From: aagarwal@Cadence.COM (Alok Agarwal)
Subject: Beyond The Babri Masjid
Organization: Cadence Design Systems, Inc.
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 02:00:12 GMT

Following is an article on the aftermath of Dec 6 Ayodhya incident.

If that incident can make Muslims realise about the danger to the
community on account of the current Muslim leadership and give
voice to more Muslim moderates and intellectuals and enable the
progressives to assume the leadership, then the Dec 6 incident would
have done a major service to the country.

Alok Agarwal

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Source : Indian Express, Jan 7, 1993.

                   BEYOND   THE   BABRI    MASJID
                                                 by Sanjay Khan

In one of his verses, Allama Dr Mohammad Iqbal  states:  Amal  se
Zandagi banti hai jannat bhi jahannam bhi/Ye insan apni fitrat se
na noori hai na insaan hai.  (One's course of  action  formulates
one's  life,  heaven and hell too, since man by nature is neither
aglow nor fiery). Keeping this in view if we analyse  the  course
of  action  the  Indian  Muslims have adopted all along since In-
dependence, we find that they have created a hell for themselves.

Today, after 46 years of independence, they are as aggrieved,  as
isolated,  as  rudderless and helpless as they were in 1947. They
made themselves an easy prey to the  reactionary  Muslim  leader-
ship,  which  has been functioning on communal lines in a secular
country and heaping after disaster, till it culminated in the ca-
tastrophe at Ayodhya.

When the constitution of India offered equal  citizenship  rights
to  all  its citizens, it was the opportune moment for the Indian
Muslims to become secular Indians and should have endeavoured  to
bring  about  their  socio-political  upliftment.  But they never
thought of it and succumbed to the lure of communal leaders  once
again,  who, pursuing their own vested interests, kept their fol-
lowers behind times, far distanced  from  modernization  and  en-
lightenment.

These leaders cannot boast of a single and significant  contribu-
tion  to  the  socio-economic  upliftment of their community. All
their energy was spent to be MLAs,  MLCs,  MPs,  member  of  Wakf
boards  and Haj committees in order to safeguard their livelihood
and to enjoy the perks.

The only dubious deed they can be proud  of  is  inciting  Muslim
masses  to  indulge in communal riots that always invited a sound
beating for them by the civilians of the  majority  community  as
well  as  the  police  force.   Paradoxically, on such occasions,
these leaders smartly perform the slick trick of disappearing and
taking refuge in the safest haven.

Recently it was observed that when a Muslim  leader  organized  a
procession in Bombay in protest against the publication of Salman
Rushdie's "The Satanic Verses" and the police had to open fire to
control the unruly mob at Crawford market killing 12 persons, the
organiser leader was conspicuous by  his  absence  and  the  Urdu
press of Bombay was sore about it. No wonder, not a single Muslim
fundamentalist leader ever got killed in a riot.

The Muslim leadership always led the Indian Muslim on a  path  of
disaster.   It never taught its followers that they are living in
a country of multi-lingual,  multi-cultural  and  multi-religious
kaleidoscope. Therefore it is essential that they live in harmony
and peace with all the others.  It always brought to the fore for
political solutions and exploited the religious sentiments of the
gullible Muslims generating widespread hatred.

How can a country function and progress in an atmosphere vitiated
by fear, suspicion and instability.

When India is full of promise of a better way of life,  with  all
its vast resources, we are engaged in a game of self-destruction.
Just to keep their pockets full, the fundamentalists are  spread-
ing  hatred,  misleading  the nation and leading the innocents to
disaster. Either these leaders have no idea or they do  not  care
what  damage they have done to the nation and what harm they have
brought t the image of the country.

The vicious circle of action and reaction  of  Hindu  and  Muslim
fundamentalists  must  come  to  an  end  if  we desire to take a
respectable place in the comity of nations. The secular constitu-
tion  of the land must be respected. No civilized society can ex-
ist without it. The rule of law must prevail.  Live and let  live
must be the policy of all the communities.

If they Hindu fundamentalists are out to annihilate the  Muslims,
they  are  very  much mistaken. They should remember that Hitler,
with all his might, could not exterminate the  Jewish  community.
If  the Muslim keep on clashing with the majority community, they
will always at the receiving end. They should learn to live  with
the other communities with some understanding and sacrifice.

The Muslims should take Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, a renowned scho-
lar  of  Islamic studies, seriously when he says that the Ayodhya
issue has been blown out of proportions and that it  will  be  in
the  interest of the Muslims if they ready for a sacrifice in the
spirit of love and brotherhood.

He strongly condemned the marsh to Ayodhya to offer  namaz  under
the leadership of Naib Imam of Jama Masjid, calling it un-Islamic
since such a march is allowed in Islam only to the three  mosques
of  Mecca,  Medina  and  Jerusalem. It is a pity that people like
Naib Imam, the self-appointed leader of Muslims, have such meagre
knowledge of Islamic jurisprudence.

Here one will agree with Khan and heed his appeal to  the  large-
heartedness  of the Indian Muslims to shift and construct the Ba-
bri masjid a little away from the Janamsthan, a place most  sanc-
timonious  and  dear to Hindus, being the birthplace of Lord Ram.
This will create an immense goodwill among  our  Hindu  brethren.
The  Muslims  have  nothing  to  loose, as according to a rule in
Islam, a mosque should not be constructed  at  a  disputed  site.
Thus, they can neutralize the trauma they have undergone present-
ly, and at the same time they will demonstrate that Islam is tru-
ly a great religion, preaching universal brotherhood.

In this course of action, the Muslim masses may  be  instrumental
in shaping up a new nationalistic leadership that will be able to
concentrate on the social, educational and economic  progress  of
the community, which is the need of the hour. This new leadership
of Muslims will not only be a source of strength to the 150  mil-
lion  Indian Muslims but will also command respect from all other
communities.

As nothing is impossible, the Muslims can certainly find a  solu-
tion  which  enables  them  to  live  peacefully with their Hindu
brothers and sisters.

               ( Sanjay Khan is a Indian filmstar )


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Alok Agarwal
aagarwal@cadence.com

Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian