spiritual superiority over other religions. Islam's justification always was – if we and our God is wrong and your religion is right, then why the hell am I able to kill you with impunity. Why do I have power to sell you as cattle in market place. Why do I take away your women at will to do what I please with them.

Take away the power to do all this, the justification that Islam gave for itself disappears.

That is the cause of all the rage in Muslims. That is why there is this burning desire to do something to establish political superiority. A terror attack that goes unpunished, a mosque at the site of terror attack, ethnic cleansing whenever possible, and so on.

This is what explains our feeling of revulsion when we see Shahabuddin and such like smelling another political triumph in the form of reservations for Muslims in India.

The issue is under review by a constitutional bench. The constitution bars reservations on the basis of religion. We only hope that the judges stick to the spirit of the constitution.

Or else, Hindus too are capable of rage ! It may erupt sometime in the form of another Gujarat.