Yoga Day was a success, but the initial approach by Government of India was wrong.

 Yoga is the best thing that has happened to humans. It is good for human body as it  increases the cohesive functioning of mind, body and the soul. What messes our body is what we consume; food, water and air, and its regulator in the form of exercise. 

Over the years the entire world has simultaneously discovered a fairly decent combination of foods and water to keep us in shape and healthy. However, we missed out on the third important element; air.   Thanks to the Indian Yogi’s for their tapasya and giving us the gift of Yoga.

The Indian Government has announced an International Yoga Day making it compulsory for everyone to observe. However, it should have been introduced as an option, giving complete freedom to choose, rather than making it compulsory.  When people are given choices, it will increase acceptability with least resistance; I mean any change for that matter, it goes thru the same process.

Cartoon by: Irfan Khan, one of the greatest Cartoonists in India www.cartoonsbyirfan.com 

Nowhere in the civilized world are people forced to do things against their will. Tobacco and Alcohol are injurious to health, yet the products are not banned. We give choices to the people; we put warnings on tobacco products and Alcohol, but don’t push people to stop consuming. The United States tried prohibition and failed,  Andhra Pradesh Government failed as well. If someone thinks Saudi Arabia has succeeded, they are wrong, there is more alcohol there than in free markets.

The best example of failure of imposition other than Alcohol is Hindi. When Hindi was imposed on south, the South resisted violently even today, many from TN, Karnataka, Kerala and some parts of Andhra resist learning Hindi and I am sure there is resistance in other corners as well.  It was simply because it was pushed on them. Did you see some of the BJP ministers took the “national” oath of office in Tamil and Telugu and not Hindi? Do you remember Jayalalithaa protesting to Modi to not tweet in Hindi? Does the Maratha pride allow them to abandon Marathi and accept Hindi?

Yoga is wrongfully perceived as a Hindu value.  The problem is two sided; in the US a few years ago, the Christian fundamentalists declared Yoga was a Hindu thing and Christians should not follow it. I had written some strongly worded notes about it.  The other side of the coin is the fundamentalist Hindus claim that Yoga is a Hindu value and westerners are usurping it, stealing it as their own. Both are wrong, good things are good things and for all people.  Because of the fundamentalist Hindus, Yoga is perceived as a Hindu thing. 

A few extremists look to it as a stepping stone for fulfilling their dream of pushing India to be a 100% Hindu Nation by 2025 and no wonder Muslims and Christians will resist it.  As free Indians we all should resist any bloody imposition on any one of the 1.25 Billion of us,  if  some of us  “rejoice” pushing it on unwilling citizens and trampling on their freedom,  believe me, their freedom will be on the chopping block next.  We rise and fall together as a nation.

What is the need for making Yoga compulsory? Can you make eating an apple a day compulsory? Walking a mile compulsory? What is the gain?

The mess up came from a few loose mouths who made a big deal that “India is second and Islam is first to Muslims” – looks like that is the statement they wanted to deliver. They are wrong.  The BJP-RSS considers it a victory to force Muslims to obey, they get a sadistic joy out of it, and that is one of the reasons for resistance.  Yogi Adityanath says, those who are opposed to should jump in to the sea, he is no ordinary man; he is the MP and a Mahant with substantial following like the Baghdadi Guy.

India’s famous opportunist François Gautier writes, "By opposing yoga in schools they (Muslims) are showing that they are Muslims first and Indians second."  And now consider this response from the Right wing Christians," By opposing Christian prayers in schools they (Hindus) are showing that they are Hindus first and Americans second." Both the statements are equally dumb and stupid.

Christian Prayer should not be equated with America, nor should Yoga be equated with India.

Gautier knows what appeases the Hindu right and baits them with it, and "Apna ullu theek kar leta hai" makes his own good fooling them and receiving accolades. The problem is not him; it is the men that fall prey to his divisive rhetoric.  

My conscience prevents me from doing what he does, if not I can earn a lot of fame, influence and money - all I have to do is bad mouth Islam and Muslims, and they gloat uncontrollably and take care of him.  François Gautier is hell bent on placing wedges between Hindus and Muslims; we have seen the likes of him in Cornwallis and Wellesley who succeeded in the past, do we want men like him to continue to dupe the Indians?

Let them tear India down, we will put it back together. 

As Indian Americans, we should oppose any bloody imposition on anyone, using the language of a few radical members of the Parliament, a right winger American can easily say, if you guys have a problem with Christian prayers, go back to where you came from, this is a Christian Nation."

Thanks to the large majority of Americans, they will not let anyone say that non-sense and get away with it.

I don't know what Mihir Meghani (President of Hindu America Foundation) will say about this. He and I have opposed the placement of Ten Commandments in public places, particularly the High court in Texas.  Now would he oppose imposing Yoga on others in Indians?  

Shadi Katyal writes, "India which was once the only nation where any person could come and seek refuge and help and become part of the culture. USA did not even exist but now I feel sorry and afraid that India of the past has become xenophobic and closed minded one. The people are being bred to teach hate against the other minorities and I see dark cloud over the nation." 

Khalid Azam brings out a good question, “The five daily prayers prescribed by Islam are [also] known to provide a lot of health benefits. Does that mean it is acceptable that the five daily prayers be made mandatory on all Hindus or non-Muslims living in Muslim countries like Malaysia, Gulf etc? One of the ministers from the Hindu Right Wing group says that if Muslims have objections to Shlokas, they can say "Allah" instead. Would a Muslim minister state that Hindus can say "Eshwar" instead of Allah in the Namaz?  Is forced imposition of salaat/ Namaz any more acceptable? How many Hindus would accept a mandatory imposition of Islam's five daily prayers in Indian schools?

 I hope most of us have learned the value of liberty and believe in our immortal declaration, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed;"

As an Indian American who subscribes to the idea of individual freedom to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness, I stand opposed to imposing anything on any Indian. India has a major role to play in the world affairs; these petty things will drown us.

