Excavating India

Ayodhya is likely to become another Kashmir – a nice little plaything for the Hindutva parties to preserve their vote bank and to blame the ‘foreign hand’. It is strange that there has been little protest against the High Court verdict that the site must be dug up by the Archeological Survey of India. This is setting a wrong precedent. No doubt, rights over certain properties are legally admissible, but the ‘remedies’ lapse after a period of time. This ought to apply here too. Forget the 67 acres of land, the five acres too should not be disputed.

A report says that the court has directed that the excavation must be carried out without disturbing the “makeshift temple” where the idol has been placed and the worshippers’ right of darshan should be maintained. This is precious. It is a known fact that Hindus install pandals at will anywhere and they can be moved at any given time. And who are these worshippers? Where have they sprung from? Since 1993? In that case, the argument against the Muslims that they need not have got so agitated about the demolition of the Babri Masjid since no one prayed there does not hold. Does anyone remember Justice P. K. Bahri who had stated then that in a democracy such things happen, that it was an emotional issue and even if the Centre had produced evidence that it was pre-planned, the good judge felt such evidence would show, “that some sincere efforts were made by the leaders present on the dais that day, requesting such kar sevaks not to cause damage to the disputed structure at all”? This when Uma Bharti expressed her happiness openly and Ashok Singhal admitted there are more mandir votes than masjid votes. In fact, no Muslim will vote on the strength of an assurance that the Babri Masjid will be restored, but many Hindus will whenever they see bricks and rath yatras.

Besides, the Bajrang Dal in-charge has stated that, “while the court will establish whether the mosque was built on an open ground or on the site of the Ram temple, this in no way detracts from our stand on the site of Ram’s birth.” This is smart. The intention is to merely play for time and even go on a satyagraha and demand the undisputed site. This is a mockery of the law.

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If the majority community wants peace, then they should respect the rights enshrined in the Constitution that have been created for the protection of the minorities. If they cannot do so, then pass a Bill for the changing of such laws and we shall come to a decision. If the majority wants to introduce astrology in the education system, it has no business objecting to madrassas. If the majority is worried about cross-border terrorism, then it should also hold its tongue before talking about there being many more Gujarats. If the majority community wants to make an animal its mother, go ahead, but most Muslims are perfectly happy with their own mothers. (The PM of a large country with such diversity goes on record to say, “I would prefer to die rather than eat beef.”) The cow as a national animal? Whatever for? There is nothing special about it. And a death penalty for cow slaughter? How about expediting all those cases that are lying in court? How about doing something about the murderers of riots and bomb blasts? About people being rendered homeless and forced to tender apologies if they want safety?

Why blame the Mughals? What do you expect of a colonial power? If anything, the Hindus should be thankful to them. For, even in all the years of Mughal rule, India did not become an Islamic state. (Conversions, forcible or otherwise, continue to take place even in democratic regimes.) And as our PM, Atal Behari Vajpayee, said recently, “What is this talk of a Hindu rashtra in the next two years? India has always been a Hindu rashtra.” Thank the Mughals for assimilating so well. Thank them for some of the best monuments. Incidentally, the Taj Mahal will never be demolished or the site dug up to look for a lost temple because it brings in tourists and revenue.

If the majority is on this digging spree, will it tell us where it will end? 30,000 sites? At the birth places of the various gods or also where they made path-breaking discoveries or just about any place where some philanthropist put up a religious structure to tell the world that he is rich? Or until they have convinced us that the country is secular only because it has a Hindu majority? India is perhaps the only secular democracy that has to reiterate that it is a Hindu majority state. And it has nothing to do with the ancient history of Hindu civilisation, but the less than 80-year existence of Hindutva. According to Veer Savarkar, “Spread out from the river Indus to the seas is this land of Bharat/Whosoever treats it as his fatherland and his Holy Land is a Hindu.”

And to think there were titters when the ‘land of the pure’ was formed. Besides, this was really the beginning of the division of the country. For Hindus, worshipping anything is a way of life; for monotheistic faiths, this may be deemed blasphemous.
If it is a religion we are loyal to, then what is it about that religion – its concept of god, its message for living, or its single-minded obsession with itself? And if it is the country you have to wag your tail behind, then what aspect of it must make us feel loyal – its existence on the world map, the few square feet of space that we live in, the nationality it grants us on the global stage, or the values of equality and fraternity that it promotes on a scrap of paper? Both religion and the country make people into zombies and are expected to be followed blindly. Weren’t there cries of “Jai Siyaram” when houses were burnt down in Gujarat?

Muslims are told, even by secularists, that institutionalised silence can be seen as confirmation of the suspicious Hindu’s belief that you cannot trust the Muslim during a national crisis. No one seems to have asked why the Hindus at the institutional level did not protest when the Babri Masjid was brought down. Where were the shankarcharyas then? Did not Ashok Singhal, at the ‘Global Vision 2000’ in Chicago, snap at an Indian Christian who asked him about the Hindu rashtra with a, “If 800 million people in India want a theocracy, how does it concern you?” Now it is political expediency that makes everyone come out of the woodwork. The BJP will continue putting on its mask of temperate behaviour while its satellites get into top gear. It is a mutual understanding, and we would be foolish not to see through it.

