Dhaka, Bangladesh

  This year due to a coincidence of the lunar calendar, Eid-ul-Fitr and Durga Puja, two major religious festivals of India, were celebrated within a week of each other in late September. After twenty-two years, I was able to witness both in my birth city of Kolkata. One common thread between the Pujas and Eids is the propensity amongst the faithful to shop for new clothes and gifts with the same fervor and joy as Christmas shoppers in my adopted homeland of United States. The area colloquially called New Market is the nexus of this buying spree in Kolkata. I had a few things to shop for my family and quite naturally gravitated towards where all Kolkata roads seemed to meet.

Fighting the heat and humidity of a late September afternoon and amidst the crushing crowds, I could not help but notice that the overwhelming majority of the signs strewn across the myriad of shops were Puja greetings, well-wishing those celebrating Durgautsov. Conspicuous in their absence were well wishes to the Muslim community on the occasion of their Eid. Muslims who make up over twenty percent of the population in Kolkata, have become its invisible minority, increasingly squeezed out of the public square in Kolkata and beyond.

After India’s bloody and tragic partition many Muslims, particularly the elites, migrated to Pakistan leaving behind a political and social vacuum. Those who chose to remain Indian outnumbered those who opted for Pakistan. Yet Indian Muslims have been stigmatized as India’s fifth column. The subsequent rise of the Hindu political identity marked by the Hinduvta movement, the lack of creative ideas in the Muslim community towards self-empowerment, the post-independence educational curriculum depicting Muslims as outsiders, Islamophobia, and violence in the name of Islam; all have contributed to marginalize India’s Muslims.

Writing a book review in The Hindu, A.G. Noorani commented, “It (the Muslim problem) must be treated urgently and seriously as one of the national problems. Discrimination against Muslims has been a blot on India's record as a democracy. That blot must be erased with determination and speed by all Indians who cherish the Great Indian Ideal.” Thus, the idea behind empowering Muslims in India should not be viewed as either appeasement to a voting block or solely an altruistic program to uplift one of India’s most downtrodden socio-religious communities.

Persistent religious discrimination and recurring communal violence have marred India’s ideals and values. It has diminished India’s narrative of a secular state where multi-ethnic and multi-religious communities can safely and freely reside. The erosion of the constitutionally protected fundamental rights has been especially disillusioning for India’s Muslim youth. The repeated failure of governments, both local and national, to take appropriate measures to protect the rights of minority citizens has prompted the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom to put India on its 2009 Watch List.

Despite the obvious need to correct the problem, religious fanatics and fundamentalists have espoused the notion that Muslim empowerment is a zero-sum game. In particular the Hinduvta movement has cultivated a mistaken notion that any gain to the Muslim community is a loss for the Hindus. But in today’s globalized society, power resides not so much in unilateralism (shown to be glaringly ineffective by George W. Bush) but rather in effective mutuality and sharing between all who have a stake in a nation’s future. Thus, the issue of Muslim empowerment should be as much a Hindu concern as it is a Muslim aspiration.

Empowering Muslims in India requires a three pronged effort with all of the parts working together in a holistic manner to convert today’s challenge into tomorrow’s opportunities. The first prong undoubtedly lies on the shoulders of India’s Muslim community. Instead of succumbing to the political rhetoric being espoused by self-appointed leaders, Muslims must leave aside their cynicism and engage in the Indian political, social and cultural life with vigor and positivity. The Civil Rights movement in America can serve as an inspirational model. Integration will be more effective if Indian Muslims harmonize their Islamic identity and with their Indian one.

Such integrative steps can happen only if India’s state, local and central governments come forward with bold new proposals to correct the glaring deficiencies pointed out by the Sachar Committee Report. Although much of the grievances in the report were well known to Muslims, the Sachar Report is an eye opener to those who assumed away the Muslim problem or blamed it on some foreign conspiracy. The Sachar Report is poignant in its pathos that the disempowerment of India’s Muslims is an Indian problem created by decades of neglect and abuse, which hangs as an albatross on India’s otherwise vibrant democracy. Quite ironically, states like West Bengal and Kerala that boasted the most liberal governments were just as culpable in their lack of attention to Muslim empowerment as regions that hosted more religiocentric governments, like Gujarat. I was shocked to learn that in my birth state of West Bengal, Muslim representation in state public sector undertakings is exactly zero percent!