Being an Indian American, how many of you would oppose imposition of Christian prayers on Hindus, Jews or Muslims?  If they impose on Jews, would you stand up for them? Would you stand up for Muslims if they are pushed to do Yoga? No human should be pushed to do anything, do you agree? 

I hope Prime Minister Modi tells this man, "Mr. Gautier, don't' divide my nation, I am focusing on development and I need sab ka saath, don't ruin it for me, we are not going to put the white guys on the pedestal any more, we are not going to bow to the Gora people with "yes sir" any more, hum bhi kisi se kum nahin, we are Indians at heart and we will work together for every one's vikas. Don't ruin my future, lets' focus on development.”

I have received several questions and will answer them all and append here below.   

Thank you,

mike ghouse   
(214) 325-1916

Mike is a speaker, thinker, writer, pluralist,  TV-Radio commentator and a human rights activist committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. His info in 63 links at MikeGhouse.net and writings at TheGhouseDiary.com

Also published at: SaddaHaq.com - https://www.saddahaq.com/human-interest/fathersday/happy-fathers-day

Modi’s Bubble and the Chumcha Culture

Prime Minister Modi is making all the classic mistakes of a man sitting inside the bubble, oblivious of the chaos outside the thin veil of the bubble. The men who keep him in euphoric status are called “Chumchas” – the “Yes men” of India who will ultimately let their bosses fall from grace.  

Their usual line is “Yes sir, your programs are working beautifully, there is no need to worry, everything is perfect, my hoon Na! (I am here to take care of you). Mr. Modi is so self absorbed, that he does not even question the veracity of the reports or may not even see the reports. His eerie silence does not bode well for India. 

The Chamchas bring the downfall of the leaders and kingdoms. Way back in 1799 the two chamchas of Tipu Sultan Poornayya and Mir Sadiq were telling him everything is alright, but they weren’t.  Girish Karnad writes in the dreams of Tipu Sultan that Tipu was aware of these men making deals with Lord Cornwallis behind his back, and that he was going to deal with them, alas he had done that.
 

George W Bush had his own reverend chumcha Cheney, who kept telling him, “Sir, everything is alright” and brought destruction to America and the world. Alas, God had gifted a brain to this dolt.

Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, has a much thicker bubble around her, she had no idea what was going on, the chamchas including Siddhartha Shankar Roy  kept saying, “Madam, everything is going good, as you had wanted” and she almost turned India into the dictatorship through her emergency rule, I shudder at the thought of what would have happened to India – it would have spun us off the orbit of democracy. Thanks to the Journalists and the media persons who went to Jail to protect our freedom, and now we have many such heroes amidst us to protect us from Modi going the wrong way.

A powerful leader is the most dangerous person for a democracy, and a powerful media is a blessing to a democracy and guarding the rights of the people.

George Bush was a powerful leader, in the wake of 9/11; he frightened everyone including the gutless Senators, Congress persons and even the Journalists to question him. The destruction he brought upon us and upon Iraq, Afghanistan and the world could have been prevented, had the American Media asked the right questions.

Here comes Modi – a partial replica of George Bush. Bush ruined it by his frightening talk, and Modi is doing it by his silence.  Both leaders were elected with huge mandate.

Shamefully, the Indian Media is flooded with the chumchas, who are ready to praise Lord Modi at every instance.  Here is Jefferson’s wisdom for them, "The basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter…."  Thomas Jefferson.

Describing the role of the press, George A. Krimsky, the former head of news for the Associated Press’ and co-author of Hold the Press, writes, “In the wake of America’s successful revolution, it was decided there should indeed be government, but only if it were accountable to the people. The people, in turn, could only hold the government accountable if they knew what it was doing and could intercede as necessary, using their ballot, for example. This role of public ‘watchdog’ was thus assumed by a citizen press, and as a consequence, the government in the United States has been kept out of the news business.”   Indeed, a true journalist is someone who is not a chumcha of the government, and we the people should be skeptical of all the journalists who praise the government.

Modi lives in a bubble, there was a time he cried and was true to himself, shame on his chumchas, and he is not true to himself any more. His bubble is becoming translucent; he cannot see what is going on outside of it.

President Reagan advise to Modi would be, “Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don't interfere as long as the policy you've decided upon is being carried out.” And he would add, “Trust but verify”. Ronald Reagan.

Indeed, his dream is being jeopardized by his own chumchas and may bring his downfall, if he skip the verify part.

 Sab ka saath sab ka vikas – that is, working together brings prosperity to all. His administration is doing everything to compel people not to work together and ripping their liberties and hell bent on dividing India. They are telling what an Indian can eat or not eat, believe or not believe.  The process of blatant discriminating against Muslims in employment and housing has begun, and on and on and on. Modi’s eerie silence on the issue is chilling, he is being told, and everything is alright sir. My hoon na!

Modi’s slogan, “We will build toilets and not temples” brought a lot of joy to the Indians. He is the first leader of independent India to even think and do something about it.  But his men and women are hell bent on forcing religious conversions, vandalizing churches and pushing a pluralistic Hindu faith into becoming a violent religion.

Does he want this or is he being bullied into silence? Whatever it is, he needs to tear the bubble and reconnect with people and speak up.  Indians are gutsy people and will bring him down as they did with the Almighty Indira Gandhi.

Skepticism is good and without which nothing good can come, and I understand the concerns people have.  In 2014,  I wrote, “I do connect with him now, and I will stick my neck out and say, things will get better under Modi Sarkar, good days are coming for every Indian regardless of his or her affiliation. “  I am withdrawing my neck now, until he comes out of the bubble and restores sanity and cohesiveness of India.

