Young, Muslim and reflecting on Ayodhya "The Hindu" - Hindi Translation Contributed By: Mr. Prem Kumar Basic IAS Academy
Young, Muslim and reflecting on Ayodhya Vidya Subrahmaniam Courtesy : - The Hindu 8 October, 2010 Young Muslims say they want to move on but ask whether the Ayodhya verdict is in tune with the aspirations and dreams of young, modern India. 1. Travelling in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the September 30 Allahabad High Court verdict in the Ayodhya title suits, I was struck by the uniformity of Muslim opinion. Older Muslims said they wanted the verdict delivered quickly and whichever way, because that would bring to closure a wracking issue that had destabilised their lives and set them back by many valuable years. 2.The educated post-technology generation, innocently young during the benumbing years of the Ram Mandir movement, seemed disconnected from the issue. Not that they were unaware of the pain and insecurities of that time. Young or old, the heartland Muslim is a political animal, always well-informed and sharply intuitive. Yet conversations revealed an impatience to leave behind the past and embrace the future, however uncertain. There were complaints about biases, about being shut out of opportunities, about a sense of alienation. Yet even by these yardsticks, the world ahead was better for the young than the violence and darkness of the past. Their parents would know: All that mattered to the community in the decade after December 6, 1992 was their personal safety. Mulayam Singh in U.P. and Lalu Prasad in Bihar became saviours not because they delivered jobs but simply because they pledged to protect Muslim lives. A constant refrain heard in those troubled times was: Hum hi nahin to aur kuch ka kya matlab? (If we are not alive what use is anything else?) Who ;qok eqflye oxz dgrk gs fd og vkxs c<+uk pkgrk gs fdurq ;g iz u Hkh iwnrk gs fd D;k v;ks/;k ij vk;k fu.kz; vk/kqfud Hkkjr ds ;qokvksa dh vkdka{kkvksa vksj LoIuksa ds vuq:i gsa ¼1½ v;ks/;k ij bykgkckn mpp U;k;ky; ds 30 flrecj dks fn, x, fu.kz; ls igys tc esa mùkj izns k esa ;k=k ij Fkk rks eq>s eqlyekuksa dh,djk; ij vk p;z gks jgk FkkA cqtqxz eqlyekuksa dk dguk Fkk fd tks Hkh fu.kz; vkuk gs og tynh vk, rkfd brus fnu ls pys vk jgs fookn dk vur gks] ftlls mudh ftunxh fqj <+jsz ij yksvs blls vusd thou ds brus dherh o"kz cckzn gks pqds gsa ¼2½ rduhd i'pkr~ dh f'kf{kr ih<+h] tks jkeeafnj vkanksyu ds bu lakk'kwu; o"kksza esa ;qok Fkh] bl eqísa ls fojdr fn[kkbz nha,slk ugha gs fd os ml le; dh ihm+k vksj vlqj{kk ls vufhkk FksA ;qok ;k cqtqxz] eqflyeksa dk ân; jktuhfr ls Hkjiwj gs] mugsa lc tkudkjh Fkh vksj os cgqr lgt cqf) okys FksA fqj Hkh okrkzyki ls Li"V gksrk Fkk fd os finyh ckrksa dks Hkqykdj Hkfo"; dks viukus dks cspsu gsa] ;kfu fd dqn fdruk vfuf'pr~ D;ksa u gksa i{kikr ds vkjksi Fks] voljksa ds fy, ekxz can Fks] vyxkooknh Hkkouk FkhA fdurq fqj Hkh bl lcds ckotwn ;qokvksa ds fy, Hkfo"; mttoy yx jgk Fkk ftlesa vrhr dh fgalk vksj va/kdkj ugha FkkA muds ekrkfirk dks Kkr Fkk fd fnlecj 6] 1992 ds ckn ds n'kdksa esa bl leqnk; dks O;fDrxr~ lqj{kk dh ewy:i ls fpurk FkhA mùkj izns'k esa eqyk;e flag vksj fcgkj esa ykyw izlkn muds j{kd cu dj mhkjs] dsoy blfy, ugha fd mugksaus bugsa uksdfj;ka nh cfyd blfy, fd mugksaus eqlyekuksa dh lqj{kk dh dlesa [kkbza ml ladv dh?km+h esa izk;% lquus esa vkrk Fkk fd ^^ge gh ugha rks vksj dqn dk D;k eryc\ ** ml vfhk'kir vohr dks yksvkus dk bpnqd dksu gksxk\
3.The we-have-moved-on buzz heard in U.P. became a roar in Delhi. It was everywhere. Television channels, hardwired to sensationalise the tiniest scrap of news, reverently mouthed the lines. Hindus said it. Muslims said it. Most of all, political parties, never known not to exploit an opportunity, said it. Verdict over, a fantastic, incredible quiet followed. There was not one incident reported from anywhere not from Ayodhya, not from the rest of U.P., not from any of the known trouble spots, not from anywhere in India. The maturity of the average Indian was on spectacular display. For once, opinion-makers had got the mood right: India had indeed moved on. Equally heartening, Indians had proved that communal violence is never spontaneous, it is always politically engineered. 4.Unfortunately, the joy of this discovery was diminished by a disturbing realisation: The verdict itself was not in tune with the aspirations of a modern, democratic, young nation. The first dissenting notes emanated from the condemned world of pseudosecularists. The three-way division of land, ordered by the judges, was based not on hard, irrefutable evidence but on the claimed faith and belief of a claimed Hindu majority. Did India s Hindus, all 80 million of them, believe that Lord Ram was born at the same, precise spot where the mosque s central dome once stood? The verdict implied so, and handed that portion of the mosque to the Lord himself, deeming his rights to be overriding because he was a perpetual minor. Was this the majesty of law that all sides respectfully invoked before the verdict, that Muslims in particular emphasised over and over? 5.Muslim organisations began to voice their disappointment. The Sunni Central Wakf Board, the main litigant on behalf of Muslims, correctly announced its decision to move the Supreme Court. But there were also the malcontents. The Shahi Imam of the Jama Masjid used the Friday prayers to deliver a fiery, rabble-rousing speech. Mr. Mulayam Singh began stoking Muslim fears. There was no mistaking the opportunism in these actions. ¼3½ mùkj izns'k dh gydh /ofu fnyyh dh xtzuk cuha lhkh txg ;gh lquus esa vk;ka nwjn'kzu psuyksa us NksVh&ls&NksVh [kcj dks cm+k cukus dh dksf'k'k dha fgunqvksa us ;g dgka eqlyekuksa us ;g dgka blls Hkh c<+dj] lhkh jktusfrd nyksa us Hkh bl eqísa dks u Hkqukus dh ckr dha QSlys ds ckn] vn~hkqr vk'p;ztud 'kkafr NkbZ jgha dgha ls Hkh fdlh?kvuk dh [kcj ugha vkbz&v;ks/;k ls ;k 'ks"k mùkj izns'k ls Hkh ugha] vu; fdlh v'kkur{ks= ls Hkh ugha ;gka rd fd iwjs Hkkjr ls dgha dksbz okjnkr dh [kcj ugha FkhA vke fgunqlrkuh dh ifjidork ns[kus dks feyha,d ckj rks yxk fd lhkh fopkjd,d 'kkar ekgksy cukus esa yxs gs vksj