This links with the previous post

‘A pan-Islamic agenda is one where muslims are encouraged to separate themsleves from their host societies’. Thus ran a sentence in the Washington journal recently. This sentiment had been expressed by the Indian ex-prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. His utterings were interpreted as a typical nationalist outpouring. Vajpayee had to tone down his stance amidst loud calls for him to apologise. Its time we revisited this claim and countenanced the alternative view, some may say a complemetary view of the previous blog. Muslims - especially those from lower socio-economic classes, generally exclude themselves from whichever society they belong to. This is true in Asia, Europe, Americas and elsewhere. In doing so, they limit or lose out on oppurtunities for employment, social networking and support, and start to nurse a deep seated resentment of the host socieities. The claim by Vajpayee was not far off from the target, except that he included withing his sweep all Muslims rather than those that felt marginalised by society. No one can say that Zaheer Khan, Irfan Pathan, Abdul Kalam, A R Rahman, Shabana Azmi, Shahrukh Khan to name only a few Muslims, are marginalised in any way. But for each one of them there exist thousands of poor, illiterate and disenfranchised Muslims who are likely to nurse a sense of separation. Some of the societal contributions to this state of mind was rehearsed in the previous blog. These feelings are projected on host societies and lead to vengeful thoughts and paranoia. Its not surprising if one considers that religious education is mandatory in most muslim households - rich or poor, where children can be brainwashed from a very early age about their belief system and how that is the ONLY true system. All other are infidels and the entire purpose of the devout muslim is to proselytize, convert - by persuasion or force. This is where the need to control, regulate and channelise religious education becomes so very important. A middle class or rich muslim is likely to send his wards to schools where teachers of good standing and education are to be found. The poor will often send their children to madrasas with little or no facilities for proper education – religious or otherwise, for the teachers themselves are poorly educated and share the resentment that many in the communities they come from, share. But children’s minds are like putty – to be moulded into any shpe or form that one wants to and that is where the need to regulate such madrasas are important. Musharrraf, before he left, had started the process in Pakistan and after the 7/7 bombings, UK muslims are taking to increasing regulation of the places of learning that often are known to become places of indoctrination and training in terror ideologies. When children are bombarded with such introjects at an age when they cant choose from right and wrong, they are likely to grow up nursing this belief that whatever the others say are part of a “zionist- imperialist – capitalism agenda (and for that matter anything that conflicts with the ideologue’s agenda)”. Paranoia, suspicion and fear mounts. This fear is channelised by terror outfits into a pro-social aggressive outlet that exhorts the now young adults, indoctrinated into carrying out god's work – jihad, through acts of true heroism and martyrdom. That Lashkar-e- Tayibba’ translates into ‘God’s Army’ gives credence to this analysis and amounts to nothing less than Islamic crusade. Some may say that this is an overgeneralisation and I will be the first to say that there are millions of muslims who dont subscribe to this belief and action system - the moderates, the enlightened, the employed and engaged gainfully - whose voices are suppressed by violent zealots who are all too eager to issue' fatwa' and have you killed. There voices are therefore never heard. Instaed they are pressurized due to their social standing and their religious diktats, to provide alms to the coffers of local communities that raise money for causes that they may legitmately believe in. Whilst living in Tooting, London, an area with disproportionately high number of muslim households of people from Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kahsmir (although they called themselves ‘Azad’), I saw how money was being raised to support Kashmiris in India. This practice stopped after the government clamped down after 9/11 on visible actions that used separation as a rallying call. I’ve no doubt that this continues in other places outside of UK government’s eyes and in other parts of the globe. Indian muslims for years have been above this but the increasing globalisation where they see lands of their brothers occupied by western forces, who kill, maim and