Murder on Helm Street

A bloody yesterday. Who cares about it? The corpse is bedecked with flowers. It is lifted on shoulders. “Ram naam satya hai.” This is the chant of the Hindus when they take a dead body for its last rites. Under the BJP regime, democracy is dying. And if I vote for it, I will be a party to the murder. It sounds sensational, but I have to grab you by the collar and tell you that the just-released “Vision Document 2004” is a sure case of “mooh mein Ram, bagal mein chhooree”. It is such a sly piece of garbage. The BJP will mummify the cadaver of democracy and let the smell of incense and unguents fool us, numb us.

Today, they need us. So they will knock on our doors. But once they have got us, it will be easier to trap us. US? If I am not a true practising Muslim, what problems do I have with this party? I was told recently that I should join the BJP and fight it from within and help the Muslim cause. I cringed at the very idea. How can one align oneself with something one has been ideologically against, and that too to further the rights of a people the BJP has been trampling upon?

I am terribly afraid of what is happening around. The BJP has even stooped to selling itself to the Muslims via Pakistan. I had written on the ‘Peaceful Strokes’ Board: “…it isn’t about cricket; this time it isn’t about money and sponsors either...we are fighting an election campaign across the border”.

It has turned out to be true. Pramod Mahajan has made two short films with scenes from the Indian team’s victory to be used in its election campaign.

You might rightly ask: Does this not mean that Indian Muslims ally themselves with that country? The answer is: no. The truth lies in the fact that the BJP can now tell its largest minority, “Look, we are not telling you to go to a nation that was created for you, we are saying stay here, but if you want safety of movement, of choice, of work, of education, of thought, of anything, then you will get it only from us.” The underlying sentiment would be, “You can stay in this prison, everything is on the house, but we will be the guardians, the custodians of your fate.”

And please do not throw the example of Azim Premji’s success story in my face. I had written elsewhere that Mr. Premji does not have to answer questions about terrorism; it is the man who sets up a cart to sell his paltry wares who will be rounded up for questioning and worse because he has the wrong address (Bhendi Bazaar, Behrampada), the wrong kind of beard and post-lunch hour he might have a few stringy bits of red meat stuck between his teeth.

But what about the one with the right address (cosmopolitan localities), the right look (clean-shaven face), the right work (going to office with laptop/palm pilot), and who post-lunch smells of ‘cuisine’, not khaana?

The BJP will sell you Yashwant Sinha in suit and tie instead of sadhus, it will tell you to be a part of India Shining, because your glitter can add to its gold, it will tell you that you are legitimate because you have been adopted by The Party, and not because of who you are, it will tell you that you are part of the cultural upsurge because if you are Indian you cannot let a foreigner come to power, and the Muslims have to cringe.

The man with the cart cringes because he does not want to be taken to the police station. For now, he is promised that he won’t if he tries to do his ‘dil jeetengey’ act. After the party comes to power, he will be booked under POTA even if he has got only a rusted knife from Chor Bazaar that is valued by the ladies in Cuffe Parade as an antique. Never mind that. They have the right address, the right name.

The man with the clean shave will also cringe. They have opened the markets, so he can buy his favourite cologne. They have told him that he can be a part of the mainstream, and he finds that it means finding one colour of the national flag more appealing than the others, he finds that education means going back in time and progress amounts to watching defence expenditure increase because the country is not safe due to his compatriots from other parts of the world. Not only does he cringe, he even feels guilty.

So, he decides to be safe rather than sorry. He votes for the party that has been declared the victor. By the party itself. By the media. By auto-suggestion. By force.

He has to remember history but forget the Babri Masjid and Gujarat. He must keep an open mind but he cannot carry his heart on his sleeve. How many Indian Muslims have talked about Pakistani hospitality? How would people have reacted had an Indian Muslim commentator said “Allah Hafiz” on an Indian channel, instead of Navjot Singh Sidhu who did so?

Don’t even think about it. Instead watch the devious machinations of the political party in power.

The mandir issue

If the BJP has moved ahead, why is it harping on this?
“BJP reaffirms its commitment to the construction of a Ram temple at Ayodhya.”
“Maryada Purushottam Ram is an inspiring cultural symbol of India and his birthplace is associated with the religious sentiments of crores of Hindus.”

And then it says, “The judiciary’s verdict in the matter should be accepted by all”. Is the judiciary Hindu? The Jamat-e-Islami Hind said the Muslim community had already declared that the court verdict -- irrespective of the outcome -- on the Ayodhya dispute would be acceptable to it. A spokesperson had wondered, “In this situation, how is it justified to make repeated claims, issue threats, hoodwink public opinion and intimidate the judiciary?”

And if it all depends on the judiciary, then why does the BJP want Muslims to “gift” the
disputed piece of land in “the interest of national integration and brotherhood”?