Other statistics are equally grim - less than 4 percent Muslims graduate from school; 1 in 25 undergraduate students and 1 in 50 post graduate students in premier university and colleges are Muslims; although Muslims are nearly 14 percent of India’s population their share in government employment is 4.9 percent; in India’s security agencies, Muslim representation is 3.2 percent; only 2.1 percent of Muslim farmers own tractors; just 1 percent own hand pumps for irrigation; if Muslims do outnumber majority Hindus in anywhere, it is predictably as a proportion of the prison population (much like Blacks in America).

It will be a mistake to leave the task of Muslim empowerment to the goodwill of governments alone. As India transforms itself into a market economy, it is the private sector that will play a bigger role in both the economic and social transformation of India. India’s big-business community can, if they choose to, play a positive role in empowering India’s Muslim minority. One mechanism for creating an Indian corporate workforce that is reflective of India’s socio-religious communities is through the voluntary adoption of the UN Global Compact. Launched in the year 2000 the Global Compact is an effort by the United Nations to usher-in a more sustainable, just and inclusive global economy.

To achieve this goal, the Global Compact outlined ten principles broadly classified in the areas of human rights, labor, the environment and anti-corruption. If the business community takes the necessary steps to apply these principles, it will inevitably lead to not only preserving the profit margins for the businesses but to a general well being of the society. By ending all overt and covert discriminations in labor practices, businesses can assist in empowering India’s minorities. By adhering to higher environmental standards businesses can also help the poor (including but not limited to Muslims) who are usually the disproportionate victims of environmental degradation.

The issue of Muslim empowerment is not so much about the Muslim community as it is about India’s future. A more educated Muslim community will constitute a more enlightened Indian work force leading to better business opportunity and a more sustainable growth for India’s economy. The next step in India’s economic evolution will likely not come on the backs of call centers and outsourcing. Rather it will come as result of higher paying service oriented jobs that require a large educated work force. An empowered Muslim community will also mean fewer security headaches and lesser social tension.

The Sachar commission recommends that 15 percent of all government funds be allocated to Muslim welfare and development. While this may work in the short run, in the long run Muslims need equal opportunities not quotas or handouts. This can come about via the establishment of “Equal Opportunities Commission” much like the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in the United States. Such a commission, armed with judicial powers, can greatly aid in empowering India’s Muslim much like the EEOC continues to do for America’s minority communities. These suggestions, among the many made by the Sachar report, are not difficult to implement provided governments and citizens alike make a commitment to change their mindset that for too long has regarded the issue of Muslim empowerment as a zero-sum game relegating them to become India’s invisible minority.

(Photo: thaths)

by the way, the netiquette guidelines page is not opening

@Rational: I think the issue of Muslims not being able to modernize is simpler than you think but once you figure out why it is not happening, the implications for Islam are significant (to put it mildly).

Muslims performed extremely well between 7th and 19th centuries because other civiliztions / nations too had not fully adopted modernity or the effect of their adopting modernity had not fully started putting pressure on pre modern civilizaztions. In a pre modern world, Islamic worldview is fine and not significantly "backward" compared to, say, Hindu paradigm or theocratic christianity.

However, once others modernize, Islam looks like an uncivilized way of life. We Hindus faced the same pressure from modernized British in the 19th century since at that time we too had not adopted modernity and were mired in many social ills.

In such a situation, the native civilization has no option but to reform itself. It has to abandon all aspects of its worldview that are incompatible with a modern outlook. It is easier said than done, however. It imposes enormous pain on the society. Millions of people are willing to die and kill others to retain the existing way of life.

For Hindus as well as many other civilzations, the process was initiated and taken forward under great leaders. Even America, in a way, went through this process when it fought civil war to remove slavery.

Islam is just not able to even initiate this process. No muslim country in the world is anywhere close to adopting a secular and democratic setup. Stepping into a muslim society nowadays is like going a few hundred years backward in time as far as social relationships are concerned.

I believe the reason for this is - the nature of Islam is such that it does not allow any reform. Islam is an exceedingly rigid ideology. It is like a massive prison wall which allows no escape to it's adherents. Hindus' ancestors, fortunately, did not create such a rigid enclosure for us and we were able to escape the medieval values and practices (e.g. untouchability, widow burning etc which some here have been reminding me of).

I believe that in other religions, and certainly in Hinduism, you do not cease being it's follower by abandoning some of it's principles. As a Hindu, I can criticize, let alone NOT revere, a highly respected God like Rama, and yet remain and be accepted as a Hindu. In Islam, you cannot do so with prophet Mohammed. Not only can you NOT criticize him, but you MUST accept him as the last prophet of God. One "yes or no" question decides whether you are a Muslim or not. And once that question is answered "yes", a lot of things become fixed for you. Cast in stone. You cannot any more deny any of Islam's values and practices. If you do, you cease to believe in the prophethood of Mohammed and are no more a Muslim.