incarcerate, is tending to bring out the deep seated and innate sense of paranoia and injustice, nursed for years, with horrific results. India has far less hindu-muslim riots than it used to have in 60's and 70's. In fact Gujarat is the only state which had a state-sponsored riot in 2002 and the BJP is being fought by hindus and muslims alike, rather than aided. In fact the only arrested terrorist in Mumbai, Kasab, said that they had been shown videos of the Gujarat riots as a way to enthuse them with a vengeful hatred for those who killed their ‘brothers’ across the border. This act was shameful for secular Indians of all hues and it’s a crying shame that the main players of this fascist assault, Narendra Modi continues to remaind unchallenged. Until people like him, who are no different from those who carry out similar acts in a stateless manner, are brought to justice, they put all of us at risk by their exhortations. The ilk of the Thakereys, the Togadias are an affront to Hindu society and secular society and are as virulent and pathological as the terrorists we’re trying to fight. Both understand and spread the message of separation, fragmentation, dog eat dog, and might is right mentality and both need to be wiped out ideologically. Despite this, India’s actions in tackling inequalities and allowing a blog like this from existing and me from commeting freely, is very different from Pakistan and other muslim states where muslims are killing one another. Very few muslim countries are secular and only a handful are democracies – some of which are puppet democracies withough power as the Pakistani one appears to be. The there is Indonesia and Malaysia where dissent is dealt with very violently and you could disappear overnight. The average muslim in most Islamic country has no voice and the only way for him to speak out is to do so with a sense of violent outrage that is promoted all too often in places of worship for these happen to become the alternative institutions of democracy and democratic processes in the absence of right to free speech. Sadly, these pulpits are used often by those that incite rather than unite. Two young Iranian men were hanged recently on suspcion of being homosexuals whereas I know many Indian muslims who are ‘kinnars’ or hermaphrodites or eunuchs and who live, alebit at the fringes of society. Even so, there are kinnars who are now elected representatives of the people in India. Its foolish for anyone to think that the terrorisits are taking out non-muslims, westerners or 'infidels'. The vast majority of those killed in Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan through suicide bombings are muslims. What a nihilistic way of existing and promoting a cause, whatever that might be, and one that goes against Darwinian principles of evolution and all standards of decency and what the Koran itself promotes – love and brotherhood. It’s the job of everyone – not just non-muslims to grapple with this menace within our societies with vigour and stop politicising the Batla house events disproportionately to drum up support for what is a pan-Islamist agenda of separation, fragmentation and anarchy and a return to medieval norms. Just as the term pseudo-secularist was coined to identify those that played vote-bank politics, its time to coin the phrase ‘pseudo-Islamist’ for those who hide beind minority status and drum up support for separatism and hatred. They are not true muslims, howver much they might go to the mosques and do their prayers. They are no different from those Hindus that decimated Babri masjid in the name of religion. Both are despicable lots and should be stripped to their core of badness in front of the world. Let us do this together. Indian muslims are amongst the most free and fair in the Islamic lands except perhaps those who are in the West. They need to take a global role and exhort their brethren in lands far and wide to open their eyes to a world that is not split into Palestine-Israel alone, or Kashmir- India alone or Chechnya- Russia alone or Muslims- others alone. The perspective has to be broader. Let all of us try and empower muslims to speak up against their dictatorial rulers and abusers of faith in muslim lands rather than project their anger perpetually at 'others'. Those who denied to carry out last rites for the killed muslim terrorists have lit the torch of enlightenment - let us help the light to glow brighter and farther still. As for Pakistan, it will implode unless it is helped by 'outsiders' - so much for a state that was built on self-determination on basis of religion. Proof , if proof was needed, how states built on pure religious lines are destined to die slowly, in the modern globalised village.

Are Muslims in India excluded by the rest?