Hkkjr rjddh ij gsa Hkkjrh;ksa us fl) dj fn;k fd lkeiznkf;d fgalk dhkh Hkh vpkud ugha gksrh cfyd jktuhfr }kjk izsfjr gksrh gsa ¼4½ fdurq nqhkkzx; dh ckr gs fd bl [kq'kh dks,d vkhkkl us /kqa/kyk dj fn;ka og ;g fd vk/kqfud] yksdrkaf=d] ;qok jk"vª dh vis{kkvksa ij ;g fu.kz; [kjk ugha mrjka ^rfkk* dffkr / kezfujis{k* oxz dh vksj ls gh igyh vlarks"ktud izfrfø;k vkbza Hkwfe dks rhu fgllksa esa ckavus dk ttksa dk vkns'k] oklrfod lk{;ksa ds vk/kkj ij ugha ekuk x;k cfyd fgunw cgqy yksxksa ds fo'okl vksj eku;rk ij fn;k x;k QSlyk ekuk x;ka D;k Hkkjr ds 80 djksm+ lhkh fgunw ;g ekurs gs fd Hkxoku jke dk tue Bhd mlh LFkku gqvk Fkk tgka fd efltn dk dsunzh; xqecn [km+k Fkk\ fu.kz; us blh dks vk/kkj ekudj efltn dk og fgllk bz'oj ds uke dj fn;k] D;ksafd os cgqr NksVs ¼ukckfyx½ Fks vr% ogka mudk vf/kdkj gsa D;k ;g lgh fu.kz; gs] lhkh i{k bl fu.kz; dk leeku dj jgs Fks] vksj eqlyeku ckj&ckj ftl ij tksj ns jgs Fks\ ¼5½ eqflye laxbuksa us viuh viuh fujk'kk trkuh 'kq: dha eqflye dh vksj ls eq[; ny lquuh dsunzh; odq+ cksmz] us Bhd dgk fd og lokszpp U;k;ky; tkus dk fu.kz; dj jgk gsa fdurq dqn nq"izpkj Hkh gqvka tkek efltn ds 'kkgh beke us tqees dh uekt ds nksjku dqn dbksj vksj HkM+dkÅ ckrssa dghaa Jh eqyk;e flag us eqlyekuksa ds izfr Hk; O;Dr fd;ka bl izdkj volj dk ykhk mbkus ds iz;kl esa dksbz pwd ugha dh xbza
6.It was time, then, for some unbiased, untutored Muslim opinion. I decided to reconnect with the Muslim respondents I had met in U.P. I also decided to tap my circle of Muslim friends for young, educated contacts. The list included, among many others, the teenaged Shafat from Balrampur, Shamshad Ahmad from Barabanki, Ehsanbhai from Ayodhya, Aftab Alam, a teacher from Delhi University, Arif Ali, an M. Phil. student of Japanese studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Shamshad Khan, a researcher at the Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis, and Zafar Ahmad, a software consultant with a multi-national company. 7.They spoke calmly but clearly, a small minority with a sense of resignation but almost all others feeling pained that 21st century India could substitute reason with faith. There were no raised voices, no uncontrolled flashes of anger, no talk of invading the streets or starting an agitation. Mr. Shamshad Khan was deeply disappointed with the extra-judicial verdict but felt Muslims had other far more important matters to focus on: Are we going to be held hostage to this issue forever? 8.In truth, nobody wanted to be dragged down yet again by the Mandir-Masjid dispute. Without exception, everybody I spoke to said never again; not down that path. However, most people added a caveat: This did not imply unreserved acceptance of the verdict. I reminded them of the Muslim promise that the community would honour the verdict, no matter how it went. Laughed Mr. Aftab Alam: How do we welcome a judgment that talks of theology in the 21st century? I would have felt the same way if a standing, living temple in independent India had been demolished and its demolition justified in the name of Islamic faith. 