Atir Khan

When a Muslim friend was asked to give his reaction on RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat’s latest statement on Muslims, he said it was like a thandi hawa ka jhonka, a whiff of cool breeze you get when you open a window.

Remember the famous Hindi song “thandi hawain,” of 1951 black and white feature film Naujawan. The song was created by the joint efforts of the melodious voice of Lata Mangeshkar, written by legendary Sahir Ludhianvi and music composed by S.D. Burman. Indians have a history of doing great things together. Try listening to this song- it’s a great stress buster.

Coming back to my friend’s reaction of thandi hawain,  Bhagwat’s statement had  opened a big window and a general consensus is that Indian Muslims should lose no time in grabbing this opportunity of friendship.

Lyrics of a song from a famous Shahrukh Khan movie so befittingly describe the situation. Har ghadi badal rahi hai roop zindagi…chanv hai kabhi, kabhi hai dhoop zindagi…har pal yahan jee bhar jiyo …joh hai saman kal ho nah ho (Life’s changing …sometimes it’s like a pleasant shade and sometimes it gives you hardships, we must live in the moment and not in the past, grab the moment before it’s too late.)

Bhagwat’s statement was indeed historic and a gamechanger for the Hindu-Muslim relations in India. Earlier, Veer Savarkar, a pioneer of Hindu nationalist philosophy before the revolt of 1857, had said: Hindus and Muslims are sons of the same mother.

His speech was in sync with values enshrined in our Constitution, the concept of India and values of pluralism we have always believed in. But his reiterating these values is what evoked strong reactions both within Hindu and Muslim society.

The statement was bold, unambiguous, coming straight from the heart of RSS Chief, who has the distinction of being a visionary, a person who has a reputation of speaking his mind, even if it evokes strong reactions within the Sangh.

This is not for the first time Bhagwat has made remarks on Hindu Muslim relations but this time they were widely publicised and discussed because of the place and the time he chose to make this outreach.

It was made from a Muslim platform at a book launch of Muslim Rashtriya Manch, the Muslim wing of RSS. The Chief made this statement knowing well that he was speaking at the threshold of Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, which have the history of being polarised on caste and religious grounds. We all know how closely knit RSS and BJP are.

His words were conciliatory, allying fears of insecurity among Muslims. His statement about Muslims being equal stakeholders created quite a buzz. Unfortunately, a perception of persecution of Muslims has so deeply been embedded in the minds of the community that they obviously can’t get over it.

It is true a series of mob lynching incidents, over a period of last six to seven years have created a fear psychosis among the Muslim community. Interestingly, a large number of Hindus and Muslims everyday work together to earn their livelihood. At night, back in their families, Muslims discuss in street corner meetings and within the family how they face persecuted in India. This discussion is partly based on facts and partly on the myths created by the media perception. Myths are also created on social media platforms.

Some highly violent incidents targeting Muslims are a reality of India. Such incidents were triggered by irresponsible political remarks, and the opposition parties added fuel to the fire. Those excesses were triggered for political reasons and the sense of persecution got firmed up due to silence of political dispensation or delayed reaction of those in power.

Another major aberration being the violence, which followed protests against the Citizen Amendment Act. Nobody gained from this violence but the scars are going to remain on both sides forever.

Even on the day RSS Chief spoke about Hindu-Muslim unity some goons were relentless in their efforts to further malign the image of the country by giving mindless statements against Muslims. Some of them continue to harass poor Muslim hawkers, who make a living out of selling fruits and vegetables.

It’s the doing of such goons, certainly not the entire Hindu community, which has created a pitiable image of Indian Muslims. Those thugs have been responsible for creating the perception of India- “a country where Muslims are not safe.”

Some would remember the famous Indian Hindi epic film Mother India, which was directed by Mehboob Khan in 1957. Mother India, the role of a poor woman played by famous actor Nargis, was symbolic of India as a country. She had two sons in the movie, who represent a Hindu & a Muslim.

Kanhiya Lal, who acted so well in the movie, acted as a cunning money lender exploiting the widow. He was a villain. Such people who give rabid statements, perpetrate violence both from Hindu and Muslim communities remind us about the similarity between their role and that of the cunning money lender villain, who constantly harassed Mother India and her two innocent children.

It was a big move on Bhagwat's part to say those who say Muslims should leave India are not Hindus. Islam is not in danger in India. A number of influential Muslim organisations like Jamat-e-Islami and Jamait-ulema-e-Hind really liked Mohan Bhagwat’s statement. But they have been cautious in reacting. That’s another story that Muslim organisations too need to introspect.

The dilemma of the Muslim organisations is that howsoever they might like to react, they cannot selectively react to the statement, if they do, they would be perceived by their community to be oblivious to the plight of the Muslims. Especially, the victims of alleged mob lynching, most of whom were alleged beef smugglers. In some of these cases trials have not even begun.

It is ironic that Muslims are seeking justice for those alleged to be beef smugglers by punishing the mob lynchers. While the latter who have allegedly killed human beings protecting cows justify their acts. Both of them want protection for those who indulged in unlawful activities. But they expect their sentiments should be respected.  

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has condemned acts of mob lynching, he has visibly taken special interests in the Muslim society recently. Union Home Minister Amit Shah would certainly like to have a good law and order record. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval has reached out to Muslim religious leaders, even met them at his residence. RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat is talking about Hindu-Muslim unity. Country’s four most powerful persons are desirous of healthy relations between the two communities. The writing is on the wall.

Unless both Hindus & Muslims don’t bury the past, a forward movement in this direction is not possible. There could be no better time to do so. RSS Chief said dialogue is the only solution to Hindu Muslim conflict. Clearly, he is extending an invitation to Muslims by saying so. Muslim organisations also realise need for a dialogue. They should grab this opportunity. However, the sad part is that there is no platform or a working mechanism to bring them together on the same table.

It’s true that some confidence building measures will now be required on the ground to remove the trust deficit. The feeling of fear and mistrust among the Muslims may take some time to subside. Substantial work needs to be done in this direction to make Bhagwat’s outreach effective. Hopefully now all those goons, who have been indulging in unlawful acts will be reined in.

Anti-Muslim narrative must fade away to win back their trust. The cases of excesses on Muslims should be quickly brought to a logical conclusion. In such cases where Muslims had indulged in cow slaughter they should be punished as per the law. Similarly, those responsible for mob lynching should also be held responsible.

Moreover, both the communities need to respect each other’s identities. They should come to terms that they are not the same yet they are nationalists. Media, police, administration and lower judiciary will have to be highly sensitive towards the relationship.

Hegemony will not lead to India’s well-being. It cannot chart its path to becoming a superpower, but pluralism certainly will. Indians should not be identified by their religion but as civic nationalists…aur bhi gham hai zamane mein nafrat ke siva…if Indians start thinking this way, then a whiff of thandi hawa ka jhonka could forever transform into bade-naseem, consistently pleasant morning breeze.