None Can Dare to Revoke Voting Rights of
Muslims
By: Khursheed Alam Dawood Qasmi
Email: qasmikhursheed@yahoo.co.in
Unquestionably the sacrifices made by Muslims citizens aren’t
less than the sacrifices made by any other citizen of the country in the
freedom struggle of India. Following the independence, the Muslims have no
fewer roles in India’s development and growth than others. Certainly the
patriotism and nationalism of Muslims are above the question. It doesn’t need an
evidence to prove as it’s as clear as crystal. Having such fact, Muslims are put
on acid test by so-called nationalists very often. Whenever an issue related to
Muslim community comes in the light, the so-called nationalists begin to accuse
and paint the whole Muslim community with something which they have never done.
Accusation isn’t just enough, but even they start spreading poison against the whole
community stoking a controversy and putting the communal harmony at the risk.
To my utter surprise, even some hatemonger people go ahead to suggest revoking
the voting rights of Muslims. Such poisonous statement is made from the
self-proclaimed champion of the Hindus rights like the Harvard-educated
economic scholar, Mr. Subramanian Swamy and a Rajiya Sabha Member of Parliament
of Shiv Sena and Executive Editor of the party mouthpiece, “Saamana”, Mr.
Sanjay Raut. On the top, such view is backed and supported by another Member of
Parliament like Sakshi Maharaj.
On April 12, The Shiv Sena mouthpiece, “Saamana” daily published
an editorial by its Executive Editor, Mr. Sanjay Raut, wherein he writes
targeting Barrister Asaduddin Owaisi, a Lok Sabha MP from Hyderabad and the
whole Muslim community: “If Muslims are only being used this way to play politics,
then they can never develop. Muslims will have no future till they are used to
play vote bank politics and thus Balasaheb (Ex-Chief of Shive Sena Late Mr. Bala
Thackeray) had once said to withdraw Muslims voting rights. What he said is
right.”
The “secular masks” of all the so-called secular political
parties will be worn out, once their voting rights are withdrawn, the editorial
said. Taking a dig at All India Majlis-e-Ittihadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MP
Asaduddin Owaisi for challenging Sena president Uddhav Thackeray to come to
Hyderabad, the editorial said, “Owaisi dares us to come to Hyderabad. But we
want to ask him if Hyderabad is in India or in Lahore, Karachi or Peshawar….” “By
saving the hiding place of snakes, you cannot kill them. Owaisi and his party
are like a snake which, if fed, will do no good to the nation. AIMIM is an old
snake,” it said as reported in The Times of India.
It seems the arrival of AIMIM at the land of Maharashtra in the
last year concluded Assembly Elections had made some people like Mr. Raut
frustrated; therefore, whatever is coming at the pen and the tongue, they write
and publish without care. In the same editorial Mr. Raut has gone to extend to
ask the Muslim Community: “Why do the Muslims need such Owaisies? Why they
don’t digest some good leaders who work for the development and prosperity?” It
shows that Mr. Raut has not deep knowledge about the Muslims’ political
affairs. It’s Muslims who have accepted each and everyone as their political
leaders without any pre-condition and question since the freedom struggle. If
Muslims would have put pre-condition to accept someone as their leader from the
beginning, they would not have been in such worst condition today and Mr. Raut
would not have dared to write such poisonous editorial. It should also be noted
that only few days back the Shiv Sena suggested Muslims to go to Pakistan for
special treatment as Mr. Owaisi talked about reservation to Muslims in
Maharashtra.
As for Mr. Owaisi, the all Indian Muslims have not chosen him as
their leader, rather he is an elected leader from a parliamentary constituency
merely. In spite of that, Indian Muslims know well that it’s Mr. Owaisi among
few leaders who fight for the rights and against the injustice meted out to the
minority entirely from the road to the Parliament. It’s well-known that Mr.
Owaisi is not in the Maharashtra Assembly. Maharashtra Muslims haven’t elected
him for Assembly or Parliament. They had and have digested the leaders other
than Owaisi. Then why are the situations of the Muslims in the same condition
like of other states in India? Why has the BJP-Sena government scrapped just five
percent reservation to Muslims in education announced by the previous Congress-NCP
government; whereas the same BJP-Sena government has passed a law to grant the
quota for Marathas, while it was scrapped by the court?
Mr. Raut isn’t alone to write such piece of write-up, but one
can find in the great India few more people like him. On 16th July,
2011, the Harvard-educated economist and ex-President of Janta Party Mr.
