The Day of the Jackals

Rarely has radicalism been so crystallized in government policy and conspectus so obviously extending into public life and also echoing in international relations as of now. PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Dubai mosque in August, his rock concert style of address, and the humongous NRIs jubilation is better left for a sedate analysis. However the implications are multifarious. It was Rashtrya Swayamsevak Sangh pracharak and secretary Narendra Modi who had masterminded the launch of the chariot ride across the country of LK Advani and Pramod Mahajan for building a temple for Lord Ram. It was a foregone conclusion that the temple could come up only after razing the structure of the Babri mosque. The chariot ride of Advani started from Somnath on September 25, 1989 with Modi and Mahajan in the front. Advani said: “Somnath is the living symbol of the assault on temples and shrines of an ancient nation by Islamic invaders.” It was Modi who wanted it to begin from Somnath. When PM VP Singh came to power in Delhi he accepted the recommendations of Mandal Commission. Within no time Modi as secretary of RSS made the pivotal move of the chariot ride for temple and initiated attack on what is communalism and secularism. Women would mark the forehead of Advani, Modi and others with their own blood for the cause of the temple. When Bihar chief minister ordered the arrest of Advani, Modi declared the whole last week in October as “the week of determination” in Ahmadabad. It paralleled the assassination of Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984 which was the cause of the pogroms on Sikhs. As a consequence riots broke out and 200 people lost their lives, “one person in Gujarat played an extremely zealous role, Narendra Modi” [1] . This was the culmination of how Advani and Modi had radicalized the situation in Gujarat by foregrounding Muslims as the “other”, the enemy of Hindus. However the United Arab Emirate tergiversated all that. To the amazement of the world and especially Hindus of the subcontinent it was a bolt from blue that UAE would set aside land for the temple. And what is even greater consternation that Modi would speak of it in the same breath a warning to Pakistan for its terrorist ill repute. What a subtle face makeover of the mukhota or mask of Modi whom Karan Thappar had called mass murderer and prodded him over the need to address this issue. In even 2007 this stark stigma de-hydrated the Gujarat chief minister and abruptly terminated the interview. In contrast the same man held his sway in Abu Dubai ala MSG that is Madison Square Garden address. He drew thunderous applause over expressing gratitude over the donation of the land for temple. It was so loud like a tectonic shift that even the ISIL would be staggered. The launching of the juggernaut for building Ram temple on the site of Babri mosque was the revisionist movement. The revisionists in LK Advani, Narendra Modi or Bal Thackeray have a streak of schizophrenia in asserting right of the original owner to possess or succeed to property that they still imagine their own. In doing so the lapse of time and existing status ownership according to record cannot atrophy their inveterate belief in their past. To reverse the present situation or de facto state of existence or ownership becomes a ruling passion. Cooking up excuses to achieve that aim is tantamount to appropriating illogicality. In the present situation it has become self justificatory new normal. Be this as giving consent to the majority community to vent their worked up anger, or teaching the minority their place in the new set up or making out claim on basis of faith of ownership of land from the limbo of time immemorial are instances of radicalism. They are instances of a break from the existing situation or facts for a new set of reality which militates against morality or sober thinking. This state of radicalism is so subtle that it has been given respectability. What happened in 1992, in 2002 or in the revival of Shiv Jayanti in 1960s celebration or distorting the Prophet’s humane demeanor in showing genuine concern for the health of a woman who had been throwing dirt at him to lording over it to summoning his service for a non believer person howsoever powerful is radical in essence. In contrast is the sober and the moderate man who does want change but not over the heads of everyone in such a rude manner as to cause injury to feeling or sensibility of anyone. Vice President Hamid Ansari ruled out radicalism when he spoke on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Majlis-e-Mushawarat of Muslims’ attempt to solve their grievances and problems. They are discriminated against but the path should be “a resolution of this dilemma by devising a form and content of agitation which heals old wounds and inflicts no new ones.” Or if the “problem”(s) “of Indian democracy” (is/are) “to be resolved” (they should be resolved) “within the framework of national integration." The VP was clearly referring to the gravamen of the plight of Muslims and the rights enshrined in the Constitution of India for the people of the republic and said that the Sachar commission “specified the development deficits of the majority of Muslims in regard to education, livelihood and access to public services and the employment market across the states.” “In the same vein, Expert Group reports were prepared in 2008 on the need to develop a Diversity Index and establish an Equal Opportunity Commission. “Taken together, these and other studies bring forth sufficient evidence to substantiate the view that "inequality traps prevent the marginalised and work in favour of the dominant groups in society". He also cites the Kundu report of 2014 “development for the Muslim minority must be built on a bed-rock of a sense of security." “It is evident from this compendium of