Rejoinder: A Letter to Mr. Chetan Bhagat from Indian Muslim Youth

Following is the text of a letter that was initially written by some of us and subsequently endorsed by the undersigned. This letter is a rejoinder to the article written by Chetan Bhagat titled, ‘Letter from an Indian Muslim Youth’ (http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/The-underage-optimist/entry/letter-from-an-indian-muslim-youth) published in The Times of India on 30^th of June 13.

The letter was sent to The Times of India (at arindam.sengupta@gmail.com,
swagato.ganguly@timesgroup.com, and sunday.times@timesgroup.com) for publication with 166 signatures yesterday afternoon but we are yet to receive any response, or even an acknowledgment. Hence, we are left with no option but to make it public with additional signatures which we have received in the course of time.

In the letter sent to The Times of India, we included only ‘Muslim names’ since Mr. Bhagat, in his letter pretended to be an Indian Muslim Youth. However, here we are including all the endorsements we received (at activist.journalist@gmail.com ) because a large number of the emails read, ‘I am not a Muslim but I am equally disgusted by Chetan Bhagat’s letter’.

Given below is the text of letter followed by more than 200 signatures:

TEXT: A Letter to Mr. Chetan Bhagat from Indian Muslim Youth

3rd JULY 2013

Dear Mr. Bhagat,

At the very outset, let us make it clear that we are not fans of your regressive fiction. Therefore, we write to you not as crazy fans but as Indian Muslim youth, who felt utterly patronized, insulted and hurt after reading your article, ‘Letter from an Indian Muslim Youth’ .  You might have not realized this, but in pretending to render “a strong modern Indian Muslim voice’’ to the youth and the Muslim community at large, you have ripped them of their agency. You have reaffirmed stereotypes that many in the community have been fighting against. Heard of the Muslim god and his flock?

Sir, one does not need a name like Ahmed or Saeed or Mirza, or even be a Muslim to show one’s genuine concern for the community. One just needs to see beyond one’s own prejudice and biases. Believe us, this disgusting piece of your writing made us more nauseous than any of your (or Madhu Kishwar’s) love-verses to Modi. Your article is nothing but an extension of the thought process that anything Muslim is backward and regressive. Since you have assigned to yourself the task of bearing the moral burden of the community, would you care to explain what a ‘Muslim cap’ is?

We agree with you when you say political leaders make promises that go empty post elections. And that there are Muslims who have achieved much without any ‘’cap-wearing politician’’ helping them. But who is this leader that you are suggesting; one who would understand ‘’the desire’’ of the Muslim youth ‘’to come up in life’’ and ‘’inspire us to do better’’? Is it by any chance the mass murderer, Narendra Modi?

You know what hurts? That people pretend to care for you when they don’t. When in fact they use you to grind their own axe. How cleverly you turn everything that the Muslim youth face today – “being frisked with greater attentiveness, denied renting an apartment” – into a product of the community’s inherent backwardness, as if it bears no relation to the increasing communalization of our polity and society.

What makes you think that the ‘cap’ wallahs exercise a great deal of influence within the community? Interestingly, one particular party has been lately seeking a lot of photo-ops with precisely these kinds of community leaders. Make no mistake Mr. Writer. They don’t.

 

“Because of you”, you write castigating an imagined Muslim leadership, “people feel we vote in a herd.” Now, isn't that really clever, Mr. Bhagat. People feel we vote in a herd because certain parties never tire of screaming hoarse about ‘minority appeasement’ and ‘vote banks’, even though, any psephologist or political scientist, or even an ordinary Muslim youth at Chai dukaan will tell you that Muslims vote just like any other community does: according to a mix of factors: local, national but above all, keeping in mind who will preserve their interests best. And their interests do tend to include the safety of life and livelihood. 

We are sorry, Mr. Bhagat, but the ‘’democratic republic’’ you talk of is not so democratic. If it were so, Afzal Guru wouldn’t have been executed to ‘’satisfy the collective conscience of the nation’’. Muslim youth would not have fallen prey to minority witch-hunting, and their killers not decorated with gallantry awards. Adivasis in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa would not have been ripped of their fundamental rights to live with dignity. Dalit poets would not have been falsely charged under sedition laws.

Loving one’s nation is well and good, but being blinded by patriotism is not. Why do Indian Muslims always have to prove their allegiance to India? Why can’t they also be critical of their country?

