By: Dr. Mohammad Aleem, Editor-ICN Group
NEW DELHI: Since a few years back, the RSS seemed to me like a demon ready to devour to the Indian Muslims any time if they found such opportune moment. And this sense of threat multiplied when its political wing, the BJP succeeded to winning the parliamentary election by huge margin in 2014 with Narender Modi at the helm. His image was very cleverly built over the years as a great saviour of Hindu faith, identity and pride. It started with the Gujarat riot and culminated finally in installing him as a PM of this great democratic country, forgetting that it is not only the country of Hindus, but Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists also. They hold the same rights as a citizen as their counterpart, Hindus.
But when I came into contact with some RSS persons, then, I started realizing that they are not as devil as they have been depicted over the years by its hard-core opponents, especially, the leftists. I don’t say that whatever has been said so far about the RSS and its policies are false, but it surely was not based the pragmatic way of thoughts. Everyone knows that how the RSS came into being in 1925 and what was its aim and objectives. Surely, in the core of this movement, hostility towards Muslims and Christians was paramount. But over the years, they have been forced to realize that they can’t judge Muslims and Christians every time with the same yardstick. They will have to be realistic in their views and actions if they want to spread its appeal to the large section of the people of this country. And to achieve that goal, they will have to evolve themselves over the time by changing their policies and thoughts seeing the current political, social, economic and other issues.
It reflected finally in the three days speeches of its chief, Mohan Bhagwat, of late, who spoke openly about the issues of the cow, vigilantism, mob lynching, Ram temple at Ajodhya, common civil code, issue of population, conversion and the national integrity of the minorities.
These issues are really contentious and it can’t be solved by some speeches. These are issues which can only be solved by taking into confidence to the other parties with equal space and openness of their hearts. Everybody knows that how many innocent people have been killed brutally over these four and half years in the name of protecting the cows by publicly lynching the victims. It is a sad truth that at one hand, Hindus regard cows the most sacred animal, but they themselves behave with them in such a sacrilegious manner that it can’t be justified ever civilized and ethical. I found most of the time in our colonies, stray cows and bulls roaming for a simple loaf of bread over the piles of bins and in other such dirty places. They get killed or injured by hitting with the rashly driven vehicles and nobody cares when these stray holy cows lay writhing in pain on the roads.
They are also dying in the so-called cow shelters. They are being sold sadly by the so-called Hindu saviours illegally in the black market just for the sake of a few bucks.
Ram temple’s issue can only be solved by mutual talks and discussions. It is also under the consideration of the Supreme Court of India. But many hardliners are so hell-bent to build a temple at the disputed site that they show completely disregard to the law of the land. They talk as they are living in an autocratic country, not a greater democracy.
Conversion is also an issue which arouses the passions of the hardliners. However, it is also a naked truth that those people who embrace any new faith or religious beliefs, usually do so by their own will. It can’t be done by coercion, force and greed. If it was so, India would have become hundred per cent a Muslim or Christian nation under the long rule of Muslims and British. But it did not happen. Only those people came forward to adopt another faith who thought best for quenching their philosophical thoughts or for filling the spiritual void.
Love Jihad and such other issues also get blown up out of proportion just to arouse the sentiment of gullible voters. These issues also have no proper basis to justify. A grown up people can’t be dictated in these modern days whom to love and whom to marry.
Apart from all these issues, about which I have discussed here, what disturbs me especially about the intention and motive of the RSS and its affiliates? They say that they have doubt about the integrity of Indian Muslims and Christians. They are not as patriotic as they think themselves are. Their argument is that only those people can be fully patriotic in their true sense whose religious identities are indigenous and not foreign as Muslims and Christians have. But they forget that though, these two great religious communities draw their spiritual identities from the foreign lands like Mecca in Saudi Arabia and Rome in Italy, but they are born and brought up here, lived here their whole life, and many generations passed like this. Never Indian Muslims or Christians ever migrated to Mecca or Rome en masse. They know that it is not possible.
So, Muslims and Christians are as much patriotic as any other Indian of any other faith. We can’t equate them with those Muslims who migrated after the partition, which was a fully flawed decision of the leaders of its time. Muslims of Pakistan and Bangladesh and of other places have their own distinct identities. They can’t be equated with the Indian Muslims, ever. Only the issue of Jammu & Kashmir is unique and complicated in its nature and it can’t be generalised in terms of other issues related with the general Indian Muslims.
If the RSS will keep seeing Muslims and Christians suspiciously and allow its affiliates to spread the hatred and run a parallel hate campaign, then, despite of all its rightful intention and efforts, it can’t succeed in winning the heart of Muslims and Christians. And until, these two great religious communities are given the equal rights to live and prosper, a dream of powerful democratic Indian can’t be realized. India only can become a great country economically and politically and spiritually only by taking all people of different faiths together with the equal respect and ease.
Dr Mohammad Aleem is national award winning novelist, playwright, script writer and journalist. He is at present associated with the ICN Digital Media Group as its Editor.
