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Muslim outfits slam Cong’s ‘secularism’ - The Times of India
ALIGARH: After the resounding mandate for the BJP in the 16th Lok Sabha elections, some Muslims in Aligarh are trying to shape the community's response to the new political reality, urging the community to shed any "Congress nostalgia".
Referring to minority affairs minister Najma Heptullah's comments that Muslims were not a minority group in India, Rashid Shaz, leader of the Milli Parliament, an organization formed after the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya in 1992, said,
"Nehru's secularism was like a mirage, a trail of false hopes. The minority status created a psychological shell in the minds of Indian Muslims. If for 65 years someone keeps telling you that you are a minority, what will your mind be like? Congress wallowed in electoral gains earned by demonizing the 'political other', the BJP. Now, that dark era of pseudo-secularism is over."
Shaz said the biggest benefit of having Narendra Modi as prime minister would be the reduced significance of mullahs who earlier issued pronouncements to the community ahead of elections.
"A big benefit would be the fall of the mullahs or middlemen who appropriated the Muslim mind... Seeing Modi's leadership, there is little chance of any middleman's survival. That will make Muslims use their own brains," Shaz said.
The communal riots during the rule of secular parties, illegal bans on Muslim organizations, the arbitrary arrest of Muslim youth, and the refusal of a judicial inquiry into the Batla House encounter -- all this is being read as a Congress conspiracy against the community.
"The new political reality may look depressing, but at least we are able to see today where we really stand," a member of the Milli Parliament said.
Joining these Muslim intellectuals in the cry against the Congress is the Forum for Muslim Studies and Analysis, comprising academics from the Aligarh Muslim University.
Speaking of the record of the Congress in dealing with issues related to the community, Shabuddin Iraqi, former chairperson of the history department of the AMU, said,
"The cause of Muslim upliftment was not taken seriously. Instead, the Congress created Muslim poster boys like Salman Khurshid."
Leaders like Khurshid lacked an understanding of the problems faced by the community and kept busy "appeasing the Congress high command," Iraqi said.
Prime Minister Modi's remarks that his win was the victory of India's 1.25 billion, and that he wants to build an India of the 21st century, has found resonance with Muslim intellectuals in Aligarh. These remarks are seen as a gesture to connect with the community.
"We too are open to a meaningful dialogue, as the community feels no nostalgia for the Congress," Shaz said.
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