The party whose path you are treading has had Indian Muslims pass through too many Sita-like ordeals of fire, Agni Pariksha.  You may have the privilege to turn a blind eye to the post-Babri Masjid Demolition violence, the Gujarat pogrom, but many others don’t. How then do you think a leader who doesn’t even have the integrity to apologize for his complicity in the Gujarat pogrom represent Muslim youth’s aspirations for ‘’scientific way of thinking, entrepreneurship, empowerment, progress’’ and above all, ‘’personal freedoms’’? And just by the way, have you heard of the word, ‘Justice’?

 

Sd/-

Name          Profession      City (State)

1. Rafiul Alom Rahman, Student, Delhi University, Delhi
2. Mahtab Alam, Civil Rights Activist and Journalist, Delhi
3. Javid Parsa, Student, Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad
4. Zulaikha Jabeen, Researcher and Activist, Raipur, Chhattisgarh
5. Shahnawaz Malik, Journalist, Delhi
6. Abdullah A Rahman, Student, TISS Tuljapur
7. Abu Zafar, Journalist, Delhi
8. Sadika Saiyed, Law Student, Surat
9. Omar Rashid, Journalist, Allahabad
10. Imran Ali, Filmmaker, Delhi
11. Rashid Hussain, Software Engineer, Jaipur
12. Mahtab Azad, Development Consultant, Araria (Bihar)
13. Ali Amir, Student, TISS Mumbai
14. Gauhar Iqbal, Entrepreneur, Delhi
15. Bilal Kagzi, Advocate, Surat
16. Imran Khan, Journalist, Bangalore
17. Nesar Ahmad, Researcher, Jaipur    
18. Aasiya Aslam, Architect, Chennai
19. Saif Khan, Student, IIT Kharagpur
20. Ejaz Ahmad, Student IIT Delhi
21. Mohd Tanveer Iqbal, Civil Rights Activist, Chennai
22. Mohammad Noor Alam, Medical Student, Bagalkot
23. Khan Rashid Ayyub, Legal Translator, Azamgarh
24. Tariq Shabibi, Software Engineer, Hyderabad
25. Naim Siddiqui, Marketing Professional, Gurgaon 
26. Shahid Parwez Saiyyad, Entrepreneur, Mumbai
27. Yuman Hussain, Social Activist, Kishanganj (Bihar)
28. Mansoor Ali, Network Administrator, Vellor, Tamilnadu
29. Mohammad Altamash, Operation Manager, Gurgaon
30. Naveed Hasan, Software Engineer, Bangalore
31. Syed Hassan Kazim, Journalist, New Delhi
32. Shehla Rashid, Policy Analyst, J & K
33. Abul Kalam Azad, Student, TISS Guwahati
34. Tasneem Khan, Assistant Professor, Galgotias University, Noida
35. Najmul Huda, Research Scholar, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi 
36. Dayam Anwar, Accountant, New Delhi
37. Shahrukh Hameed, Asst Bank Manager, Lucknow 
38. Mohammad Rafiq Mulla, Web Developer, New Delhi
39. Ershad Ahmad, Development Consultant, New Delhi 
40. Shoaib Mohammad, Student, Bangalore University
41. Faraz Ahmad, Business Executive, Mumbai
42. Sikandar Azam, Journalist, Delhi
43. Tarique Shafeeq, Activist, Azamgarh
44. Rabab Iman, Social Worker, Delhi
45. Najid Hussain, Scientist, Indian based in USA
46. Sana Maryam, Writer, New Delhi
47. Sadiq Naqvi, Journalist, New Delhi
48. Md. Zaurez Danish, Mechanical Engineer, Manipal
49. Ovais Sultan Khan, Social Worker, Delhi
50. Saleha Tahseen, Corporate Trainer, Bangalore
51. Syed Zameer Hasan, Software Engineer, Mumbai
52. Mohd. Jalauddin, Executive with Coal India, Maharashtra
53. Malik Abid Rasool, Student, Amar Singh College, Sri Nagar
54. Mohd. Imran, Real Estate Appraiser, Indian based in New Jersey
55. Sahil Rafiq, Student, Kashmir University
56. Younis Altaf, Student, Hyderabad
57. Javed Iqbal, Corporate Employee, Hyderabad
58.  Zoha Khan, Student, Dehradun
59.  Irfan Hashmee, Student, Hyderabad
60. Md. Ali, Journalist, Delhi
61. Saira Manzoor, Homemaker, Kolkata
62. Shafaque alam, Journalist, Delhi
63. Afreen Khan, Student, Dehradun
64. Afroz Alam, Journalist, Delhi
65. Mazin Khan, Publisher, New Delhi
66. Mohd. Reyaz, Journalist, Delhi
67. S M Fasihullah, Freelance Journalist, Hyderabad
68. Zoha Abdul, Student, DU
69. Tarique Anwar, Journalist, Delhi
70. Mohammad Muneeb, Private Employee, Kohir, AP
71. Areeb Rizvi, Student, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi
72. Ufaq Paiker, Research Scholar, JNU
73. Sania Mariam, Student, Kolkata  
74. Ayesha Farooq, Student, DU
75. Falak Khan, Student, Bangalore
76. Sarah Jameel, Student, Doon University, Uttarakhand
77. Talha Hussain, Software Engineer , Gulbarga Karnataka
78. Maheboob Shahana , Student ,Jamia Millia Islamia Delhi
79. Abdul Haadi, MA Sociology , Kottayam Kerala
80. Waseem Ahmed , Circulation Executive, Hapur (U.P)
81. Atiya Firdaus, Student Activist, Kota Rajasthan.
82. Abdul Raheem, Procurement Manager, Bangalore Karnataka.
83.  Imran Ahmed, Real-Estate Developer, Kota Rajasthan
84. Inam ur Rehman , student ,Delhi University ,Delhi
85. Md Khalid , Ph.D Scholar Jamia Milliya Islamia, Delhi
86. Ubaidurrehman, Ph.D Student ,JNU Delhi
87. Shuaib PV , Student activist ,Kerala
88. Ts Amanullah , Engineering Student Chennai Tamilnadu
89. Riaz Ahmed, Law Student Chennai TamilNadu
90. Aminulislam , Political Activist Murshidabad West Bengal