I thank Dr. Thomas A. Kodenkandath/Thommy, a Scientist by profession, and a cartoonist by hobby for drawing the Modi in Bubble cartoon precisely depicting the status of Mr. Modi. He is a graduate of  Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) and is a recipient of several awards, including the Kerala State Lalithakala Academy Award for editorial cartooning 

 Thank you

mike
Mike Ghouse, Speaker
(214) 325-1916 text/talk
........................................................................................................
Mike Ghouse is a public speaker, thinker, writer and a commentator on Pluralism,Islam, India, Israel-Palestine, Politics and other issues of the day. He is a human rights activist, and his book standing up for others will be out soon | He is producing a full feature film " Sacred" to be released on 9/11 and a documentary "Americans together" for a July 4 release.  He is a frequent guest commentator on Fox News and syndicated Talk Radio shows and a writer at major news papers including Dallas Morning News and Huffington Post. All about him is listed in 63 links at www.MikeGhouse.net and his writings are at www.TheGhousediary.com - Mike is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day

All-Hindu Vision of India

www.MikeGhouseforIndia.blogspot.com

In the following article, Chandrahas Choudhury writes, "Hinduism suffers because it has historically never been a proselytizing religion (its identity is partly based on being born into a pre-existing caste order). Therefore, if religion were to become a sort of free market in a multifaith country such as India, Hinduism could only stand to lose followers, not gain any."

The deeper question is why does it matter if each one of us minds our own business? What difference will it make if you are a Hindu, Muslim, Christian or the other? Let every one have the freedom to eat, drink, wear and believe whatever the hell he or she wants to believe.

The author hits the right buttons on conversions in the following article,  and I have written many articles on the topic and a link to one of them is appended here below.

I get over a dozen calls a month from people wanting to become Muslim and how to go about it, and my answer is same - why don't you take the time to learn more about what you already know? Then I talk them out of the idea and share the great value of their own faith - the best discussion was with an Atheist from Los Angeles, who was gung ho on becoming a Muslim - finally did, so was a Mormon girl from North Dakota.  I am pleased to read Mahatma Gandhi's take on it as shared by the author "I even find myself in sympathy with Mahatma Gandhi’s unusual idea that it’s best that a person rule out the option of changing his religion and instead live through his or her quarrels with it (as Gandhi very vividly did)."

I find another of his thoughts in tune with me, "As a Hindu, I have some sympathy with this viewpoint. Missionary activity has always seemed to me unacceptably crude and arrogant, not only in its conviction that there is a single truth that must be propagated, but also in its contempt for two of the forces that most strongly influence religious belief:  the accident of birth in a certain religion, which is then followed by many years of socialization into its worldview. " 

Indeed, as a Muslim Pluralist, I find it agonizing to look down, or find faults and deficiencies in other faiths. It is a faith one grows up to be in love, just as one is in love with his or her mother. It would indeed be crude to ask one to give that up. I feel the pain that Muslims, Christians and others have inflicted upon people forcing them to convert in the past.

Those brutish Muslims and Christians from the past are reincarnated as the "Hindutva" forces, doing the same ugly things, what was done to Hindus in the past, keeping the cycle of hate and conversions back in business. 

I really like this note from the author, "I respect an individual’s freedom not only to practice his or her faith but also to change it, " Indeed, that is the crux of my article - every individual should be free in his pursuit of happiness, let no one dictate what one eats, drinks, wears or believes. 

Indeed Prime Minister Modi's silence is dangerous to the nation's cohesiveness, will he speak after the Hindutvadis dig in their heels and find it difficult to back out? There are many good articles written about his silence. Either he is approving it, or does not know what to do or let them do the harm as a revenge for the past and then I will stop.

If we can learn to respect the otherness of others and accept the God given uniqueness of each one of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge. 

Mike Ghouse
www.MikeGhouse.net 

# # #


A New, All-Hindu vision of India
Courtesy Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sns-wp-blm-news-bc-a-new-vision-of-india-100-percent-hind-20141226-story.html

97 Dec 25, 2014 6:00 PM EST

By Chandrahas Choudhury

This month, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, India’s powerful, male-only Hindu nationalist outfit, finally played a card it has long held in its hand. It announced an intensive conversion program to recover its “lost property” in India, feeding the dream of its cadre and allied organizations of an India that is nothing less than “100 per cent Hindu.”

The RSS has visibly grown in power and ambition in the seven months since the arrival of a new government -- unsurprisingly, as it counts among its past members the current prime minister, Narendra Modi, as well as many old and new chief ministers in the states. With this carefully calculated provocation under a regime sympathetic to its ideology, the nongovernmental organization is seeking victories in many arenas.

In the realm of law, the RSS wants the passage of a stringent nationwide bill that would ban religious conversions. In the public sphere, it has arrogated the right to pronounce not just on the future of minorities in India but that of India’s Hindu majority as well. In the war of the religions, it seeks to spread the news that there is now a Hindu fundamentalism eager to goad and trump well-established Christian and Islamic fundamentals in India and around the world. And among its own vast cadre, it has generated the sense that it, much more than the government of the day or the diverse institutions of civil society and business, holds the keys to India's future.

But let’s consider conversion as a recurring question in Indian history, one that reveals the tensions between a religious society and a secular state, between conservative and liberal adherents of a religion, between majorities and minorities in a multicultural milieu, and between religions that have a history of proselytizing and those that don’t.

The RSS’s new emphasis on conversion actually represents an about-face for the organization, which has for decades condemned missionary activity by Muslims and Christians in India. In so doing, the RSS often points out that Hinduism suffers because it has historically never been a proselytizing religion (its identity is partly based on being born into a pre-existing caste order). Therefore, if religion were to become a sort of free market in a multifaith country such as India, Hinduism could only stand to lose followers, not gain any.