Subramanian Swamy penned an extremely anti-Muslim article in the DNA expressing
his poisonous opinion. He wrote: “We need a collective mindset as Hindus to
stand against the Islamic terrorist.... If any Muslim acknowledges his or her
Hindu legacy, then we Hindus can accept him or her as a part of the Brihad
Hindu Samaj (greater Hindu society) which is Hindustan. Others, who refuse to
acknowledge this, or those foreigners who become Indian citizens by
registration, can remain in India, but should not have voting rights (which
means they cannot be elected representative).”
Asked about Mr. Raut’s editorial published in “Saamana”, Mr.
Sakshi Maharaj, Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament from Unnao in Uttar
Pradesh said on 12th April in the evening, “I have not gone through
his statement.” But he said targeting the Muslim community: “I don’t say
Muslims and Christians should be sterilised. But there should be family
planning and a uniform law for all. When we talk of four-child issue, there is
a lot of hue and cry, and when they have 40 children from four wives no one
says anything.” Speaking on the population growth as a major challenge before
the country, he said, “There should be family planning. When the country gained
independence, the population was only 30 crore. Today it is 130 crore. Who is
responsible for it?...There should be one law for everyone be it Hindus,
Muslims, Sikhs or Christians.”
“Whether for one, two, three or four kids... unless we have a
common law for everyone, the country will not benefit...So both the government
and the opposition should come together to bring a strict law and those who
don’t follow it should be stripped of their voting right,” Mr. Maharaj said as
reported by the Rediff.com.
Without making a comment at the above statement of Mr. Maharaj
who is famous for his controversial statements, just I would like to mention
that he is the very leader who had drawn flak for describing the assassin of Mahatma
Gandhi, Nathuram Godse as a “patriot” and was forced to apologise in the
Parliament only few month ago. It’s him who was earlier at the centre of a
controversy when he asked Hindu women to have at least four-child. The BJP on
its part had distanced itself from his remarks. Despite that, Mr. Maharaj isn’t
controlling his tongue in issuing such communal statement which can harm
communal harmony.
As they are posing such bogus questions to Muslims and
presenting such opinions regarding Muslims about revoking the voting rights of
Muslims, they can also be questioned, why do they are afraid of someone who
raises Muslims’ issues? Who has made them the representatives and advocates of
the whole nation to utter such poisonous statements? How do they know that
Muslims need just the leaders like Mr. Owaisi? How do they know that Muslims
don’t digest any good leader who works for development? How and on what basis
if any Muslim refuses to acknowledge his Hindu legacy can remain in India, but
shouldn’t have voting rights? On what basis the voting right should be stripped
of those who don’t follow family planning? Actually such thoughts and opinions
are rubbish to be thrown in the bin.
It’s loud and clear that most of the people will never agree
with such statements. In fact such leaders have no any place in the Indian
society where people have been staying together without discrimination in the
most cases. They are just trying to have media’s attention and unfortunately
it’s done by the media group. For the information of such leaders, I do want to
mention a fact. When India got freedom and unfortunately partition took place,
at that time the Muslims had option either to migrate to newly created Pakistan
or remain in India. So, Muslims remained in India being Indian citizens with
their choice. Had they wanted, they would have migrated to Pakistan. This was
the choice of Muslims, not a chance. They have equal rights in India like any
other citizen without discrimination according to the constitution. None can
dare to revoke the voting rights of Muslims as it’s granted to each citizen of
18-year old. If a particular political party takes Muslims as a vote bank and
it plays vote bank politics with them, then such party should be held
responsible for such grave mistake not the Muslim community. As the Muslims are
concerned, they don’t need suggestion coming out form the poisonous minds, but
they have full right to take their own decisions.
It’s said, once an actress ran out on Chaupati without
clothes to hit the news headlines as she had gone into oblivion by the media
and post the incident, she remained in news for several weeks, our so-called
self-claimed nationalist leaders are like of such crazy actress to have media
attention and get the level of national leader by spreading hatred. It’s a fact
that they will get nothing except being in the news for some days or months. But
it’s also a reality that such people pose danger to the nation. If such thoughts
are being appreciated and cherished, India will perish. So, such thoughts and
persons must be reformed before the damage is made, otherwise the government
will be held responsible for it. ***
(The author is a
Darul Uloom, Deoband alumnus and presently teacher of Moon Rays Trust School,
Zambia, Africa. He can be reached at qasmikhursheed@yahoo.co.in)
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