91. Danish Raza, Journalist, Delhi
92. Sharib Zeya, Research Fellow, Delhi School of Economics 
93. Nizamuddin Ajmeri , Social Worker , Bundi Rajasthan
94. Jeelani Basha, Software Engineer Poona.
95. Kosar Jahan , Student Activist , Kota Rajasthan
96. Lukhmanul Hakeem , Student Activist , Edappal Kerala
97. Abdul Raheem Mulla, Corporator GCC, Gulbarga Karnataka.
98. P.Abdulnazar , Student activist , Vengara Kerala
99. P Niyaz , Photo Journalist , Chennai TamilNadu
100. Naveed Parsa, Engineering Student, Chandigarh 
101. Haseena Khatoon , Teacher Chennai Tamil Nadu
102. Anjumand Ara, Teacher, Delhi University
103. Ziyaullah , Political Activist Chennai Tamil Nadu
104. Umer Farooq, Engineer, Punjab
105. Saquib Ahmed, Advocate, Ahmadabad
106. Mohammad Syeduddin, Student, Patna
107. Parvez Bari, Journalist, Bhopal
108. Shayed Sayeed, Software Engineer, Ahmadabad
109. Zafar Mohammed, Business Executive, Mumbai
110. Mohammad Saif, Journalist, Cuttack, Orissa
111. Tauseef Ahmad, Technocrat, Delhi
112. Mohd. Zakaria Siddiqui, Researcher, Indian currently in Australia
113. Haseeb Mustafa Alvi, Engineer, Delhi
114. Mohd Aarif Khan, Systems Engineer, Mumbai
115. Fazal Ahmad, Advocate, New Delhi
116. Qazi Sadaff Rehan, Student, Bhadrak, Orissa
117. Aarif  Khan, Assistant Professor, Indian currently in Riyadh
118. Faisal Iqbal, Electronics Engineer, New Delhi
119. Pervez Chaudhary, Student, AMU, Aligarh
120. Fehmeena Ahmad, Activist, Delhi
121. Mohd. Yousuf, Student, Chennai
122. Mohd Abdul Rasheed, IT Manager, Hyderabad
123. Moosa Azmi, Activist, Varanasi
124. Saman Roohi, Phd Candidate, Indian currently at Amsterdam
125. Dr. Uzma, Medical Practitioner, Mysore
126. Musab Iqbal, Writer-Poet, Bangalore   
127. Dr. Zaheer Ahmed, Neurologist, Chennai
128. Adnan Farooqui, Academic, Delhi
129. Farhatullah Khan, Research Scholar, University of Madras
130. Munawwar Kavungal, Trichur, Kerala
131. Nasiruddin Khan Haider, Journalist   
132. Muneebuudin, Advocate, Hyderabad
133. Samiullah Khan, Quality Control Manager, Bangalore
134. Mohd Saif, IT Engineer, Kareem Nagar, AP
135. K T Hafis, Student, Jamia Millia Islamia
136. Fawaz Shaeen, Law Student, AMU, Aligarh  
137. Shihab Khan, Civil Engineer, Bhopal 
138. Abdul Raheem Kaiser, Student, BITS Hyderabad
139. Salima Aarif, Blogger, New Delhi
140. Abdullah, Teacher, West Bengal
141. Azhar Khan, Advocate, Jalgaon, Maharashtra
142. Syed Salman Ali, Law Student, AMU
143. Waseem Siddiqi, Entrepreneur, Delhi 
144. Parvin Sultana, Research Scholar, JNU
145. Kashif Ilyas, Student, Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh
146. Riad Azam, Student, Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh
147. Imran Kichloo, Student, Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh
148. Ameen Ahmed, Student, Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh
149. Roshan U. Alam, Civil Services aspirant, Delhi
150. Shaheen Ahmed, Performance Artist, Delhi
151. Mohd Arif Dagia, LIC Agent, Raipu, CG
152. S M Zaki Ahmad, Development Professional, Delhi
153. Ahmar Afaq, Law Student, Saharanpur, UP
154. Muhammed Imtiyaz Ahmed, IT Consultant, Delhi
155. Memon Junaid, Dentist, Ahmedabad
156. Omair Anas, Researcher, JNU
157. Mukkaram Niyaz, Web Developer, Hyderabad
158. Imran Khan, Journalist, Noida
159. Zaheer Hussain, Journalist, Bangalore
160. S. Mohd Saim, Advocate, Rampur, UP
161. Md Iqbal, Engineer, Ranchi
162. Mohd Sajjad Hussain, Student, Delhi School of Economics
163. Syed Humayoun Shabir, Research Scholar, AMU
164. Fairoz Ahmed, Software Engineer, Bangalore
165. Moinuddin Ahmad, Journalist, Delhi
166. Yasir Iqbal, Engineering Student, AMU
167. Faheem Ahmad, Planning Engineer, Vellore
168. Abbas Hasan, Marketing Professional, Delhi
169. Sadiq Umar, Young Scientist, Delhi
170. Sarfaraz Nawaz, Consultant, Bangalore
171. Shahnawaz Akhtar, Journalist, Delhi
172. Rabia Khan, Marketing Consultant, Lucknow
173. Rasshad Khan, Technology Entrepreneur, Noida
174. Abdullah Azzam, Law Student, Faculty of Law, AMU
175. Meher Jahan, Law Student, Faculty of Law, AMU
176. Sarah Hashim, Law Student, Faculty of Law, AMU
177. Anam Khan, Law Student, Faculty of Law, A M U
178. Sheeba Aslam Fehmi, Writer-Activist, Delhi
179. John Dayal, Member, National Integration Council, GoI
180. Anuradha Bhasin, Journalist, Jammu
181. Preeti Sampat, Researcher, Delhi
182. Sukla Sen, Activist, Mumbai
183. Brijesh Kalappa, Advocate, Delhi  
184. Archana VB, Software Professional 
185. Smita Charbarty, Phd Scholar, Kolkata
186. Himanshu Kumar, Activist, Delhi
187. Faisal Ahmed Khan, Assistant Professor, Kerala
188. Brinda Bose, Teacher, Delhi University
189. Akshay Pathak, Writer, Pondicherry
190. Neha Misra, Student, IMT Ghaziabad
191. Shehba George, Activist, Ahmadabad
192. Imran Khan, Educator, Aligarh
193. Faisal Khan, Advocate, Meerut