As a Hindu, I have some sympathy with this viewpoint. Missionary activity has always seemed to me unacceptably crude and arrogant, not only in its conviction that there is a single truth that must be propagated, but also in its contempt for two of the forces that most strongly influence religious belief: the accident of birth in a certain religion, which is then followed by many years of socialization into its worldview.

To be sure, I respect an individual’s freedom not only to practice his or her faith but also to change it, as allowed in India by the constitution. But shouldn't this follow from a person’s own dissatisfaction or personal struggle, not as an outcome of the outreach work or material inducements of an organized religion? I even find myself in sympathy with Mahatma Gandhi’s unusual idea that it’s best that a person rule out the option of changing his religion and instead live through his or her quarrels with it (as Gandhi very vividly did).

So if the RSS’s new and crude campaign were aimed at simply drawing attention to the absence of a level playing field in India on the issue of conversion, as well as to generate the necessary debate leading to the passage of such a bill, I could see the point of it. But in truth, even if such a bill were passed, the RSS would insist that it would nevertheless not be bound by the bill's terms. That’s because the present aggressive campaign of the RSS is, in its own eyes, not about conversion but about reversion: the return, after many generations, of Christians and Muslims whose forefathers were once Hindu but were converted during India’s centuries under Islamic and colonial rule.

What the RSS seeks, then, is a new disequilibrium in which no other religious organization would have the right to convert people. No wonder it salivates at the prospect of a future India in which, by generating a consensus against the missionary activity of other religions, it can engineer a society that’s 100 percent Hindu.

And we shouldn’t lose sight of the even more slippery and sinister part of the RSS’s sinister agenda: the simultaneous conversion of a few hundred million people from Hinduism to Hindutva, the rancorous, intellectually and morally impoverished version of Hinduism that the RSS propagates.

This is a dour doctrine that -- like other religious fundamentals -- makes no distinction between myth and history, science and religious belief, and often comes close to caricature. It believes that Hinduism is a thought system perfect from its very origins, that all the problems of modernity and history were foreseen by Hindu sages 2,000 years ago, that all modern scientific achievement was prefigured in Hindu thought, that Indians of all faiths are “culturally Hindu,” that India’s four-fifths Hindu majority is under threat from minorities, and that all Hindus should fall in line with a singular interpretation of Hindu tradition controlled by a central authority. That body would be -- surprise, surprise -- the RSS. 

What's the view of the Modi government on all of this? In the firestorm that has erupted around the conversion issue, one man’s refusal to comment has come to seem as meaningful as any argument: Prime Minister Modi, who in recent months has taken his message of development and an economically resurgent India to many parts of the world, has remained shamefully silent. (As usual, his friends in the media have found inventive ways of coming to his defense.)

Perhaps this nongesture reflects Modi’s divided allegiance between the oaths and responsibilities of his present post and the convictions and prejudices of his often murky past. But there's no getting past the truth that the evasion by this allegedly firm and decisive leader -- the holder of the largest majority in India’s parliament in three decades -- of the conversion debate holds profound implications for the freedom and future of all of India’s 1.2 billion people.

To contact the author on this story:

             Chandrahas Choudhury at cchoudhury@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor on this story:
Brooke Sample at bsample1@bloomberg.net

India's Muslims - Will Muslim Dominated Parties empower Muslims?

The following article by Irfan Engineer, "Will Muslim Dominated Parties empower Muslims? " is posted at http://foundationforpluralism.blogspot.com and http://mikeghouseforIndia.blogspot.com and shared on India based forums. 

Irfan Engineer has put “bare bones facts” and politics of survival together in the following analysis of the current political situation in India.  

As a pluralist, I admire the language used in the article, and I hope you you’ll see how the Indian politics is degenerating into “self-interest groups “chopping India" into blocks, this trend has to be reversed. 

 In the interests of a strong India, where every Indian is empowered with equal access to justice, education, employment, entrepreneurship and housing and has the ability to realize his or her self potential,  we have to consolidate ourselves into a two party system for stability in governance and a well-functioning cohesive society.   

If the “sons of the soil” parties are mushrooming in every state excluding bulk of the “sons in law of the soil” it is guaranteed to create friction and lasting conflicts. It is not good for India. For every exclusive Hindu party, there will be a competing party of Dalits, Sikhs, Christians and Muslims. 

Instead of strengthening our morchas we all need to come togegther in to one big tent, at least on principle. 

All the big talk about saving Mother India is meaningless if we don’t match it with actions. I urge Prime Minister Modi and Congress Chief Rahul Gandhi to encourage inclusiveness in their party.  Congress is not known for communal politics, but BJP was established on that basis. If that is no more the case, it is time for BJP to junk that image and recreate a new image of a National inclusive party, and its motto should be a party for every Indian, and no Indian will be treated any less than the other.  That means Narendra Modi to become Sardar Patel and encourage the good Indians to come together for India without compromising the freedom of speech available to the extremist Hindu, Muslim, Christian or other parties. Let them do their divisive work, and the let the majority do the inclusive work. Ram has to prevail over Ravan at the end. 

The MP’s should be elected based on what they can do for their constituency, and not what they can do for Hindus, Dalits, Christians, Muslims or Sikhs.  We need to consider “our interests” instead of “my interests” for all of us to prosper. No Indian should "feel" that he  or she was denied access to education, employment, housing and entrepreneurship because of his or her faith, caste, ethnicity or language. Is that the India you want?

The rhetoric of a handful of rightwing Hindus and Muslims need to be catapulted by moderates Hindus and Muslims. Neither Hinduism is threatened nor Islam they have been around for centuries and will not disappear.  The threats are emanating from formation of and nurturance of exclusive parties and the exclusive rhetoric. 

If you are biased towards one group of people or the other, you’ll find yourselves trapped in your own bias in this in this article.  If you don’t like the mushrooming political parties among Muslims, then you’ll find out that the right wing Hindu politics gives birth to them. 

