Tag: Udaipur Beheading

‘Radicalisation Of Muslim Youth Must Stop At Any Cost’

By LokMarg

Liyaquat Amar, 70, is the president of Bohra Youth community in Udaipur. Amar feels it is the duty of every progressive Muslim to work against radicalisation of youth. His views:

First and foremost, there cannot be any whataboutry over the gruesome killing of Kanhaiyalal. This was an act of religious fanaticism. Period. Ours has been a very peaceful city. But this incident has shocked me beyond words. I am yet to come to terms with the fact that some people amongst us got so radicalised that they not only killed an innocent but were also boastful about it on camera – all in the name of Islam.

One may criticize Nupur Sharma for her statement against the Prophet; or may argue with those who supported her statement. But killing somebody for it will be the biggest disservice to Islam itself. Islam says that killing of an innocent is equal to killing the entire mankind itself. There is no place for such religious violence in any civilised nation.

I have little doubt in my mind that the killers will get the maximum punishment for the crime they have committed. But the larger issue is radicalisation of our youth. This religious fanaticism must stop at any cost. I therefore appeal to all liberal and progressive people from Muslim community to come forward and join hands against radicalisation of our country’s youth.

There are several enemies of India across the borders and they will leave no stone unturned in creating rift among the Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and other communities of India. We have to be watchful of our men lest they fall in wrong hands. For the sake of the future of this country and the youth, we need to stem religious extremism as soon as possible.

ALSO READ: Victims of Religious Violence Are Always From Poorer Section

I belong to Bohra Youth, a reformatory movement in Dawoodi Bohra sect of Islam, and feel that every belief system needs reforms not radicalisation. Bohra Youth community has set many precedents that are progressive, liberal and reformist. All this in spite of facing a number of backlashes from the traditional Bohra community.

The old school Bohras do not allow us even inside their mosques but it has not bothered us as we have concentrated on a liberal, progressive society. We never compromised with our ethos. Our sons and daughters are encouraged to study as much as they want and do business as well. We are now a thriving community in Udaipur. Such kind of progressiveness is required across the country.

Every Indian citizen is bound to the Constitution of India and laws of the land. But above all, we are all bound by the law of humanity too. It is the only country on the planet with beautiful cultural diversity, it is sad that some people want to destroy it, but people like us will protect it till our last breath.

As told to Deepti Sharma

‘Victims of Religious Violence are Always from Poorer Section’

By LokMarg

Anwar Ali, a Thrissur-based poet, filmmaker and lyricist for Malayalam cinema, condemns the Udaipur killing and says communalism and violence are being normalized in India. His views:

I condemn, I condemn, I condemn… I am sad, but not upset. For, we are all now used to with this kind of brutalities. If it had happened a few years back, it would have been truly shocking.

Communalism and its criminal acts have now become the ‘way of life’ in the India and the subcontinent. Though we cannot blame the insecure Muslim community as a whole for the Rajasthan incident, which is always the hidden agenda of the Hindutva Parivar, the aspects of hatred and criminality are the very same in killing, looting and setting fire to houses. If you closely watch the communal riots in India, the prey in most gruesome murders would be down-trodden people, mostly slum dwellers and the poor, either Hindus or Muslims.

Most nationalist agencies try to find the Pakistan connection of the accused, for their political gain from the narrative of Hindu-Muslim combat. They are not at all anxious about its consequences. They are least concerned to regain the socio-cultural harmony of South Asia which has been reverberated in the verses of Kabir, Bulle Shah, Basavanna, Mahadevi Akka and Narayana Guru.

Communal divide and caste discrimination are the order of this terrain. In history, it has been cohabited with harmony too. Art and culture always tried to compensate the killing fields of political power. Wherever war set fire, art poured rain.

Coming to the contemporary scenario, this kind of ‘othering’ between Hindus and Muslims has never happened in a pan-Indian scale before. Both global and territorial factors have made this acute situation; the corporate centrism of power across the nation-states and the legitimisation of Hindutva ideology and its successful regime in India.

Ali feels there has been an unprecedented ‘othering’ between Hindus and Muslims of late

Mob-lynching, attacks and demolitions have not only increased but have become acceptable to the so-called creamy layer of Indian civil society. Under this regime in Delhi, entire institutions of modern India are undermined. Several artists, journalists, intellectuals, students and activists are targeted. As Arundhati Roy observed recently, the downtrodden societies will rise up to fight it out, but we would have to spare a lot of our lives and blood before it.