"India is home to 150 million Muslims, the vast majority of whom have been excluded". This was a claim made in the editorial of UK's Sunday Observer recently after the Mumbai attack in an attempt to explain how home-grown terrorists could be behind the attacks as much as the help from Pakistan -based terrorists. The broader point is the link being made to poverty, social exclusion and marginalisation that are bredding grounds for evolution of terrorist mindsets and endeavours. Its important to analyse this statement for accuracy which may allow formulation of strategies to manage the 'cause' of terrorism, if there ever could be a cause for killing and maiming others. No religious group, including Muslims, is not a socio-economically homogeneous group in India. It is howevere true that government statistics on poverty, education and access to public employment, etc. for Muslims are poor compared to Hindus or other religious groups. Its also true that whilst the less 'pure' in Brahmanical terms of Indian caste system are now aided through reservations in goverment education (and increasingly private) systems as well as employment oppurtunities, this largesse to rectify historical inequalities has not been extended to Muslims. Muslims in India have as much of an unwritten caste sytem as Hindus do for whilst they were the product of proselytizing by the Mughals, they did not abandon their cultural moorings from Hinduism. Thus, even today, a son of a Siddiqui (said to be converted Thakurs/Kshatriyas and considered to have a high social status rather than caste)will not be easily married off to the daughter of an Ansari. The latter are converted weavers and thus belong to scheduled caste if they were Hindus today. Whilst such socio-cultural practices abound in populous states with high Muslim numbers such as UP, Bihar, West-Bengal, the government does not aid the socio-economic aspects of this stratification. Whilst poor Hindus and increasingly poor Sikhs are benefitting from reservations, Muslims are not. Its not a surprise that these states have also stagnated economically. However, we cannot study these figures without appreciating that the vast majority of Muslim Middle Class (particularly in the Northern States)migrated to Pakistan in 1947. In Southern States like Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh (where migration of Muslim middle class was comparatively minimal), the socio-economic status of Muslim population is comparable, if not as good as, the national average. What adds to the downward spiral of illiteracy, poverty and lack of employment oppurtunities is a mindset that is ruled by survival instincts, Muslim or not. When you cannot guarantee where and when the next meal is going to come from, you stop worrying about higher moral and ethical causes. One must survive to consider what to a starving person must feel like esoteric concepts. He experiences the moral, ethical, social and legal blindness of the Indian society everyday. This lack of compassion or consideration is tapped by those in criminal underworld, and the ideologues who are now engaging with local grivances (in Kashmir, Chechnya, Palestine, elsewhere) a pan-Islamic cause promoted by Al Qaeda. The latter's aspirations stop nothing short of a return to a 16th century-Caliphate, the last known pinnacle of global Islamic power, whose boundaries extended as far west as Spain and eastwards into south-east Asia. Whilst the Dawood Ibrahims use the poor Muslim youth for economic and power gains, the ideologues use them as foot soldiers. One will not hear of the Indian 'masterminds' - the engineers, IT techies -becoming suicide bombers ever. One must be cautious in giving credence to the 'grievance' cause behind terror. Khalistan, Gorkhaland and other agitations in north-east of coutnry have been and are being propelled by such arguments. And whilst armed suppression of such movements is one aspect of its management, the other aspect is proper intellectual engagement with the problems. Sociologists can provide good accounts of the reasons for a sense of disillusionment and disenfranchisement of those behind the ideologies of separation. This should lead to oppurtunies and forums for the moderate and those who are gainfully employed and settled to express their grievances appropriately. The underclass - the foot soldiers - need to be diverted away from a life of constant stress for if they had a gainful employment that would feed his family, no one would consider becoming a terrorist with the oppurtunity to be killed any time. Its the leaders behind the scences - those that live in India's Deobandi heartlands, Pakistan and elsewhere and fan flames of hatred, who should be targetted and rather than being killed - a strange indian obsession with revenge - kept alive and made to sing. A three-pronged approach therefore of engagement with moderates, diversion of foot soldiers and incarceration of targetted assasination of the think-tank should be the way to go. But it is the average Indian who needs to take greater interest in happenings in various parts of his coutnry rather than his own 'nukkad', caste, creed, family, friends and community. This unfortunately does not happen in India, and its pointless to blame politicians for we have selected them. 'A country deserves its politicians' is an old adage, and especially true in democracies. For far too long we've looked at our politicians as children with abusive and assaultative parents do. They provide succour and sustenance and thus they have the right to abuse and traumatise. Until we beging to teach ourselves and our children that dependence fosters inaction and passivity and the way to go is forward, onward and independence of our own souls and spirits, we'll forever remain a country of moaners, whingers and silent sufferers. Iqbal , the poet called this mindset 'zehni gulami' or enslavement of the soul.