We need to consciously merge all the parties into two to have a well-coordinated and cohesive India that functions like one unit. 

Mike Ghouse,  President

Center for Studies in Pluralism in societies, politics, religion and culture. Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker, writer and an activist of pluralism in More about him at www.MikeGhouse.net 

# # #

Will Muslim Dominated Parties empower Muslims?
Irfan Engineer

Quite a few Muslim dominated and Muslim led political parties have emerged in India in about last decade or so. In 2005, AIUDF led by Maulana Badruddin Ajmal was founded in Assam, in 2007, Mufti Ismail formed a Muslim led front in Malegaon and got substantial number of MLAs elected.  Peace Party was formed in 2008 by a surgeon Mohammed Ayub in UP. In 2009, The Popular Front of India launched its political front – Social Democratic Party of India under the presidentship of A. Saeed. In his presidential address, Abubacker said SDPI wanted to unite Muslims to make them a force to reckon with. In April 2011, Welfare Party of India was launched by Jamat-e-Islami about seven decades after its mentor Maulana Abu Ala Maududi adviced Muslims to be apolitical and passively accept India as Hindu Rashtra. The founding president of Welfare Party was Mujtaba Farooq and the present president is SQR Ilyas. This is besides the recent forays of MIM into Maharashtra where it won 2 in Assembly constituencies.

In a democracy, specific interest groups have the liberty to participate in democratic processes to struggle for their fair share, to influence government’s policies and to defend and advocate their interests, provided they are within the Constitutional framework. There have been quite a few parties that represent interests of specific community or caste for all practical purposes and there hasn’t been a hue and cry about such parties, e.g., the parties that specifically represent the interests of the dalits – the Lok Jan Shakti Party led by Ram Vilas Paswan, Republican Party of India in Maharashtra, the Justice Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party (initially at least); caste based parties like the Apna Dal representing the kurmies, regional parties representing the interests of the son of soil - the Dravidian Parties in the South, the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, and even parties that represent the interests of one religious community – the Akali Dal e.g. However, media in particular and people from non-Muslim communities in general get alarmed if Muslim led and dominated parties are formed or succeed in mobilizing electoral support. 

The Hindu nationalist have constantly dinned into our consciousness that Muslims are separatists, terrorists and communal. There is a suspicion that any political party led and dominated by Muslims would ultimately lead to a second partition of the country, and in any case, it is communal to advance the interest of Muslim community.

Identity politics can be oppressive, hegemonic and exclusionary to strengthen hierarchies and hierarchical structures, to defend the privileges of the social, political and economic elite. On the other hand, the excluded and the oppressed minority communities demanding equality and equity, socio-economic and political justice, mobilizing for inclusion, also respond by mobilizing on the basis of identity of the excluded. Identity politics can therefore be either hegemonic or
democratic. 

The hegemonic identity politics often resorts to the language of nationalism, natural rights of a superior race or community, son of the soil, rights of original inhabitants vis-a-vis
the migrants and demand/defend disproportionately large share in the national, social, educational and economic resources and structures of power, institutions, state apparatus and authorities. The Hindu nationalists in India use the discourse of younger brother (minorities) being obliged to serve the elder brother (majority community posing as nationalists). Democratic identity politics on the other hand seeks inclusion, demands due share in resources and structures of power and authorities and secure religio-cultural space. 


Democratic identity politics struggles to transform the state and make it responsive and accommodative to the demands of a multicultural society without essentializing the group identity, giving space to individuals within the identity groups to dissent, question, evolve, transgress and transform identities. For example the dalit and adivasi identity politics that questions oppressive socio-cultural, political and economic structures and instruments of discrimination not only for self or one’s caste and communities but in order to create just political order for all sections, including dalit women and the most vulnerable and marginalized sections of the working people.

MIM’s identity politics

MIM’s, and SDPI’s political programme would belong to the former category of identity politics – hegemonic. Though MIM’s media discourse appears to be resisting identity politics of the dominant majority community and therefore positions itself as democratic, it in fact is hegemonic as it essentializes Muslim identity. MIM’s objective is to infuse communal consciousness among the Muslim community and convert a religious community into a political community and be its political representative. It propounds political unity of the community in the basis of express differences and even feeling of superiority over “others”. MIM’s proposition is to unite Muslims and to flex community’s muscles. In order to unite this culturally, linguistically, ethnically diverse community divided on sectarian lines, MIM invokes the glorious past of the Muslim community and constantly construct revered symbols which can emotionally appeal, and mobilize the community around it. Sharia’h, the Holy Quran, the Prophet of Islam, Urdu language are a few symbols exploited by MIM in the past.

Babri Masjid was one such symbol profitably exploited by it in the late 1980s and early 1990s. MIM goons even attacked a meeting being addressed by Taslima Nasreen in Hyderabad. It has always demanded that visas to Taslima Nasreen and Salman Rushdie be denied and their books be banned. A case has also been filed on Akbaruddin Owaisi for a hate speech delivered targeting non-Muslim communities where they are in a non-dominant position.

MIM has done pretty little to defend the human rights of Muslim youth incarcerated under patently false accusations of being terrorists, including those arrested for bomb blast in Mecca Masjid. The civil society groups for human rights fought doggedly and forced the AP Govt. to admit on the floor of the Assembly that there was no evidence of involvement of incarcerated youth in Mecca Masjid bomb blasts. After the hard advocacy for the youth, MIM was ready to reap political mileage by arranging for bail petitions for the incarcerated youth.

MIM’s growth and expansion is both – a response to and pretext for rise of Hindu nationalists. MIM positions before the Muslim community that it and it alone would be able to meet the challenge posed by the Hindu nationalists, however, in reality it ends up fueling to their growth. The Hindu nationalists are overwhelmed with the entry of MIM in the elections to be held for Delhi Legislative Assembly. Even if MIM polls a few Muslim votes of the alienated and aspiring youth, it would contribute to the defeat of AAP party candidates. Therefore there is speculation in the air that MIM has entered the electoral battlefield on BJP’s bidding.