Who is it making a mockery of to serve its self-interest?

Terrorism

Just how convenient its stand is is borne out by its double-speak on terrorism. In its document, no mention is made of Article 370 that grants J&K special status and has in the past been its pet project to abolish. Instead it merely talks about the “immediate challenge of terrorism” Good. But what is about to happen? The Centre may soon release about a dozen political prisoners, including those arrested under Pota. All of them had been arrested by the special cell of the Delhi police for allegedly acting as conduits to supply money to militants outfits active in Jammu and Kashmir. But these releases will be made “purely on humanitarian grounds”! And what is humanitarian about it? The Hurriyat has assured the Centre they wouldn’t insist on a poll-boycott stance.

Wonderful, isn’t it?

A uniform civil code

Now this is another slippery issue. Again double-speak. How can you talk about promoting “religious freedom” and then favour a ban on conversions? Don’t conversions constitute the right to choose your religion?

They are using other conniving tactics too. “The Constitution calls for the enactment of a Uniform Civil Code. The BJP views a Uniform Civil Code as an instrument to promote gender justice.” How will they go about working out an agenda for statements such as, “…we want to make the distinction between rights and rituals. While we want everyone to have the same rights, no one will interfere with religious rituals.” Let us be honest -- was Lord Ram truly the epitome of gender justice?

We are aware that most gender-related problems arise due to flaws in the practice of religion. Ban the triple talaq. Let Parsi women who marry outside their community have the right to enter the fire temples and allow their children to partake of this part of their heritage. These problems of the minorities need to be addressed sharply.

But then the Hindu society must not look away as they watch the release of the murderers of ‘Sati’ Roop Kanwar -- incidentally they happen to be BJP MLAs. Do not pretend you don’t notice little children being married in Rajasthan. Do not pretend that female infants are not sacrificed. Do not forget that the devdasi system still exists. Do not turn a blind eye to the fact that women are beaten up, burned to death for dowry. We may not have organised honour killings, but women are still not granted basic dignity.

People tell me that I would not be able to drive a car in Saudi Arabia, I would be behind a thick veil in Afghanistan, I would have to endure unspeakable suffering in most Islamic states. India, they tell me, has given me so many rights. True. In an Islamic country, I might have been stoned to death or ostracised, but I would know well in advance where I stood. In India I am in a state of confusion, and find that few understand it.

Killing tactics

As an ‘elite’ I should keep my mouth shut and give the BJP a chance. After all, did not Bangaru Laxman once say something sweet like, “Where 10 Surats used to take place earlier, today only one Surat has happened”? To placate the Sangh Parivar, the BJP had to have a slogan ready: “Justice for all, appeasement to none.” It, however, wants the minorities to “change their mindset towards the BJP.” Why? If a table has been laid out for us, we don’t have to like the chef, a chef who has earlier been throwing morsels at us, who has earlier provided us plates with no food, or given us burnt toast to teach us a lesson to stay out of the kitchen.

Which is why Narendra Modi while on a campaign trail with the deputy prime minister can get away with tough talk. Modi is continuing with his tasteless tirades, calling Sonia Gandhi ‘Begum Sahiba’ and bracketing her with ‘Miyan Musharraf’, both for not “feeling good”. You don’t see anything odd about this? It isn’t. This is the old saffron brigade style. Let one person go soft and the other hard. When the Shiv Sena singled out the Muslim community for harbouring Pakistani spies, it was dismissed as the personal opinion of a few individuals, an aberration. The BJP has made sure its loudspeakers are there to do the dirty work and be blamed. Is it any wonder that Pramod Mahajan and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi are not contesting?

We are in for a ride. “We believe in cultural nationalism for which Indianness, Bharatiyata and Hindutva are synonymous.” No definition has been provided. To make matters worse, it has been made clear that the policies laid out in the Vision Document are “not binding” on the BJP as it would adhere to the NDA manifesto. Mr. Venkaiah Naidu said: “Even if the BJP gets a majority on its own, it will follow the NDA agenda.”

Then who are we to vote for and why? If the BJP is promising Muslims education, employment and empowerment, then what if they use the NDA manifesto? What if the BJP itself forgets or calls its ‘vision’ an aberration?

Just cringe. The Indian Muslims must not nitpick. They must think of Murli Manohar Joshi’s educational qualifications, not his obsession with astrology; they must look for Advani’s television installed in his rath, instead of the rath yatra; they must think of business potential in Gujarat and not the looted shops under the watchful eyes of its chief minister; they must applaud Bal Thackeray for standing by Sunjay Dutt, even though he is an accused in the TADA case and his mother was a Muslim. They must forget they have balls and no foreskin. They must feel good even if they feel impotent.