This is why I believe that abolition of Islam is the only way Muslim community in the world can be modernized. Sure enough, it looks far fetched in today's world. But slowly, bit by bit, I think I see change also taking place. Who would have thought even 10 years back that there would be an ex - Muslim like Wafa Sultan directly attacking Islam's most basic beliefs.

Once enough numbers, both Muslims and non Muslims around the world realize this truth, you will see mega changes that will free the world from this last bastion of medievalism.

No muslim country in the world is anywhere close to adopting a secular and democratic setup.
- Posted by Sanjay

What about Turkey?

I think it depends on what you're calling a democracy.

1) Men in suits and women in short skits. - Check
2) Ban on headscarfs on university campuses. - check
3) Open swilling of booze and all the rest of the glitzy aspects
of western culture. - check

But it just about stops there. There is censorship. Check Orhan Pamuk's tenuous relationship with the law. he dared to criticize several of Turkey's claims to democracy and faced legal censure and lawsuits and is really only allowed the freedom he enjoys because he is so high a profile global figure in literature. Nobel Prize and all. The government is both fighting rising islamism and giving in to it where needed to stay in power. It sounds from all accounts like a really cool place to live and one where western expats can have a hey-day. But there is a lot beneath the surface that seems not so pretty.

Monkey Worshipper: Islam is just not able to even initiate this process. No muslim country in the world is anywhere close to adopting a secular and democratic setup. Stepping into a muslim society nowadays is like going a few hundred years backward in time as far as social relationships are concerned.

A) A lecture about modernity coming from a person who worships rats and snakes and whose people drink cow urine. Yes, I have seen that first hand. Irony cannot get any better.

B) Turkey. Nuf said.

Checkmate

Who would have thought even 10 years back that there would be an ex - Muslim like Wafa Sultan directly attacking Islam's most basic beliefs.


Ibn Warraq, Salman Rushdie and many others have been doing it for some time now. Nothing new about it at all.

I believe that in other religions, and certainly in Hinduism, you do not cease being it's follower by abandoning some of it's principles. As a Hindu, I can criticize, let alone NOT revere, a highly respected God like Rama, and yet remain and be accepted as a Hindu.

Utter nonsense. With every post, Sanjay, your verbal diarrhea shows that you have absolutely no idea what you are speaking about. Stop trying to mold hinduism into something like which modern Judaism has become; an ethno-religious identity. Hinduism has not, is not, and will never be such. If you are an unbelieving hindu, you simply are an Indian. Plain and simple. There is absolutely no such thing as an athiest or agnostic hindu; it is a contradiction in terms.

And Islam is the only religion that has clauses on belief? Are you seriously this mentally deranged? Has banging your head on krishna's toilet (vomit!) made you this brain dead? Show me a Catholic that does not believe Jesus is son of God and part of the Holy Trinity, or show me a Mormom who does not believe Joseph Smith to be a modern prophet. If you can show me that, I have a bridge in New York that I would like to sell you.

Keep posting, rat worshipper. With every post and your utter cowardice to respond to anyone's posts show the pathetic moral fiber you and your disgusting snake worshiping co-religionists share.

Al_Refai: Your posts are becoming abusive. If your point requires insulting someone, you haven't got anything useful to say.

Becoming abusive? I've been abusive from the start, Fester. That's the way I treat hindus. That's the ONLY to treat the disgusting, vile, pathetic wretches that they are.

“Muslim youths with no criminal records are picked up by illegally by the policemen in plainclothes and taken to farmhouse etc. and kept for days on end and tortured brutally…,” – Harsh Mander, a former Indian bureaucrat – reported by India’s daily The Hindu.

ANHAD (meaning ‘without limits’) is an Indian activist group dedicated for a ‘Secular India’ – whose members have been beaten-up by Hindutva hoodlums several times. ANHAD organized a National Meet on the ‘Status of Muslims’ on October 3-5 in New Delhi – to document the continuing ways of discrimination, exclusion, persecution of Muslims (over 140 million) in India today. The panel of the moot consisted of 21 Hindu-Muslim-Christian secular intellectuals and anti-communalism activists. More than three dozen speakers, representing India’s diverse religious communities, address the three-day conference.