Votes casted by a significant section of Muslims in favour MIM in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections was a response to the communal polarization along with rise of BJP and the campaign against the so called “love jihad” by Yogi Adityanath - the campaign manager of the BJP during the bye-elections in 11 assembly constituencies in 2014; demonization of the madrasas by another BJP MP – Sakshi Maharaj – to be dens of terrorism and even by BJP Minister Maneka Gandhi who during election campaign for bye-elections in Rajasthan stated that profits earned from cow slaughter were being utilized for terrorism.

A campaign was also taken up against loudspeakers on mosques and deliberate playing of music during namaz in front of the mosques in Kanth, near Moradabad are other examples of incessant demonization of the community after the victory of the BJP in the 16th Lok Sabha elections. Attempt was also made to celebrate birth anniversary of Raja Mahendra Pratap on the Aligarh University Campus to pander to the Jat sentiments and intensify tensions. Demonization of the community is also coupled with show of political muscles by the Hindu nationalists and punctuated by violence in Trilokpuri (Delhi), Ahmedabad, Vadodra, Somnath (all in Gujarat). During the entire demonization campaign, none of the “secular” parties effectively countered it. The community did not have too had little reassurance from any credible source.

In the context of marginalization, heightened threat perception and feeling of vulnerability, MIM’s proposition of uniting the Muslims and to flex community’s muscles was received sympathetically by a section of the community. The MIM’s political strategy has been to unite Muslim voters and make them vote en block while the non-Muslim voters are politically divided. In order to unite the Muslim voters, the MIM has to convince the voters that only a Muslim could truly represent their interests and political aspiration and secondly, they are the representatives of Muslims. It reminds us of Jinnah’s claim of being the sole spokesperson of the community.

During the MIM’s election campaign for Maharashtra Assembly in Aurangabad and other places, the Owaisi brothers positioned themselves as being “fearless” and not afraid of any consequences and any force. They projected the injustice being done on the community and also invoked the past when they were the rulers, impressed upon their audience that they could rise to the occasion if they united and voted for MIM. However the strategy is basically flawed, except that it would help MIM win a seat or two outside Telangana and that is the limited aim of MIM. Posturing to be militant, MIM aims to occupy the political space by marginalizing other Muslim dominated and led parties. However, they can do so only in constituencies where Muslims constitute not less than 35% of the population. Only in such constituencies can a Muslim dominated and led party have a reasonable chance of winning.

To overcome the fact that there are only 19 districts with more than 50% Muslim population, the MIM has been strategizing to forge a social alliance with dalits. However, that is an old and failed social alliance first propounded by Haji Mastan – a gangster turned politician when he formed Dalit Muslim Suraksha Mahasangh in 1985. He could not win a single election and forfeited deposits. MIM always rouses Muslim sentiments but has not been known to take publicly cause
of discrimination and oppression of dalits inside or outside the Parliament. Naturally, dalits would not subscribe to such an alliance when they have their leaders addressing their issues in a far better manner.

According to 2001 census, there are 25 districts with more than one million Muslims. The largest was Murshidabad (3.7 million) followed by Malappuram and South and North Twenty-Four Paraganas. All the three most Muslim populated districts are outside the cow-belt. Only 9 out of 593 districts of India could be considered as predominantly Muslim with over 75% population. These include Lakshadweep and 8 districts of J & K. In 11 disctricts, Muslims are between 50% to 75% of the population – six of these are in Assam, two from J & K and one each from Kerala, Bihar and West Bengal. There are 38 districts with Muslim population proportion ranging from 25% to 50% - 12 districts in UP, 5 in WB and Kerala each, 4 in Assam, 3 in Bihar, 2 in Jharkhand, two in Delhi and one each in AP, Haryana, J & K, Uttaranchal and Pondicherry. In 182 districts, proportion of Muslim population was between 10% and 25%. Muslim population in these 182 districts accounts for 47% of total Muslim population and 65% of Muslims live in districts where their population is less than 25%.

In the districts with Muslims between 10% and 25%, they can influence (not determine) the electoral outcome on their own strength only if degree of communal consciousness is high, which rarely is the case, and if non-Muslims are hopelessly divided along caste, cultural and political party lines.  That means, for the 47% of Muslim votes to be casted with communal consciousness, they would have to align with a section of non-Muslims and vote tactically en block.  Muslims are more likely to vote en block and tactically when they are 10% to 25% of the voters and when they perceive challenges to their security.

In the constituencies where they are more than 50%, the reverse may happen, i.e., Muslim votes get divided as more than one political party seriously contending for Muslim votes tend to nominate Muslim candidates from the constituency and, non-Muslims may vote en block and tactically to assert themselves. In the recent Lok Sabha elections, for example, BJP’s Nepal Singh won from Rampur constituency with 51% Muslim population according to 2011 census. While the degree of polarisation along religious lines was high due to recent communal riots in Muzaffarnagar, the BJP could mobilize votes from across castes. Muslims were divided between Samajwadi Party candidate Naseer Ahmad Khan, INC’s candidate Nawab Kazim Ali Khan and BSP’s candidate Akbar Husain.

Congress candidate from Sahranpur Imran Masood tried polarizing the electorate by proclaiming, “There are only 4% Muslims in Gujarat. There are 42% Muslims here. If he (BJP’s Prime  Ministerial Candidate – Narendra Modi) tries to convert this into Gujarat, then we will chop him.” (of course his claims to population figures are questionable). Partly this seems to the reason for the lowest representation of Muslims in Parliament.

