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Thursday, May 29, 2014

Indian Muslims Welcome Modi's Victory.

My response to Prof Rashid Saz's press release appended below.
http://mikeghouseforindia.blogspot.com/2014/05/muslims-welcome-modis-victory.html

Prof Rashid Shaz is damn right, “Muslims are able to see the ‘stark political realities that otherwise have been hidden by the secular hypocrisy of the Congress”. I’m glad Congress is decimated. All they did was cause the right wing Hindus to spread the false propaganda that congress was bent on appeasing Muslims, like the hell they did. Muslims were duped into believing that congress was on their side.  In reality, Muslim did not want any bloody handouts, nor did they have any. The Sachar Report laid it out clearly – but then the congress did not fix the problems in six or seven years.  All that Muslims want is equal opportunity, equal access and equal justice in employment, housing, and governance and nothing more.

Let’s call on the falsities in the market and ask BJP to knock out the Hajj Subsidies, handouts to Muslims… let fellow Indians see it was nothing but sham. At least it will shut them up.  Whatever Jobs Muslims have, a disproportionately dismal share, is not due to hand outs, but because they have earned it on their own.

Prof Shaz is right again, “One of the most positive aspects of the new political development is the fall of un-Godly Muslim clergy who worked as middle-men between the Muslim masses and the ruling elite. They were the Congress satellites constantly beaming message of fear and false hopes.”

Indeed, I am a product of post 9/11 America, where for the first time, the National TV and Radio sought normal day to day Muslims to speak for Muslim – it was a big turnaround, hitherto, the bearded fellow wearing ethnic clothes spoke for Muslim, not any more.  Same should follow in India – a majority of Muslims in India cannot be distinguished from fellow Indians (Hindu) in how they dress and how they appear, and TV Media should call on such Muslims to speak in behalf of Muslims. There is a need for a think tank or need for a civic Muslim organization in India represented by normal, common day to day Muslims.

“Those Indians who seek justice want Modi to be punished to commensurate with the crimes or as an accessory to the crime, and that no one should be above the law. However, there are other voices from the Hindu and Muslim communities, who are driven by justice for the victims. Unfortunately, these folks are shamelessly negated as "sold-outs" and this bullying cannot go on in a free nation. “
Full article at Huffington post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/indias-future-narendra-mo_b_4177079.html

The Modi I have learned is the kind who wants to leave his imprint on the society, the most enduring legacy would be bringing Indians together in nation building. He will talk about a vibrant India, instilling pride among Indians as one people and one nation under the big sky. Indeed, it would be a fulfillment of the wisdom of our pluralistic ethos embedded in the Sanskrit phrase "Vasudhaiva Kutumbukum," a concept where everyone is considered to be a part of one big human family and therefore must take care of each other.

Remember, Muslims and other minorities are not looking for favors or handouts, but just fair treatment, and an opportunity to be productive citizens.   If Mr. Modi can demonstrate that he is a good human being, and put in to practice the above seven points for the next five years, he would earn the goodwill of the people and could hope to be the Prime Minister of India for several terms.

Democracy and pluralism (i.e., respecting the otherness of others) runs in our veins, so let's have faith in our system. If Mr. Modi fails us, we can dump him through ballot or a no-confidence vote, as we did with Indira Gandhi and Vajpayee. To attain greatness and a place in the annals of history, Mr. Modi has a lot more to prove than we can demand. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/indias-modi-on-his-best-behavior-can-we-trust-him_b_5280892.html#es_share_ended

Please read the caveat at: http://mikeghouse.net/Articles/Narendra-Modi-India.asp before you read the articles I have written about Modi.

The 250 Million figures is outrageously wrong - no statistics has put Muslims over 180 Million.

Mike Ghouse is an author, speaker, activist and a pluralist offering pluralistic solutions on issues of the day - his work is indexed at www.MikeGhouse.net
# # #
For India’s 250 million Muslims, Modi’s victory is a welcome development, says Prof Rashid Shaz, Leader of the Milli Parliament
Press-Release

Mr Modi’s victory is a welcome development. Now, for the first time in independent India, Muslims are able to see the ‘stark political realities that otherwise have been hidden by the secular hypocrisy of the Congress’, said Prof Rashid Shaz while addressing a group of students on the side-lines of a debate at the Aligarh Muslim University. Prof Shaz, an internationally acclaimed author known for his reform writings on Islam and formerly President of the Milli Parliament, is probably the first Muslim heavy-weight who has openly asked the Muslim Indians to welcome and adjust to the new political reality. According to Shaz, the Nehruvian secularism was a mirage; an unending trail of false hopes and hallow promises. It created a fear psychosis among Muslims.

The Congress demonised ‘the political other’, posing itself as protector of Muslims – a promise that it never kept. From communal riots to the illegal ban on Muslim organizations and from arbitrary arrest of Muslim youths to the refusal of their demand for a judicial probe of Batla-House encounter, the Congress displayed a ruthless insensitivity towards Muslims. Now, that dark era of pseudo-secularism is over. The new political reality may look even more depressing to many of us, but at least we are able to see today where we really stand. Those who believe in the protection of the Congress and its ilk should know that they are no more in a position to defend us, but those who believe in Allah Almighty should know that He is all-powerful and hence no need to despair.
                                                     
One of the most positive aspects of the new political development is the fall of un-Godly Muslim clergy who worked as middle-men between the Muslim masses and the ruling elite. They were the Congress satellites constantly beaming message of fear and false hopes. With long flowing beards and empty rhetoric they made us belief as if without the support of their Congressite masters, Islam had no future in India. They are the criminals of Islam, working for their political masters yet posing to be true to their faith. Now in the new situation the Muslims have got an opportunity to build a direct bridge with a party that has no obfuscating mullas and no middlemen.

The BJP does not feel shy of declaring what it stands for. And this is the first pre-requite of a true dialogue. Mr Modi’s recent remarks that in his victory he sees the victory of 1.25 billion Indians and that he wants to create a 21st century India, are all indicative of the fact that he is open to a meaningful dialogue with Muslims. Mr Modi wants to consolidate what he has achieved through hard work and determination. He has been sending feelers for mending, rather improving his relations with India’s 250 million strong Muslims. But are Muslim leaders ready for a meaningful dialogue. Those accustomed to receiving only a patting from the Congress may find it difficult to inter into a bridge-building dialogue on equal footing. But this is the only way to survive and prosper. I believe, it’s a God-sent opportunity, said Dr Shaz. There is no need to be apprehensive.

The new rulers too are humans. They have a human heart. There is no reason then, that we cannot reach out to them. Today, we Muslim Indians may find ourselves in a crisis, but never mind, a crisis is always full of new opportunities. It is on us how we make use of the new situation.

Prof Rashid Shaz teaches at the Aligarh Muslim University. Mail him at: futureislam@gmail.com

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