The jury members after studying the submissions, which include complaints like discrimination in matters of renting houses in non-Muslim dominated areas, prejudices and biases of public institutions against Muslims and reinforcing stereotypes by the media also recommended the enactment of the Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill with changes suggested by the civil society groups.

“Strong action should be taken under Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code against organisations which indulge in hate campaigns and communal propaganda. The requirement of prior sanction of the State government before a complaint is registered under this Act should be waived,” the recommendations state.

At the end of the conference, the panelists demanded that “Indian government appoint a high-powered judicial commission headed by a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to examine all cases of terror across the country”.

Ram Puniyani, one of the panelists, reviewed the conference under the heading Is it A Crime To Be Born A Muslim In India?:

“The myths and stereotypes in the media and social space are very much there. The large section of school text-books reinforce the stereotypes and myths about the community. So where this all lead us? In a democracy, in a secular state the minorities should be provided safety and dignity irrespective of their religion. The present condition of Muslims in India is nothing but abysmal from the point of view of security, econonmic condition and social life. A large section has started feeling the deprivations in a very painful manner.

One recalls under the domination of Brahamanical values, caste based exclusionary social-political-solution, the caste of Shudras was systematically denied the life of dignity and made to live in subjugation and ghettoization. The efforts of ‘Brahmanical ideology based politics’, the one of RSS and its progeny, is achieving the same pattern with some difference. Now Muslims are being reduced to second class citizen. This precisely what RSS wants, this what is coming to be practised at all the levels in the country. RSS progeny being in power or out of it doesn’t matter as far as the life of Muslim community is concerned. The RSS and its ideology have infiltrated the ’social common sense’ through media and education. It has infiltrated the state machinery. The limit of this can be seen that RSS controlled Bhonsla Military School in Nasik is supplying large number of recruits for Indian Army, one of them being Lt. Col. Prasad Shrikant Purohit (with Mossad links), an accomplice of Pragya Singh Thakur, alleged culprits of Malegaon blast. If RSS, a fascist organization wrapping its politics in the cloak of Hindu religion, swaymsevaks can infiltrate army which institution in this society is safe from slow communal fascist infiltration? Which institution can be trusted for upholding Indian Constitution?

http://rehmat1.wordpress.com/2009/10/13/hindu-terrorism-against-indian-muslims/

Afterlife >>> Becoming abusive? I've been abusive from the start, Fester. That's the way I treat hindus. That's the ONLY to treat the disgusting, vile, pathetic wretches that they are.

You're a patent idiot whose bark is much bigger than your bite. You're destroying any hope of discussion the rest of us have with your racism and idiocy. Many of my friends, neighbours and colleagues are Hindus. You've got a fat nerve judging other human beings when you display such a low set of intellect and manners.

With all due respect Rehmat, your need to paint the world of beleagured Muslims and conspiring non-Muslims kind of discredits you. Especially your special knack of finding the Jew-link. Also, you offer very little social commentary. You tend to find fault in others for the present day Muslim condition. When you know quite well that there are prominent Muslim institutions that have stirred enough of their own trouble with their political stance. Your blog is a dedication to Muslim denialism and is more symptomatic of our problems than a diagnosis of its causes.

Ghulam: Think 'Troll'.

I couldn't help comment on this article. I would like to address it to Dr. Parvez Ahamed. Sir, Indian Muslims have been suffering in general for a long time. Ever since their honest participation in Freedom struggle to formation of Pakistan (it was the greatest betrayal act for Indian Muslims done by British) to modern times. I do not suggest seeking help from government or any such outside body would help matters. The politicians of India have been using us in vote bank politics since independence. They have now started dividing India on a regional, caste and cultural basis as well. Thus pushing the nation for yet another partition or should I say many more partitions.
Indian Muslims are counted as the largest population of Muslims in a non Muslim country. Yet as far as Islam is concerned, they are very weak at it. There are Muslims who do not know what Islam means. There are Muslims who are ashamed to be Muslims because they have fallen pray to anti Islam propaganda. Our own so called religious leaders are no less culprits. They take advantage of our lack of knowledge and our fears. In my opinion we need strong leadership, a secular, modern yet Islamic to core platform to improve our condition by showing us the guiding light of Islam, to help us participate in nation building, to help us uphold the ideals of our constitution also to alleviate the fears of the majority community and bring the Muslims and other communities together, at the same time preserving our religious identity and beliefs.
I request all of the readers and members of this site to please not just read but act. The only way to save Islam is to practice it, be active and do our own part in whatever we can socially.

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