Take e.g. Aligarh. With 40% Muslim population, Muslims voting en block and division of Hindu votes should have ensured victory of a Muslim candidate. However, Muslim candidate of Samajwadi Party – Zafar Alam – came third after BSP’s Dr. Arvind Kumar Singh (with 2,27,886 votes and BJP’s Satish Kumar Goutam (with 5,14,622 votes). It is the Muslim votes that got divided while BJP’s strategy of communally polarizing and making Hindus vote en block succeeded with rumours being spread on the day of polling that all Muslims were queuing up to elect Zafar Alam.

In Moradabad with 45.5% Muslim population, BJP’s Kunwar Sarvesh Singh won polling 4,85,224 votes with Dr. S T Hasan of SP polling 3,97,720 votes. In Bhiwandi with more than 35% Muslim population, Kapil Moreshwar Patil of BJP won polling 4,11,070 votes followed by runner up Vishwanath Ramchandra Patil of Congress polling 3,01,620 votes and Ansari Mumtaz Abdul Sattar polling highest number of votes among Muslims -14,068. Subramaiam Swamy admitted in his interview that BJP’s strategy was to split Muslim votes on sectarian lines and consolidate Hindu votes.

Muslims do not need polarization, they want democratic representation of their interests and contribute to nation building without essentializing their community based identity. Polarization and any efforts to construct Muslim vote banks in fact reduces their representation as is evident from both Lok Sabha and Maharashtra Legislative elections. What we need is politics to be based on social justice where the marginalized come together to transform the state to make it more accountable and human rights compliant. We do not need communal consciousness, we need cultural ethos of equality, liberty and justice which is need of all the marginalized – religious minorities, linguistic minorities, dalits, adivasis, women and working people.

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Irfan Engineer

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Muharram, Yom-e-Ashura and Indias communal relationships

India’s pluralistic ethos are to be admired, even though Muslims, particularly Shia Muslims are a tiny minority, Yom-e- Ashura is a public holiday in India and it is a public event. The world can learn from us, that we the people of India value every belief system and tradition, and honor every which way one worships the creator.
We do have our own problems with the community relationships, but we are committed to working them through, and my focus of this essay is to rebuild positive communal relationships to function cohesively.
As a process, I will be writing regularly at SaddaHaq on Pluralism, a cherished value of India’s heritage and building a cohesive India.

Muharram signifies the battle between good and evil fought 1334 years ago that we face collectively now
Imam Hussein (ra) stood up against the wicked king Yazid, and refused to endorse him as the spiritual leader, also known as “Caliph” of the growing Muslim community.

Imam Hussein was martyred in the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD by Yazid’s men along with most of his family and companions. The annual memorial for him, his family, children and his associates is called Yom-e-Ashura that is commemoration on the tenth day of the month of Muharram and is a day of mourning for Muslims.
Imam Hussein (ra) is the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), and son of Hazrat Ali and Fatima (ra). Hazrat Ali is Prophet’s cousin and Hazrat Fatima is Prophet’s daughter.

On this day, Indians will witness processions, along with floats made of paper, and hand symbols made of brass called “Punjay”. Muslims will be passionately reciting the names of Hussein, Hassan and Hazrat Ali. They will also be inflicting injuries upon themselves to understand the sacrifice of Hussein.
Here are some of the statements from our National leaders:

Mahatma Gandhi, “My admiration for the noble sacrifice of Imam Hussein (a.s) as a martyr abounds, because he accepted death and the torture of thrust for himself, for his sons, and for his whole family, but did not submit to unjust authorities.” “I learnt from Hussain how to achieve victory while being oppressed.”

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, “There is a universal appeal in his martyrdom. Hazrat Imam Hussein (a.s) sacrificed his all, but he refused to submit to a tyrannical government. He never gave any weight to the fact that his material force was far less in comparison with that of an enemy; the power of faith to his greatest force, which regards all material force as nothing. This sacrifice is a beacon light of guidance for every community and every nation “and, "Imam Hussain's sacrifice is for all groups and communities, an example of the path of righteousness."
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Rabindra Nath Tagore, “"In order to keep alive justice and truth, instead of an army or weapons, success can be achieved by sacrificing lives, exactly what Imam Hussain did.

"Dr. Rajendra Prasad, "The sacrifice of Imam Hussain is not limited to one country, or nation, but it is the hereditary state of the brotherhood of all mankind.

"Sarojini Naidu, "I congratulate Muslims that from among them, Hussain, a great human being was born who is revered and honored totally by all communities."

I am sure our New Leader Narendra Modi will share his own understanding of the Muharram.
Mr. Narendra Modi is one of the most powerful prime Ministers of India, and I have come to admire his inclusive language, indeed, the more inclusive his language and actions are, the more people will follow and respect him, with the right language, he can change India for good. On the membership kick off drive for his party, he made a profound statement, “A poor and illiterate person living in a slum should think, ‘Yes, there is a flower for me in this bouquet’ - pointing to the large flower bouquet. Indeed, every Indian should feel included no matter who it is.

Collectively as Indians, we are Adivasis, Atheists, Bahá’ís, Bos, Buddhists,Christians, Dalits, Hindus, Jains, Jewish, Muslim, Sikhs, Tribals, Zoroastriansand every possible grouping and no one should feel alienated. I pray the Prime Minister to develop that language followed by action.

I hope Indians from every group will drop their divisive attitudes and focus on thinking of one India, indivisible India and for all. His dream of sab ka saath and sab ka vikas can be achieved in his first term.

sab ka saath and sab ka vikas

    I hope the following statement resonates with the Prime Minister and perhaps, he can address the nation regularly with these words, “You are an Indian and that is all it matters to me, as your Prime Minster, I am here to make sure, you have equal access to justice, employment, schooling, loans, housing, transportation, health care, food, places of worship and retirement.”

Once upon a time, we had a beautiful parampara of celebrating and commemorating each other’s festivities and mourning’s. It certainly is a way to know each other, and together we celebrated Diwali, Ramnvami, Janmashtami, Ramadan, Muharram, Christmas and Paryushan. My neighbor’s joy was my Joy and my friends’ sorrow was mine as well.

