A flawed formulation

Over the years, inquiry commission reports have documented how from the very first major Hindu-Muslim riot in Jamshedpur, in 1969, right dow...

Over the years, inquiry commission reports have documented how from the very first major Hindu-Muslim riot in Jamshedpur, in 1969, right down till today, the slogans used to taunt Muslims have always included 8220;jao Pakistan8221;. The poison these slogans has seeped into every section of society. Whenever Muslims turn to the police for help during communal riots, the latter invariably retort: 8220;Go to Pakistan.8221; This hate campaign reached its climax with L.K. Advani8217;s rath yatra in 1990, which spread the image of Muslims as Pakistani-loving traitors even in places where no such stereotype existed.

Things have reached such a pass that in Mumbai, over the last five years, Mumbai8217;s Muslims have begun coming out on the streets to prove their patriotism. Be it on Osama or Kargil, or even over an Indo-Pak cricket match, the only community which literally wears its patriotism on its sleeve, is Mumbai8217;s Muslims.

The reason is clear: they haven8217;t forgotten the 8220;lesson8221; they were taught by the Sena, the RSS and the police, after the demolition of the Babri Masjid. The same survival tactics have begun to be adopted by Gujarat8217;s Muslims now. Some Hindus who feel anguished that the country8217;s largest minority feels so insecure that it needs to display its patriotism, have conveyed their anger and sense of shame to Muslims. But they have been politely told that if Muslims don8217;t shout from the rooftops that they hate Pakistan, they could be picked up on suspicion of being ISI agents. At any rate, these Hindu voices have been drowned by the approval of such acts by the influential English media, which invariably highlights pictures of burqa-clad women and bearded men praying for an Indian victory.

Over the past few weeks, the country8217;s two topmost leaders 8212; the prime minister and his deputy 8212; have given a new spin to the old equation coined by their own cadre: 8220;Muslims equals pro-Pakistani elements8221;. As they set out to gather votes, both have presented the recent friendship initiative with Pakistan as a special gift to Muslims. This is dishonest and dangerous.

Dishonest because everyone knows the initiative has come about because of US pressure. Second, it glosses over the benefits of such friendship to the economies of both countries. Third, it ignores the thousands of Sindhi Hindus who long for the day their divided families can freely visit each other. Finally, no Indian Muslim asked for this initiative, even though the post-Kargil breakdown in relations hit them the hardest.

This projection is dangerous because it doesn8217;t change the basic equation. Vajpayee and Advani are still saying 8220;being Muslim means being pro-Pakistan8221; because deep down in their hearts that is how Indian Muslims figure. For their followers, the ones who actually attack Muslims, the last epithet 8220;traitors8221; follows automatically.