I can fill this column — nay, the whole page — with names of Muslim men and women, all Indians, who have achieved distinction in different walks of life. Because, among the 110 million Muslims, there are thousands of distinguished men and women. We can start with President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.At the other end — though it is inappropriate to call it that way — there are millions of ordinary Muslims who live, work, marry, raise families, pray, prosper, suffer and die like millions of ordinary men and women belonging to other faiths. I remember that when I was a child, our tailor was a gentle man by name Zynulabdeen. We knew he was a Muslim but we did not think that made him different from us.The 110 million Muslims are Indians, they belong to India, India belongs to them as well, and they have to live and die in this land. They cannot be banished from this country. From time to time, a whole community may become the target of attack or may be believed to be the aggressors but, at the end of the day, the men, women and children of that community are entitled to a place in Indian society.The Punjab precedentNot many years ago, the Sikh community was in the eye of a storm. The years from 1984 to 1990 were the worst years. Every day brought bloodshed, death and destruction. There was a strident demand for Khalistan, a separate State for the Sikhs. Some faint-hearted people even said ‘‘Let’s give them Khalistan and put an end, once and for all, to this festering problem.’’ Thankfully, the government of the day did not heed this counsel of desperation.We adopted a two-track approach. To the militants, we showed the iron fist. Militants were fought on their own turf and eliminated. There were, indeed, some excesses. The turning point was Operation Black Thunder II. When the Golden Temple was retrieved and the militants were arrested, the back of Sikh militancy was broken. From then onwards, it was a slow climb to normalcy. Finally, elections were held in 1992 and Punjab returned to the path of peace and prosperity.During this period, the government was careful not to paint the whole Sikh community in black or treat all Sikhs as terrorists or anti-nationals. On the other hand, government reached out to the Sikh community. It was a battle for the hearts and minds of Sikh youth. While the militant outfits were busy recruiting young boys, government offered them jobs in the Punjab police, the CRPF and the Army. Many young men were swept away by the thrill and glamour of the life of a terrorist. Money, guns and women were believed to be available to the terrorists. The fear of death did not deter them. On the other hand, government, especially the Punjab police, befriended the youth. Many institutions, groups and individuals made significant contributions to this effort. Hundreds of names come to my mind. Of them, two stand out — Sardar Beant Singh (later Chief Minister, who was assassinated) and the redoubtable Mr K.P.S. Gill. The point to be noted is that both were Sikhs.The Muslim presentThe situation today is qualitatively not very different although the problem is more complex. Ever since the demolition of the Babri Masjid, the Muslim community has been deeply hurt and alienated. The P.V. Narasimha Rao government was inept and ineffective in dealing with the sense of alienation. When the BJP came to power, the situation became worse. After the Gujarat pogrom, all over India, Muslims believe that they are under siege. And every day words are spoken or deeds are done that only drive more Muslims into despair and alienation. An example of this pernicious trend is the official ‘‘celebration’’ of Independence day by the Government of Gujarat by converting it into a Hindu festival.Mr Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister of Gujarat, claims that his government did everything to quell the riots and it continues to do every thing necessary to rehabilitate the victims. The bitter fact is despite doing ‘‘everything’’ the riots left 2000-3000 Muslims dead. No one has bee punished so far. And as for ‘‘rehabilitation,’’ the facts speak for themselves. Uday Mahurkar, reporting for India Today, has documented case after case of Muslims whose lives have crumbled after the riots. There is Yusuf K. Malik, a taxi driver in Pavagadh village, who is not allowed to ply taxis in the village and now works as a daily-wage labourer. There is Rafique Pittal, once a wealthy businessman, who was able to re-start his grocery business, but no Hindu buys from his shop. And there is Sirajuddin Kansara, whose house was plundered twice by the mobs; now he works in the village during the day and returns to the relief camp by the evening. According to Mr Mahurkar, the Muslims in Gujarat have been pushed to ‘‘the last frontiers of hope.’’Out of hopelessness and despair will rise new waves of terror. Otherwise, how does one explain the phenomenon of graduates and engineers and doctors taking to the path of violence? Mohammed Abdul Mateen Abdu Bashid was implicated in the bombing of a bus in Ghatkopar on December 2, 2002. He is an MD in forensic science from Aurangabad University. Anwar Ali has been accused for the March 13, 2003 bombing of a local train. He holds MA, M.Com and MCA degrees and was a part-time lecturer at the National Defence Academy, Pune. Such examples abound.The most important challenge faced by civil society today is the growing communal divide between Hindus and Muslims. The divide is taking new and dangerous forms — ghettoization, social boycott, discrimination in employment and the blurring of lines between State and religion. If the BJP and the ruling establishment are sincere in their claim that they desire to bridge the communal divide, they must find Muslims who will take up this challenging task, and give them the power and the responsibility to do so. Alas, the BJP will not find any one in its ranks. The BJP cannot find even Hindus who enjoy the confidence of the Muslim community. The BJP’s man on the spot holding the reins of power is Mr L.K. Advani and, by any measure, Mr Advani, accused in Crime No.198, is the wrong person for the task. Write to the author at pc@expressindia.com