We can blame the partition all we can, but we all have to live, live without apprehensions and fear of the other, so we can all achieve Vikas together and for all of us. It is a part of the idea of Vasudhaiva Kutumbukum – meaning the entire world is one family.

I wish the Moderate Hindus call on the extremists Hindus to focus on the beautiful values of Hinduism.
Moderate Muslims on the other hand call on the extremist Muslims to focus on the same beautiful values described in Quran but differently that we all were made into different tribes, communities and groups from the same couple.

It was God’s choice for us to be different and the best citizens among us, or the best Indians among us would be those who will take the time to learn about each other, the knowledge leads to understanding and understanding to appreciation and acceptance of the differences and respect for the otherness of others. That is our pluralistic ethos and heritage.

There is a myth out there that only Shia Muslims commemorate the Martyrdom. That is not entirely true, most Muslims do, the differential is in the rituals

The Shia Muslims of course express their grief in a variety of ways, including holding daily gatherings called Majlis and narrating the events that led to Martyrdom - Shahadat.

I am a tough guy, but when you hear what happened to Abbas and the baby Asghar, and you’ll cry, it is a moving story of humanity, and I have cried every time.

They also carry floats and hand symbols made of brass as a part of the commemoration.

On the night of Ashura, the pain threshold rises for the believers, and the participants passionately bear the self inflicted hurt and pain with chains and ropes, which is insignificant compared to what Imam Hussein had endured

It is feeling the pain and developing empathy and respect for the Imam, one of the Islamic heroes for leaving a legacy of righteousness.

    The Sunni Muslims on the other hand observe a day of fasting on Ashura, and pray for the martyrs, some participate in the Shia proceedings.

    The Ahmadiyya Muslims offer special Darood (ode to prophet and his progeny) and Duwa (supplications) throughout the month of Muharram.

This Martyrdom, “Shahadat” as we call it is commemorated by almost all Muslim denominations including Shia, Sunni, Ahmadiyya, Sufi and others.

Please note that the Salafi/Wahhabi and Deobandi traditions do not subscribe to celebrating Prophet’s birthday, or commemorating the Shahadat of Imam Hussein. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, as it is a part of the culture and not religion. Shia Muslims believe that Islamic faith was fully wrapped up at Ghadir Khumm believing that Prophet assigned Hazrat Ali to be his successor to carry the faith forward.
However the Sunnis believe that the faith was indeed completed, but no passing the mantle of faith was mentioned by the Prophet. We have to learn to respect the otherness of others and live with our differences, rather than force conformities. No one can compel the others to believe what one believes.
Last year, I wrote about the Centrality of Imam Hussein at Huffington post

THE COMMUNAL STRUGGLE

The Battle is not between Hindus and Muslims, it is between Good and the bad, good is represented by minding your own faith as Quran advocates or as Bhagvad Gita suggests it’s your own Karma that will determine your outcomes; there is no compulsion in faith, whereas, the evil is represented by hurting others for differences in belief.

The good is represented by a belief that God is greater than all of us, and we worship him in a variety of ways from bowing, and kneeling to prostrating, whereas the bad in us is represented by evil arrogance that my way is right and yours is wrong.

The good in us believes that God makes all decisions, even a blade of Grass does not move without God’s permission, says the Bhagvad Gita. while Muslims are told that God alone knows what is in one’s heart and we cannot judge the other, it is only God who can judge what is in our hearts.

Both traditions believe in a life after, but differently, one believes that if our bad deeds outweigh the good, we will be reincarnated with lesser value in the next life, while the other believes that we will be punished for our bad deeds in the life hereafter.

The bottom line is behave! Choose to be born again as a good human or earn the rewards from God in your eternal life.

The problems we see in the Middle East were exacerbated by Bush invasion of Iraq, otherwise Middle East was a stable region, giving jobs to the people from all over the world including Indians.

Before Russia invaded Afghanistan, it was stable country with good relations with her neighbors, we the Americans propped up Talibans as check mates, we left when Soviets were chased away, but Talibans had nothing to do and they resorted to wrong doing, and we have a mess today.

Middle East was stable prior to Bush invasion except the conflict between Israel and Palestine, now we have genocides going on in Syria, the evil ISIS is growing, and the Shia Sunni conflict is raging. We cannot blame others, we have to figure out a way out to live in peace again.

The battle is between evil and good and someone has to take a stand to stop this hatred for each other.
God says the best ones among us are those who care for fellow beings, and who take time to learn about each other.

If we can learn to respect the otherness of others, and accept the God given uniqueness of each one of us, (Quran 49:13) then conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

Please don’t forget, God does not talk about Muslims exclusively, he talks about entire humanity from the very first verse of Quran to the very last chapter

Neither Bhagvad Gita is assigned to Hindus exclusively the message is for all humanity in both the holy books. Take time to learn and rebuild the nation through removing conflicts between any groups of people.
Dr. Anwar adds, “The real significance of Karbala is that one has to stand up for something in this life for which one is willing to sacrifice all material possessions.”|

Let this Muharram pave the way for peace and justice for one and all. Let Imam Hussein’s sacrifice stir us up to stand for justice for all humanity.

I pray that the Shahadat of Imam Hussain become the catalyst for us to remove our differences and come together for peace, security and prosperity of Muslims and every human being. Amen!

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Mike Ghouse is a public speaker, thinker, writer and a commentator on Pluralism at work place, politics, religion, society, gender, race, culture, ethnicity, food and foreign policy. He is commentator on Fox News and syndicated Talk Radio shows and a writer at major news papers including Dallas Morning News and Huffington Post.  All about him is listed in several links at www.MikeGhouse.net and his writings are at www.TheGhousediary.com and 10 other blogs. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.