Ankit
Saxena, a twenty three year old young man, was killed by the family of
his fiancée, whom he intended to marry. The only son of his parents
Ankit was looking at different religious communities with equal respect.
His death was a shattering blow to his parents. We watched in great
admiration that Yashpal Saxena, the heartbroken father, refused to
communalize the issue while rightly asking for the guilty to be
punished, and the blame of this sectarian insanity of the girls’ family
should not be put upon the whole community. His father has now taken
upon himself to commemorate the memory of his son by setting up a Trust,
which will basically strive to work for ‘Aman’ [peace and harmony]. Its
special focus will be to help those who want to marry out of their
religion or caste.
In
another touching case a grieving father refused to blame the whole
community for the death of his son. Maulana Imdadul Rashidi, whose 16
year old son was killed in the violence triggered by Ram Navami
processions across the state (WB), Maulana is Imam of a mosque in
Asansol. While presiding over the meeting he appealed for peace and
warned the assembly that he would leave the mosque and the town if there
was any retaliation for his son’s death.
These
are two glorious examples of the humane spirit of India. While on one
side communal violence has been going on an upward spiral, the
sensitive, concerned activists and citizens are at loss to plan for the
future in a way which can strengthen the spirit of amity and harmony.
While India’s medieval period saw the interaction for Hindus and Muslims
at all the levels, from among the King’s Courts and their armies, the
social interaction was marked by what we remember today as Ganga Jumni
Tehjeeb, a synonym for Hindu Muslim interaction. This phrase is
particularly applied for the North India, Ganges belt, where Bhakti and
Sufi traditions peaked, where interaction in the arena of music,
literature, architecture and food habits showed the bonding of the two
communities. In the din of today’s “hate other’’ sentiments, we need to
remember Gandhi, who in his book Hind Swaraj tells us about the social
and political interaction between Hindus and Muslims, “The
Hindus flourished under Moslem sovereigns and Moslems under the Hindu.
Each party recognized that mutual fighting was suicidal, and that
neither party would abandon its religion by force of arms. Both parties,
therefore, decided to live in peace. With the English advent quarrels
recommenced… Should we not remember that many Hindus and Mohammedans own
the same ancestors and the same blood runs through their veins? Do
people become enemies because they change their religion? Is the God of
the Mohammedan different from the God of the Hindu? Religions are
different roads converging to the same point. What does it matter that
we take different roads so long as we reach the same goal? Wherein is
the cause of quarreling?”
On
similar lines Nehru in his “Discovery of India” outlines the thick
Hindu Muslim interaction during medieval period. Incidentally, Shyam
Benegal's classic serial based on this book is a brilliant depiction of
Indian culture. It is true that during freedom struggle three types of
nationalisms emerged, the one led by Gandhi-Nehru-Patel, Indian
Nationalism Indian National Congress, INC), another led by Mohammad Ali
Jinnah (Muslim Nationalism and its opposite and parallel with Savarkar
and RSS in the lead, Hindu nationalism. While INC stood for people of
all religions being part of the nation in the making Muslim Nationalism
talked of the glories of Muslim kings and Muslims being a separate
nation, Hindu Mahsabha-RSS talked that this nation is essentially a
Hindu nation. This communal nationalism’s constructed their histories
and laid the foundation for ‘Hate other’. It is this misconception-Hate
other which became the foundation of communal violence, then
polarization then rise of communal parties on electoral arena. It is due
to this polarization that Muslim League started getting larger
following among Muslims in the decade of 1940s. While Hindu communalism,
particularly in the form of RSS, made structures, Shakhas, to spread
their version of history and perceptions against minorities.
What
we witnessing today is the crescendo of ‘Hate other’ ideology, ghastly
violence as witnessed in Mumbai (1992-93), Gujarat (2002)
Kandhmal-Orissa 2008, Muzzafarnagar 2013 in particular. Currently it
seems the polarization is being achieved through low intensity violence
orchestrated on emotive issues, Ram Temple, Love Jihad, Holy Cow,
‘Bharat mata ki jai’ among others. While on one side the polarization
and electoral rise of communal party is going up, people like Yashpal
Saxena and Maulana Rashidi stand out as the beacon lights for the
nation. In Gujarat we had earlier seen Vasant Rao Hegiste and Rajab Ali
as the duo that stood against the violence. In Mumbai violence in the
1992-93 there were many from localities who tried to do their bit to
build the bridges of peace. One recalls the duo Waqar khan-Bhau Korde,
in Dharavi area of Mumbai who through awareness programs, films tried to
ensure peace in the aftermath of Mumbai violence.
It
is time that society devices programs which carry forward the works of
these Peaceniks, the work which reaches the ground and touches the cord
between all the communities to bring back the spirit of amity and peace,
to bring back the harmony which marked Indian society. We need to
recall the efforts of like of Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, Maulana Abul Kalam
Azad and their role in anti colonial struggles. These are just few of
the names, there are many such examples which we need to pay tribute to
for a better spirit in our society.