9.As Mr. Alam and others saw it, there was no contradiction between wanting to move on and feeling dismayed by the judgment. Besides, how could India itself move on when the justice it offered went deep into the unknown past? Mr. Zafar Ahmad summed it up beautifully: As a Muslim I may not question this judgment. But as an Indian I do because ultimately this issue is about ¼6½ vr% ;g le; Fkk fd tc dqn i{kikr jfgr] vizhkkfor eqflye yksxksa dh jk; yh tk,a esaus mu eqflyeksa ls laidz lk/ kus dk fu.kz; fy;k ftugsa esa mùkj izns'k esa feyk Fkk] ;qok eqflye fe=ksa ls leidz lk/kk vksj f'kf{kr oxz ls ckr dha bl lwph esa vu; yksxksa ds vykok cyjke iqj dk 'kqkr] ckjkcadh dk 'ke'kkn vgen] v;ks/;k ls vglkuhkkbz] fnyyh fo'ofo ky; ds v/;kid vkqrkc vkye] tokgj yky usg: fo'ofo ky; esa,e- fqy dj jgs vkfjq vyh] balvhv~;wv vkwq fmqsal LVMh ds la'kks/ kudrkz 'ke'kkn [kku rfkk cgqjk"vªh; daiuh ds lk Vos;j ijke'kz nkrk tqj vgen 'kkfey gsa ¼7½ bugksaus cgqr 'kkafriwozd fdurq Li"V 'kcnksa eas dgk fd vyila[;d oxz esa lhkh esa ;g nq[kn vkhkkl gs fd 21oha lnh ds Hkkjr eas fo'okl rdz ij Hkkjh im+ka dksbz ph[k fpyykgv ugha] vfu;af=r vkøks'k ugha] lm+dksa ij mrj dj fdlh izdkj dk dksbz vkunksyu ughaa 'ke'kkn [kku bl U;kf;d fu.kz; ls cgqr vlurq"v gs fdurq mudk ekuuk Fkk fd eqflyeksa ds ikl blls cm+s eqísa gs ftuij /;ku fn;k tkuk vko';d gs ^^D;k ge ges'kk blh fookn ds fy, f?kjs jgsaxs\** ¼8½ lr; rks ;g gs fd vc dksbz Hkh ugha dgrk fd efunj&efltn dk fookn fqj [km+k gksa ftlls Hkh esaus ckr dh mldk dguk Fkk ^^nqckjk ugha] ml jklrs ij nqckjk ughaa rfkkfi dqn yksxksa us psrkouh nha blls Li"V gs fd bl fu.kz; dks lh/ ks lh/ks Lohdkjk Hkh ugha x;ka esaus mugssa ;kn fnyk;k fd eqlyekuksa us oknk fd;k Fkk fd tks Hkh QSlyk gksxk mls eqlyeku ekusaxsa vqrkc vkye us galrs gq, dgk ^^ 21oha lnh esa ge ml fu.kz; dks dsls Lohdkj dj ys tks fo'okl ij vklfkk ij vk/kkfjr gks\ ;fn LorU= Hkkjr esa fdlh eafnj dks fxjkdj vksj mls eqflye vklfkk ds uke ij lgh Bgjk;k x;k gks rks Hkh eq>s ;gh eglwl gksrka** ¼9½ tslk fd Jh vkye vksj vu; yksxksa dk fopkj gs blesa bl fu.kz; ls fujk'kk gksuk vksj vkxs dne c<+kus esa dksbz fojks/ kkhkkl ugha gsa blds vykok Hkkjr Lo;a dsls vkxs c<+ ldrk gsa tcfd vutku vrhr ds vk/kkj ij U;k;ky; dk fu.kz; vkrk gsa tqj vgen us cgqr lqunj rjhds ls bls Li"V fd;k ^^,d eqlyeku dh gsfl;r ls esa bl fu.kz; ij dksbz iz'u ugha mbkrka fdurq,d Hkkjrh; gksus ds ukrs eq>s bl ij vkifùk gs D;ksafd ;g
Constitutional guarantees, about the preamble, about how modern India views itself. What precedents are we setting at a time we are projecting ourselves as an emerging superpower moving into the era of science, technology and reason? Are we now going to start digging underneath each time an issue of faith is raised? 10. Another interesting point emerged from the discussions: The same verdict might have been acceptable to Muslims had the judges used secular reasoning to divide the property between Hindus and Muslims. A sagacious judgment would have been for the judges to dismiss the Muslim suit for being time-barred though accepting that the facts in the case were clear, well established and in favour of Muslims. A division on the grounds of joint worship could have followed thereafter. Instead, the court sanctified the 1949 political manoeuvre of physically moving the idols into position under the central dome; that crude, blatant act, watched over by a 40-50-strong mob, had become the faith of all Hindus. 