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And today I place the blame on the Muslims. They have been too darned nice. And for that they get accused of playing the victim card. It is time they stood up for their rights as citizens of India and fought on their own steam without depending on the munificence of the ‘secular’ forces. They have become sitting ducks for the drumbeaters. For the first time in my life I wanted Pakistan to win that cricket match against India because I would have liked to see all those silly Muslims go blue in the face. Forget the SMS messages asking us to wear blue condoms and f*** the Pakistanis, I found it pathetic that some groups organised a special namaaz where they put up the tricolour, got the faces of children painted with the national flag, and sweet shops in Muslim localities coloured their phirnis saffron, white and green. This was not Independence Day or Republic Day, so why the frenzy? Because these chicken shits wanted to prove their patriotism. They wanted to tell the Hindu brothers and sisters (not the Dalits, Parsis, Christians, mind you) that they were Indian. Next time I have an easier solution. They should just line up all these children and enroll them in some RSS shakha where they will learn the virtues of celibacy and therefore control the burgeoning population. (It is another matter that a lot of hanky panky goes on in these RSS schools because you may believe in an ideology, but the hormones cannot be stilled. Ask the Vatican.) Or they should show their income tax returns.

But best of all, they should stop this pussyfooting. Rights do not constitute ‘appeasement’. And there is absolutely no need to find saviours in the liberals. Liberals and Islamic scholars are unlikely to come to your rescue. Dr. Rafiq Zakaria has stated with complete conviction, “I don’t think Advani is a religious bigot…He is more of a realist who has come to realise that a multi-religious and multi-casteist state like India cannot be ruled on a parochial basis.” He has come to this conclusion partly because Shri Advani had said “it is the saddest day of my life” after the Babri mosque was demolished. Wasn’t this the man who rode on that Toyota rath to whip up emotions for precisely this reason? Do the Indian Muslims need such misleading representatives? Or the banshee cries of khadi couture-clad ladies who take on the ‘might’ of Imams, knowing that it is like driving a knife through butter, since these weirdoes are not taken seriously? It is sick to have leaders thrust down Muslim throats by people who have no business to interfere. For, the fact is that whenever the Imam or his son have got involved in elections, the candidates have lost.

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However, let us examine certain double standards. What does Satya Sai Baba have that Imam Abdulla Bukhari does not? Why can one celebrate his birthday with the President of India felicitating him, run a well-organised multinational corporation, have several leaders rush to him for blessings and give the Swiss a run for their money with his ability to produce Rolex watches? And why does the other look like a silly caricature with his dark glasses, beard and upfront nonsense?

I do not like either of these men. But I do want to know why we have different yardsticks for judging them when they are both doing pretty much the same thing. The Baba runs schools; madrassas also happen to be schools. Why is it assumed that students in the latter are tutored the wrong way while the former are getting the right kind of education? Are they not being brainwashed too? No child in a madrassa is going to end up hero-worshipping an Imam Bukhari, but every kid in a Sai Baba run-institution will swear allegiance to him. Also, the Imam does not have any kind of ‘respectable’ (read Western) backing.

Which is why he can be accused of using the Jama Masjid for illegal activities. While I would go along with the PIL filed against him regarding the use of the mosque’s surrounding space for personal/ commercial benefit, I think it is devious to state that terrorists are being shielded there. It is very convenient to start worrying about riots when a mosque is involved. The Baba has no such worries because his is a private trust, never mind that his one word can get a huge section of the population to do as he wishes, his devotees too constitute an important vote bank. So why is there no protest against appeasing his organisation?

Why have there been no questions of accountability regarding his ashram, when there have been accusations of kidnappings, sodomy, money laundering against it? How many people have put Baba on the mat and asked him his opinion on terrorism? Then why is the Imam constantly berated for what is his personal opinion? Besides, how can we say that Satya Sai Baba is apolitical? What makes him appear more secular? At his ashram, Caucasians rule the roost while the locals prostrate. Yet, everyone is made to sing Sanskrit hymns and beat around the same nirvana bush. What is so secular about that? So, if people visit the Imam and talk about the Shariat, why does the earth have to shatter?

Go ahead and arrest him for doing anything illegal and unconstitutional, but check out other religious outfits as well.
I might add that some of the liberal/moderate/secular organisations too need to be scrutinised. While one may be predisposed to them, it is important to rule out any underhand dealings that might facilitate further discord in our society. These ‘outside forces’ too need to be kept in check.

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The time of the Muslim as underdog is up. We had our few of months of fame by flames. And now the ‘enough is enough’ brigade will be out once more. Those disgustingly cute sentiments will be out of the door. And guess what? I say, thank god for Babar, for the dear departed Mughal badshah has revealed how the purring cats are jumping on a hot tin roof. I am happy today to cling to an heritage I have had no links with. The reason is simple. I am sick of peace marches, empty speeches and the gritty watchdogs of the media. Mollycoddling the miyas reached such grand heights that one truly began to wonder about their hidden agendas.

Yes, you’ve heard me right. I don’t bite the lollipops. I know that beneath the sugar coating is the bitter pill that tells us: “You bearded Friday washers and blinded-by-burqa babes need to take a break. We are the charge of the light brigade. You stay in darkness, so that when you come out of your tunnel we will offer you a brand new cave, with the red-letter words that say ‘Another Bosnia’.” Off-camera there will be the whispers about how those mussalmans don’t know to shut up and wasn’t it quite something to see them on all fours?

Which is why I say, look at that most telling picture of a Muslim youth begging for mercy with folded hands. That photograph was not about suffering, but to highlight the pathetic state the country had managed to bring its largest minority into. It was an attempt to bring Muslims on track through the route of a burnt train.

Am I insensitive? I am being insensitive because of this moral high ground adopted by the majority community. And I know it will repeat itself. When some sweet souls will bring out the beatific image of Lord Ram to inform us that India is a multi-cultural haven. Before this happens again, Muslims should stay away from the honey, for the bees are waiting to sting.

There are 163 million of us. And instead of waiting in the sidelines only to be told that we have been taught a lesson and should now toe the line to live peacefully in a land we are contributing to, must we not take the plunge and be ready to dig our own political graves? Dissent is not anyone’s personal fiefdom.