President of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Uttar Pradesh (West), MAULANA INAMULLAH ISLAHI shared his perspective on the recent political trends in Uttar Pradesh, the fallout of hate campaign and communal riots and the JIH efforts to bridge the trust deficit through communal harmony campaign, in an interview with MOHAMMAD NAUSHAD KHAN.
What happened in Uttar Pradesh that changed the mind of people towards Samajwadi Party during bye-elections if we compare with the outcome of the Lok Sabha polls?
The people of Uttar Pradesh have now realised the Saffron agenda when the BJP began to spread the hate campaign through hate speeches. The responsible people of Uttar Pradesh got the idea of the motives of the BJP. Uttar Pradesh is well known to have led the country through the ages and the people by and large perceived that the BJP is trying to give our country a different direction which could be dangerous and create animosity among communities. The consciously awakened people of Uttar Pradesh remained informed and were aware of the fast changing political scenario in the country. Initially, when the Bahujan Samajwadi Party decided not to field candidates, it appeared that the very decision might go in favour of the BJP. But what happened was that all secular votes or anti-BJP votes went in the kitty of the Samajwadi Party. And that is why BJP suffered huge loss during the bye-elections. The verdict gave a positive signal that people in Uttar Pradesh are not communal and by voting maturely gave signals that they want the peaceful atmosphere to prevail in the state and across India. What BJP said during the election campaign and in its manifesto and what they did on the ground was almost opposite and that could be the reason for its loss in Uttar Pradesh bye-elections.
What was the impact of the JIH communal harmony campaign in the state?
After the declaration of communal harmony campaign in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana and Delhi, we met people during this campaign and what we found that the people were highly appreciative and said the JIH initiative was the need of the hour. They extended full cooperation and co-ordinated with us throughout this campaign. The campaign also passed through Muzaffarnagar, Meerut and Saharanpur and these are the places where riots took place. In Saharanpur, we visited many places along with Ameer Jamaat, Engineer Mohammad Salim and others. There, the intellectual, including some professors and academicians of colleges and those from history and sociology background discussed the situation openly and freely. They categorically said that the societal bonding between the communities is age-old and that they won’t allow anti-social elements to break the decade’s long rapport and cordial relations between the communities.
The impression gathered in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand was that there are only few who want to harm and destroy the peace and tranquillity in the country. The non-Muslims are now more aware of the divisive nature of the BJP than the Muslims and have now realised the hidden agenda. At most places where riots had erupted, the JIH along with like-minded people from other communities have decided to establish Sadbhawana Manch and in some places it has been already formed upon the initiatives of other religious communities and very soon the Sadbhawana Manch will be formed in almost all important cities and towns. The campaign has developed a positive change in the minds of the people which can be gauged from the fact that the president of Rampur Vyapar Mandal, after participating in the programme, was so impressed that he himself announced to hold even bigger programmes next time to support the campaign. The print media, ETV, ZEE SALAM and some local channels covered our programmes during the campaign.
Have you observed any change in Samajwadi Party particularly after the Muzaffarnagar riots?
Yes, there have been some changes in its approach because nowadays the party is tacking some farsighted decisions with much deliberations and strategy. Samajwadi Party Chief Mulayam Singh is now giving more time to Uttar Pradesh. But this change in the party is not as anticipated because the party has not yet transformed itself the way people had expected after the Muzaffarnagar riots. There is a feeling among the people that the Samajwadi Party failed to take action against divisive elements the way it was required to be. And its response against hate speeches was not satisfactory.
What kind of impact the Yogi factor, hate speeches and rhetoric behind love jihad had on UP politics during bye-elections?
The built-up of hate campaign had negative impact on the BJP and thereby these votes consolidated against the BJP and fell into the bag of Samajwadi Party. The atmosphere evolved out of hate campaign harmed the BJP and helped the Samajwadi Party to a greater extent. I was in constant touch with the media at that point of time. In Bijnore, after meeting with a large numbers of representatives from different media houses and some editors, we came to realise that responsible citizens have realised the motives of the BJP and will not get carried away or fall in their trap. Some journalists listed out the names of people from media fraternity and people within the BJP to have married with people from other religions and termed the love-jihad as a baseless and misleading campaign aimed only at dividing the society and communities. These people asserted their feelings from the JIH stage and it appears that some in the media fraternity are also aware of the sinister design behind the love-jihad campaign.
Very recently, Kanchi Shankaracharya talked to AIMPLB member Maulana Khalid Rashid Firangi Mahali to find out solution of Babri Masjid dispute through dialogue. Do you think at this juncture any solution is possible through dialogue?
The amicable solution of Babri Masjid through dialogue at this juncture does not appear to be feasible because if the motives of the talks are to impose the decision of any solution on Muslims then it cannot be acceptable. But if they are willing to talk on the genuine stand as far as the position of Muslims are concerned and they are ready to give Muslims what they deserve then I think there could be a meaningful dialogue between the stakeholders. It is less likely that Muslims will be allowed to have their right and therefore I don’t think it will serve any purpose. But that does not mean that efforts should not be made to find solutions. The efforts must go on; may be at one point they would realise that it belongs to Muslims and it should be handed over to them.
The statement of Meerut girl was used to build up the entire love-jihad campaign. Now the girl herself has retracted from her earlier statement. Your comments?
Right from the beginning, some people presented the case before the media in a distorted and wrong manner and kept people in the dark about the real issue and the motives behind the conspiracy. The administration already cleared that it was not the case as made out to be. And now the girl herself has divulged the truth and the conspiracy theory. In all cases, towards the end it has been turned out to be false. But the unfortunate part is that when the truth comes out, the very issue does not get the time and space in media it deserves in order to repair the damage already done to the Muslim community. In most of the cases, false and fabricated theories have been spread to defame the entire Muslim community and when truth is out, it is exactly the opposite of what was aired or spread so vociferously.