11. Though perhaps not wanting it that way, older Muslims had found their identities entwined with the fate and survival of the Babri Masjid. In 1990, with Lal Krishna Advani astride his Ram rath, Mandir wahin banayenge (we will build the temple only there) had escalated into a war cry. Every Hindutva milestone crossed thereafter heightened the Muslim sense of isolation. The courts spoke reassuringly of maintaining the status quo. But the status quo had always altered and always in favour of Hindus. In 1949, the installation of the idols became the status quo. In 1986, the opening of the locks became the status quo. In 1989, the shilanyas ceremony became the status quo. And finally, in 1992, the demolition of the mosque followed by the erection of the temple became the eternal status quo. That year, the Supreme Court severely censured the destroyers of the mosque. But in 2010, a lower court would stamp its imprimatur on that very status quo by accepting that Ram lalla was born under Babri Masjid s central dome. The BJP s 1994 white paper on Ayodhya was almost prescient when it noted that the same courts that for years could not help Hindus came around once the structure was physically occupied. laos/kkfud xkjavh gs vksj ;g Li"V djrk gs fd vk/kqfud Hkkjr mls fdl izdkj ns[krk gsa vkt fokku] rduhd vksj rdz ds ;qx esa tc Hkkjr vius dks,d mhkjrh gqbz 'kfdr ds :i esa izdv dj jgk rks dslk mnkgj.k is'k dj jgk gsa D;k vc tc Hkh dksbz vklfkk dk iz'u [km+k gksxk rks D;k gj ckj tehu [kksnus essa yxsaxs\ ¼10½ okùkkzyki ls dqn vu; jkspd eqís Hkh [km+s gq, & ;gh fu.kz; eqlyekuksa dks eatwj gks tkrk ;fn ttksa us fu"i{k rdz dks Ë;ku esa j[kdj leifùk dks fgunqvksas vksj eqlyekuksa esa fohkkftr dj fn;k gksa vf/kd foosdiw.kz fu.kz; og jgrk ;fn tt eqlyekuksa ds nkos dks jí dj nsrs le;kof/k ds rgr vksj mu rf;ksa dks Li"V ekudj eqflyeksa ds i{k esa fu.kz; ns nsrsa blds ckn ml txg ij nksukssa oxksza }kjk iwtk LFky dk cavokjk dj fn;k tkrka bldh txg] U;k;ky; us 1949 esa ml jktuhfrd izfø;k dks eku; Bgjk fn;k ftlds rgr dsunzh; xqecn esa ewfrz;ka LFkkfir dh xbz Fkha vksj ml izfø;k dks 40&50 yksxkssa dh HkhM+ us ns[kk ftls ckn esa fgunwvksa dh vklfkk dk uke ns fn;k x;ka ¼11½ lahkor%,slh vis{kk ugha Fkh] o`) eqlyekuksa us vius vkflrro dk le>ksrk ckcjh efltn ds vkflrro ds lkfk dj fy;ka o"kz 1990 esa yky Ñ".k vkmok.kh us jkejfk ;k=k ds nksjku,yku fd;k Fkk ^^eafnj ogha cuk,xsa** ftlls fookn isnk gqvka fgunqro ds izr;sd ehy ds irfkj us eqlyekuksa esa vyxko isnk fd;ka vnkyrsa ;FkkfLFkfr cuk, j[kus dk vk'oklu nsrs jgksaa fdurq ;FkkfLFkfr rks fgunqvksa ds i{k esa igys gh cnyh tk pqdh FkhA 1949 esa ewfrz;ksa dh LFkkiuk gh ;Fkk flfkfr cu xbz FkhA 1986 esa rkys [kksy nsuk ;Fkk flfkfr cuha 1989 esa f'kyku;kl ;FkkfLFkfr cu xbza vksj vurr% 1992 esa efltn dks fxjkuk vksj eafnj cukuk ;Fkk flfkfr cu xbza ml o"kz lokszpp U;k;ky; us efltn u"v djus okyksa ij dbksj vkifùk ntz dha fdurq 2010 esa fupyh vnkyr esa ml ;Fkk flfkfr ij viuh eksgj yxkrs gq, ;g Lohdkj dj fy;k fd jke yyk dk tue ckojh efltn ds dunzh; xqecn ds LFkku ij gqvk FkkA 1994 esa Hkktik }kjk v;ks/;k ij 'osri= tkjh gqvk ftlesa dgk x;k fd U;k;ky; dbz o"kz ls tks fu.kz; ugha dj ik, vurr% bl fu.kz; ij igqaps fd ^^<kapk dcts esa fy;k x;ka** ¼12½ vkt ds ;qok eqlyeku cgqr fhkuu gsa os efltn ls dksbz bùksqkd ugha j[krsa mugsa blesa dksbz :fp ugha fd ml
12. Today s young Muslims are very different. They do not identify with the mosque. It is immaterial to them whether a mandir or a masjid comes up on the spot. But as some of them told The Hindu, they are Indians first and committed to the values held sacred by the Constitution. These values, including protection of minority rights, cannot but come into question when justice, delivered in a court of law, tilts visibly towards the majority. Even without the shadow of the Babri Masjid, life is not easy for Muslim boys and girls, a fact brought out most graphically by the Rajinder Sachar Committee report on the status of Muslims. The report situated the community at a level below the Hindu OBCs but above Dalits. It highlighted lack of access to education, bank credit and employment. It said Muslims bore the double cross of terrorism and appeasement. 13. For the Muslim sense of injustice not to grow, for young Muslims not to feel the way their parents generation did, justice, in every manner of speaking, must be delivered to them, and must be seen to be delivered to them. The judgement date in the article has been corrected. LFkku ij eafnj cusxk ;k efltna fdurq muesa ls dqn us ^fgunw* dks crk;k fd os igys Hkkjrh; gs vksj lafo/kku }kjk iznùk ewy;ksa esa vklfkk j[krs gsa bu ewy;kssa esa vyila[;dksa ds vf/kdkjksa dh j{kk Hkh 'kkfey gs fdurq iz'u rc mb [km+k gksrk gs tc U;k;] U;k;ky; ds vkns'k }kjk] Li"V :i esa cgqla[;dksa ds i{k esa gksrk gsa ckcjh efltn dh Nk;k ds vyx Hkh ;fn ns[kk tk, rks Hkh eqlyeku ym+ds&ym+fd;ksas dh thou bruk ljy ugha gs bl rf; dks jktsunz lppj lfefr us Hkh Li"V fd;k gsa bl fjiksvz esa eqflye leqnk; ds fgunw vu; finm+h tkfr;ksa ds uhps vksj nfyrksa ds Åij n'kkz;k gsa mlus eqflyeksa esa f'k{kk dh deh] csad ls dtksza esa deh rfkk jkstxkj esa deh Li"V dh gsa blesa dgk x;k gs fd eqlyekuksa dks vkradokn vksj rq"vhdj.k tsls nks ikvksa ds chp filuk im+ jgk gsa ¼13½ eqlyekuksa esa vu;k; dh Hkkouk c<+uh ugha pkfg,] ;qok eqlyekuksa esa oslh Hkkouk ugha vkuh pkfg, tslh vusd cqtqxksza esa jgh] mugsa gj izdkj ls U;k; feyuk pkfg, vksj og Li"V fn[kkbz Hkh nsuk pkfg,a bl ys[k esa fu.kz; dh fof/k Bhd dj nh xbz gsa SOURCE LINK:- http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article818352.ece Courtesy : - The Hindu (8 October, 2010) Disclaimer: This article has been translated exclusively for IAS Aspirants convenience and study purposes. Author doesn't take responsibility of view expressed or accuracy of the content."