Saturday 19 December 2009

India's Obama Moment


There is talk going on that the rise of Mayawati is rather similar to the rise of Obama in America. And that once she becomes India’s PM, we will finally get to celebrate our Obama moment. I disagree.

Here’s why.

Now there is no denying that Obama’s rise has many parallels to Mayawati’s ascent. After all the dalits have faced fierce resistance to their inclusion in the mainstream, just as the blacks did in America. But if you look into the future, you can foresee the Dalit problem slowly growing fainter. There’s another community whose prospects look bleak even in the future. And it’s the Muslims.

Can you remember any Muslim chief minister(J&K aside)? When is the last time you were able to recall a prominent Muslim politician? The dalits have had their leaders - B.R Ambedkar, Kanshi Ram, and now Mayawati, but the Muslim community is and has been devoid of any real leadership, filled by the so called ‘token’ politicians.

Since the time Islam arrived in India, Muslims have been a significant part of Indian society. They ruled parts of the subcontinent for a period of over 600 years, eventually ceding power to the British. Even during the British Rule, there were several prominent Muslim rulers. But all this changed after Partiton. Suddenly the Muslims became an acute minority in their own homeland (if India is not their homeland then what is?) As if the reduction in their numbers was not enough, there came the additional burden for sharing the guilt of partition. The Muslim league and Mohammad Ali Jinnah in particular were blamed for dividing the homeland. The pus of partition ensured that Muslims became the centre of attack for several outfits, driven by their own political ambitions or ideologies forever putting a constant question mark over their patriotism. Since then their drift into the sidelines has continued. This has been propelled further by the growth of Islamic terrorism after the 90’s.

While it is true that the Dalits have faced discrimination for centuries, the Indian Muslims face a different, more subtle kind of discrimination that is far more deadly for India’s social cohesiveness. One can recall Hindu-Muslim riots on fingertips, but it takes time to find instances of mass rioting between the upper castes and the lower castes.

One fact that is prone to being overlooked is that recently the Dalits have started making rapid progress in terms of education & women empowerment- two very key areas as far as community building is concerned. The same cannot be said for the Muslims. If anything, they might have even have gone back. As a whole, I need not emphasize Muslim ill fortune in India. It is a well known fact. The stereotypes the Muslims face are worse than what the Dalits have to go through.

Some say that our biggest film stars are all Muslims. That we’ve had a Muslim President, Vice-President(s), even a Muslim captaining the national cricket team. And this is where I see light – that Indian people are not averse to Muslim ascendency.

Why is there then such a negative perception about them one may ask? It is simple. The Hindu radical groups, for their own interests, propagate to the masses, what can at best be called biased opinions and at worst outright lies. A constant hammering of such lies in the mainstream slowly turns them into convictions. The single biggest ‘conviction’ out there is that Indian Muslims are not patriotic, that they have a soft corner for Pakistan. This is totally wrong. Ask any Indian Muslim today, whether he’s better off in India or Pakistan and the answer will almost always be the former. It’s mostly the clerics that beat the Pakistani drum, because they know that in a secular country such as India that doesn’t have any official religion, their powers are significantly clipped. Entirely the opposite is true in the case of Pakistan.

While it is true that Manmohan Singh is educated and scholarly thus making him one of the most suitable persons for the job in the UPA, he is still acceptable to the more radical Hindu wings, social or political that so often lay claim to the public opinion. But the moment you bring an equally qualified Muslim, the game changes. Just see the drama that would unfold if such a thing were to ever happen, if you don’t believe it yourself. Of course the irony is that the people, the masses would never be opposed to such a move. But the Hindu radicals, using the same old tried and tested way of propagating lies, will whip up such hysteria that the popular mood would swing.

This is why I think when Mayawati finally becomes our PM, we will get to celebrate – not at India’s great stroke of fortune of having Maya in charge (for that we may have to grieve), but at India’s genuine democracy where even the lowest in the society can climb up the ladder to the top. But when a Muslim finally becomes our PM, then and only then, can we celebrate our Obama Moment.

6 comments:

  1. thats a long awaited first blog entry..

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  2. sahi jaa raha hai bete lekin photo badalne ki zaroorat hai hi..

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  3. You've expressed your views quite nicely and, I have to say, I totally agree with what you've written. The first thing that came to my mind after I finished reading your article was the failure of the Liberhan report, which is very recent news. It is a proof of the ignorance and the indifference of the government and the judicial system towards one of the biggest crimes of our communal past. And the time the report took to come out is a sad display of the laziness with which the system works. Or, maybe the committee just wants to keep mum since it's political taboo to talk about such issues, but that's an insult of equal magnitude to the Muslims.
    But the problem lies much deeper, according to me. Every single one of us is preposterously selfish. But the tragedy is that we're equally lazy, using any means in sight to make ends meet. That's what the Hindu 'and Muslim' communal parties do, that's what the seperatists do in Kashmir, and that's pretty much what everyone does. There are exceptions, of course, but they are too few to make a difference. The victims of this drama, unfortunately, are the Muslims.
    All of us Indians are extremely lucky to be so free but, sadly, all we do is abuse this freedom. Our society is like an adolescent without parents. No matter how absurd this may sound, but I really believe we need a strict parent, a parent in the form of a good leader, a strict government with strict laws, an efficient judiciary and tough law enforcement agencies, and, only when we're mature enough can we ever have our own true Obama moment.

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  4. Oh, and I forgot. Congratulations (for your new blog and all).

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  5. great article-enlightening, I'd say. You've got to be feeling so strongly about the subject to be able to write it the way you have.

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  6. Hi Shreyans,
    This entry particularly touched me in veiw of my personal experience with some members of the muslim community and I entirely agree with you. The anti-muslim sentiment is actually a making of the hindu radicals. The common muslim is just like you and me.

    In my interaction with several educated muslims for the past 8-9years, I never ever felt threatended or ever had any negative feelings in their midst. Because of the long duration of our association, in fact I was able see some good qualities in them. I found that they were a devoted lot - devoted to anything they do.

    What Sri Aurobindo said on this issue comes to my mind:-
    Each religion fosters a certain kind of character in the people who practice it. The Hindu is a very tolerant person, the christian charitable and the muslim devoted.

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