official reports that the principal problems confronting India's Muslims relate to: identity and security; education and empowerment; equitable share in the largesse of the state; and fair share in decision making. Each of these is a right of the citizen. The shortcomings in regard to each have been analyzed threadbare. The challenge before us today is to develop strategies and methodologies to address them. “The default by the State or its agents in terms of deprivation, exclusion and discrimination (including failure to provide security) is to be corrected by the State; this needs to be done at the earliest and appropriate instruments developed for it. Political sagacity, the imperative of social peace, and public opinion play an important role in it. Experience shows that the corrective has to be both at the policy and the implementation levels; the latter, in particular, necessitates mechanisms to ensure active cooperation of the State governments. “The official objective of sab ka sath sab ke vikas is commendable; a pre-requisite for this is affirmative action (where necessary) to ensure a common starting point and an ability in all to walk at the required pace. (emphasis added)This ability has to be developed through individual, social and governmental initiatives that fructify on the ground. Programmes have been made in abundance; the need of the hour is their implementation.” Thus Ansari was speaking within the frame work of the statutory bodies established by the Central government and their recommendations and also within the ambit of the PM Narendra Modi’s dictum of everyone together in the development of India. He stated a fact: that affirmative action is a key to development of the Muslims. It was not even a recommendation. He dilated more on the autonomous works that Muslim community members ought to undertake for their development. [see Full text: Affirmative action for Muslims is key to development, says Vice President Hamid Ansari] There is not even a remote hint of sedition on his part. However whenever there has been any move for the amelioration of the Muslims Bal Thackeray [when he was alive], BJP, RSS and VHP see sedition. In contrast what Thackeray, Advani, Modi did was more violent agitation and outlawry. In no way does this mean that all the Hindus are wrong or violent like them. To get back to the present a detour in a flash back shows continuing radicalism. This is through the Kashmir valley. The situation in Kashmir valley has never been as bleak as today. 1989 is much far back in history, albeit the policy of governor Jagmohan has come home to roost. He not only induced the minority Pandits to migrate by offering them government largess but even gave them transport facility and thus accentuated the communal divide rather than bridging it. Simultaneously the even more minuscule Muslims, who braved all odds to live a decent and safe life in Delhi and elsewhere fared worst, became suspect terrorists in the eyes of the rest of the country. This structured bias persists. So, the walnut tree grows through the windows and cracks in the walls of the deserted houses. Basically the human situation in the valley and of the Pandits who left it is existential as well as political. Stark realities include Srinager being one of the dirtiest cities in the world. India shining has left it far behind. The valley is no Gaza and yet nothing was rushed to it to make amends and ameliorate the situation. Among the most common human development index is the job situation. Muslims have fared the worst during Hindu, British or Indian rule. Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, no exception as he also failed to get a government job despite a master’s degree in science: “Why Muslims were singled out for such treatment. We constituted the majority and contributed the most towards the state’s revenues, still we were continually oppressed…Was it because a majority of Government servants were non-Muslims?..I concluded that the ill treatment of Muslims was an outcome of religious prejudice.” [2]Has the situation changed in the first decade of the 21st century? In 1988 this writer was in the valley for three weeks and had to cash traveler’s cheques and do shopping. Government jobs in banks and revenue departments and elsewhere were almost to the last man staffed by Hindus. At one time curiosity drove him to humouredly ask why so. The bank official was having a plate of bhajiya and a cup of tea with fellow staff members. Some of them turned to the interlocutor. The concerned officer offered bhajiya as a reply! Earlier in June 2010 the Prime Ministe Manmohan Singh made a visit to Kashmir and spoke in polite Urdu that getting a job was tough indeed for the people there. It would be untrue to say that the Kashmiri do not qualify. Justine Hardy in her new book In the Valley of Mist says about Kashmir: “its children (are) the most highly educated in the country because of the Central Government’s attempt to buy the love of the Kashmiri people, spending more on state education than in any other part of India. “It meant that they had been sowing one of the main crops of rebellion themselves, producing thousands of graduate full of ambition but very little employment to temper their expectations.”[3] Prime Minister Manmohan Singh confirmed the paucity of jobs, electricity; ration shops, roads, drinking water and infrastructure in the valley when he addressed the students on June 7, 2010 in Srinager. “I can imagine the disillusionment of those who have received education in premier institutions like the Sher-e-Kashmir University and yet cannot find good employment… “Hamare naujawan hamaare mulk ka mustaqbil hain. Hamein apne naujawanon se bahut badi umeedein hain,” “where Kashmiri youth can find lots of avenues for their ‘zahni (psychological), jazbaati (emotional) and peshawarana (professional) taraqqi”. “Main jaanta hoon ki behtareen taaleem haasil karne ke baad bhi kam mauqe milne se kis qadr maayoosi hoti hai.”