ALSO READ: ‘Policing & Local Intelligence Failure Behind Udaipur Incident’

Two decades back, in 1998, I had a chance to meet Eqbal Ahmad, the renowned Pakistani political scientist, during a conference in Delhi. Those days, I was trying to be a freelance journalist and did an interview with him. As a spokesman of secularism with a lead role in protecting the rights of Hindu minorities in his country, he was a big headache to the dictatorial Zia ul Haq regime for long. As a political migrant in the United States, he had created problems for Richard Nixon’s government during the ‘Viatnam War’ too. After my formal interview, he expressed his concerns about the gradual growth of political Islam in India after the demolition of Babri Masjid.

After his unexpected demise in 1999, I came to know that he had an Indian childhood and has been a victim of Partition. Eqbal Ahmad was born in a village near Gaya, where Buddha got enlightened. When he was a young boy, his father was murdered over a land dispute in his presence by a Hindu group. During the Partition, he and his elder brother migrated to Pakistan on foot. That means, he was a prey prior to Partition. After eventful explorations across the continents as an international academician and an anti-war activist, he returned to Islamabad in 1997. There, he fought for the rights of the Hindu minority in Pakistan. What a life!

The BJP and RSS do not represent any of the South Asian traditions of tolerance. Their ideology, derived also from Savarkar’s Hindutva, is one of the most racist and venomous in the modern world. They resemble Nazis in the 1930s and 40s. They and ISIS are birds of the same feather. How can they condemn the ideological killings and genocides?

Like genuine secularists and Muslims, so many genuine people who follow various Hindu religious practices, are deeply concerned towards the continuous victimization of Muslims in our country. That is why Hindus and Muslims in Jehangirpuri in Delhi reclaimed their native unity after the brutal demolitions by police.

Five years back, I wrote ‘Mehaboob Express – A Life Sketch’, a narrative poem which depicts the story of Mehaboob, a soldier, and his grandfather, a freedom fighter. It is also on the doom of our country; about a life-train crisscrossing undivided India. Passing the soundscape of history, it ends in the silence of Cochin Metro, inaugurated by the Indian PM in November, 2017.

Unfortunately, year after year, the poem does acquire new connotations prophesying the doom of the nation. A poet would have been proud that his text became a prophecy, but, how can I feel pride, while silence is growing, while surveillance is grinning, while justice departs judiciary?

As told to Amit Sengupta

‘Udaipur Incident A Result of Policing & Local Intelligence Failure’

By LokMarg

Former IPS Amitabh Thakur, while condemning the Udaipur beheading incident, says it shows a complete lack of foresight by local police in taking preventive action

There has been all-round condemnation of the gruesome killing of Kanhaiyalal in Udaipur. There is also anger among people over the ISIS-style beheading and posting of its video on social media. However, the incident should not be used as a pretext to further vitiate the environment. An active role of local administration and state government is of importance. There were severe lapses that resulted in the incident and we must draw lessons from it.

First, there was a clear lack of foresight or judgment on part of local police. If, according to media reports, the criminals had issued a threat some time ago on social media and had also attacked him, why was any action not taken? Were they waiting for something to happen? Media reports indicate that Kanhaiyalal, the victim, was also attacked a few days ago, but instead of acting on his written complaint, the police merely played ‘middleman’ to sort out and hush up the matter.

Second, there was failure of local intelligence on part of the district administration and Udaipur police. For, one of the perpetrators had visited Pakistan lately and mentioned in a phone call about something spectacular to happen in Udaipur.

Although the police were quick to nab the criminals, this does not omit their incompetency in taking pre-emptive action. Were they sleeping or waiting for the matter to blow out of proportion. Part of policing involves stopping the crime to happen, not just chasing criminals after the unlawful act.

ALSO READ: ‘Religious Gurus Must Foster Harmony, Not Discord’

Here, I shall like to point out the swiftness of the Uttar Pradesh Police when it comes to preventing hate crimes. They are hyperactive and watchful on social media to foresee any attempt to poison the atmosphere. I bet you post something communally sensitive and you will find UP Police at your doorstep soon enough to mend your mentality.

Another issue here is religion and social sensitivity. How can a social media post hurt someone’s sentiment so much that they will offer a bounty on someone’s head! This kind of mind-set and the design to spread hatred and violence in the name of religion are fatal to our country and society. The incident was a challenge to the system as the criminals were so arrogant that they issued death threats to the Prime Minister in a video after the killing.

We Indians are a country-loving community and we should not get carried away with inciting posts. Everyone is standing in support of Kanhaiyalal’s family and this is the reflection of our ethics and culture.

There can be no justification for violence in the name of religion and swift legal action must be taken to set a precedent. For this to happen, this matter should be dealt with a fast-track court and verdict must be delivered in under three months. The incident in Rajasthan should act as an eye-opener for the police and the government. They must shore up local intelligence and remain watchful to prevent a repeat incident of this nature.

As told to Rajat Rai