194.                      Clifton D' Rozario, Advocate, Banglore

 

195. Masihuddin, Pharmacist, Betiah, Bihar
196. Aftab Fazil, Educationist, Delhi   
197. Nandini Rao, Activist, Delhi
198. Dr. Aurobindo Ghose, Advocate, Delhi
199. Asgar Hussain, Bank PO, Delhi
200. Dr. Aslam Rizvi, Medical Practitioner, Delhi
201. Naaz Khair, development consultant, Delhi
202. Garga Chatarjee, Columnist, Kolkata
203. Menu Seshu, Activist, Shangli
204. Nitya Vasudevan, Research Scholar, Bangalore
205. Rukmini Sen, Journalist, Mumbai
206. Vimochana, Women Rights Activist, Bangalore
207. Shraddha Chickerur, Delhi
208. Girish Pannikkar, Accounts Manager, Kerala
209. Aruna Ganadason, Christian Feminist, Kerala
210. Ms Jarjum Ete, activist, Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh
211. Navneet Shrivastava, Mumbai
212. Dr. Shelly Dahiya, New Delhi
213. Himadri Sekhar Mistri, Research Scholar, Delhi School of Economics
214. Soma Marik, Visiting Professor, School of Women's Studies, Jadavpur University
215. Sudipto Muhri, Assistant Professor, Pune University
216. Kalyani Menon,  Feminist, Gurgaon 

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