[4] The Prime Minister said that he is aware of the disappointment and desperation of the young on account of unemployment in Kashmir and also acknowledges that he would like to create situations where the psychological, emotional and professional development would be possible for the young. But the stark reality is different. The boys are falling victim to the bullets of the troops while going to tuition, playing in stadium or lawns, farming or simply found in seal and search operation and driven to the border and shot! Or has the threat of Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray’s letter delivered to the Prime Minister by his son Udhav Thackeray on September 13, 2007 also come home to roost? He had held out a threat if jobs were to be given to Muslims under the recommendations of Sachar committee it would be tantamount to another partition of the country! Through a civil war?[5] It is strange that the scholarships and money given for the development of all minorities including Muslims would lead to another Pakistan but not the same facilities to other minorities would lead to further splintering of the country. It is plausible to recall President Barack Obama warning of India being more splintered. “India will succeed so long as it is not splintered along the lines of religious faith.” “In India and America, our diversity is our strength,” Mr. Obama said. “We have to guard against dividing ourselves along sectarian lines.” ““Every person has the right to practice their faith how they choose or to practice no faith at all and to do so free from persecution.” [6] It is remarkable admonition after two days of Obama’s visit to India during the Republic Day 2015. How soon have everyone including Modi forgotten as the RSS meeting in Delhi was underway on September 3- 5, 2015 with the PM and his cabinet in attendance what VP Ansari said on August 31, 2015! The rage of the speakers is against VP’s statement that the key to development of Muslims lies in affirmative action! Little did the Viswa Hindu Parishad bother to look into the real substance of “category differentiations” Ansari had in his mind. He was not asking for affirmative action on the basis of his location in religion. Not for all members of his community but for the most wretched among all the minorities including Muslims. In what way it could “push Muslims in dark alleys whose consequences will be dangerous”? [7] Why does the VHP generalize danger to all the Muslims when Ansari did not mean the whole community of Muslims? How could Ansari’s speech be “rank communal statement”? If VHP is eyeing the constitutional rights that Muslims enjoy more in India than in any other country, why then is their security not a matter of concern after what they have gone through? In 1960s, in 1980s, 1990s and 2002. The Jangh Sangh leader Subramanium Swamy has expressed the sophistry of the RSS as is his wont. Eight hundred years of Muslim rule in India and two hundred years of rule of the British are not only contrasted as cruel suppression of Hindus by Moghal followed by two hundred years of enlightened rule of the white. The white man’s rule brought prosperity to India. So, goes the quaint logic, why should India then give reservation to Muslims? This is only badgering to keep oneself in public eye. But Ram Madhav’s insistence that every Indian should be given reservation must take into consideration the past. In 1950 the president of India passed an ordinance to give reservations to Dalits of Hindu origin, the Christians and Muslims were excluded. Today the slide of Muslims in backwardness and wretchedness has gone so deep that only affirmative action can ameliorate the situation. The situation in the country is fraught with danger even for VP Hamid Ansari. Already there are people who attempted to kill him, even their names are known unlike the novel The Day of the Jackal where the real name of would be assassin of General De Gaul remains a mystery even after his death. Dr RP Singh the most virulently radical in Abhinav Bharat claims to have carried petrol to burn him alive and there was Sunil Joshi and his module who kept watch on Justice UC Bnerjee and Ansari for killing them even then no action has been taken against them. The Jackals of India have greater prerogative and position than that of the British and the French. Hemant Karkare was going to arrest Shyam Apte but was cut down in the track. Was he victim of Jackals outsourcing other Jackals assignment to kill by making the case more recondite to decipher? In his Kaul memorial lecture VP Ansari had underlined the need to have a parliamentary supervisory body to monitor intelligence gathering. Some of the Jackals may not even like this constraint. President De Gaul was targeted for giving freedom to Algeria. VP Ansari is not asking for freedom for anyone. It was not the entire French Muslim minority which was threatened or beleaguered at any time. The Gujjars, the Jats, the Patels and the Marathas who are clamouring for OBC status and have caused riots as in 1969 and in more recent times have been more assertive. The extremists among Hindus have suffered them tacitly. ----- [1] Kinshuk Nag. The Namo Story, A Political Life. Delhi Roli Books(2013) p. 56 [2]Ajit Bhattachariya, Kashmir: the wounded valley (New Delhi: UBS, 1994) p.67. [3]Justine Hardy, In the valley of mist (London: Rider, 2009) p.27. [4]“Tarraqi, kaamyaabi..”PM prays in Urdu for Kashmirs. Irna, June 7th, 2010. [5]Thackeray’s Letter. Saamna September 13, 2007. [6]http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2015/01/27/obama-india-can-only-succeed-if-it-doesnt-split-on-religious-lines/ http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/obama-message-siri-fort-india-succeed-splintered-religious-lines/1/415530.html [7] Asian Age September 2, 2015