Pawar Powers Truth against Unjust Arrest

Truth remains truth even if it is said for some opportunistic political gains. The politicians would love to speak the truth when political benefits look ahead. Political narratives are fashioned depending on the exigencies of the situation. The virtue of necessity does not turn it into vice.  NCP supremo Sharad Pawar’s delayed response to the alleged illegal detention of Muslim youths in the name of combating terror is read in terms of political opportunism to harvest the Muslim vote bank in 2017 Mumbai Municipal Corporation election and other local body elections.
Pawar tried to assuage the bruised sensitivities of Muslims over the alleged targeting of its youths in the name of alleged linkage with the Islamic State. Taking note of the alleged injustice done to Muslim youths, Pawar accused the ATS of illegally detaining Muslim youth for probing their alleged links with the banned Islamic State. In a move that’s likely to strike a chord with his secular constituents, Pawar said he had visited Marathwada region recently where leaders of 29 Muslim organisations sought his help to stop the ATS highhandedness.  He added that some Muslim youths from Parbhani and neighbouring areas were kept in the illegal detention on the premises of the agriculture department for four to five days and then proceeded in Court.
He said that he would discuss the issue with the leaders of the like-minded parties in New Delhi.  He equally made it clear that if members of the minority community are involved in illegal activities, they should be taken to task, but it should be ensured that innocents are not harassed.
NCP supremo’s plain-speaking has been welcomed by the Muslims and those concerned with the human rights violations despite some quarters investing it with playing the Muslim card on the eve of BMC and other local body elections.
Earlier BSP supremo Mayawati had also touched upon the persecution of Muslims and Dalits which is also seen as an attempt to revive her political fortunes on the eve of U.P. elections.
Notwithstanding Mayawati’s raising the issue of Muslim-Dalit being subjected to untold sufferings due to the myopic and prejudiced approach of the government, there is a difference between Mayawati’s and Pawar’s respective assertions on the vexed issues as Pawar is an old timer political heavy weight who was in the Congress Party credited to hold the important portfolios like Defence and Agriculture.
Maharashtra C.M. Fadnavis defending the arrests did not agree with the bold assertion of Pawar.  Fadnavis can never be on the same page with those protesting against the blatant injustice as his own government is allegedly involved in witch-hunting.  In order to play his full innings as Maharashtra C.M., Fadnavis has to bask under the glow of Nagpur favour.  In such circumstances, Fadnavis cannot be expected to have any different perception of the harsh reality other than the defence of the indefensible.
Fadnavis asked for all party support for such arrests which he considered correct. This is Fadnavis’s interpretation of the situation but he should be kind enough to note that there should be some basis for arrest. There can’t be the proper implementation of law when Muslim educated youths are randomly picked up and slapped with the anti-national or radicalisation charges. The irony of the situation is that the concept of radicalisation is only restricted to Muslims as if others are politico-socially virgins.  How Fadnavis is expected to do justice when there is not a single Muslim minister in his cabinet. Even the Minority Affairs and Awakaf are not handled by Muslims. It is like Hamlet staged without the Prince of Denmark. How is the all-party support expected when the BJP is involved in the campaign of polarisation on one issue or the other?  Muslims are always for the nation with particular emphasis on good causes.
In quest for supporting the good cause, Muslims of Kalyan particularly Anjuman Foundation led by Azam Shaikh, Ms Jyoti Aiyyar, Dr. Girish Latki, Anas Memon and  others have organised a rally in support of the police who are attacked in their duty.
Arrest of Muslims in fabricated cases is to stifle any dissent against the injustice perpetrated against the community and to throttle speech and cow down the critics.
Whatever may be the different perception of reality, the fact remains that the Muslims of Marathwada are so much rooted in the native culture that sometimes with their Marathi in local accent and appearance it’s difficult to recognise them as Muslims and hence where is the question of their alleged linkage with the I.S.
The Indian Muslims time and again have expressed their strongest resentment and dislike of the I.S.  The fierce opposition of Indian Muslims is too well known to need any recounting.
Reacting to the arrest of Muslims, the Dalit leader of Parbhani Vijay Kawade termed it as the conspiracy hatched by the Sangh Parivar. Kawade even blamed the ATS for the unhappy incidents against the Dalits and Muslims.
Advocate Mujahid Qadar Alig also questioned the credentials of ATS in targeting Muslims.  He asked as to how the seizure panchnama is not made at the house of the accused persons. He believed that the arrest of Muslim youths forms part of RSS script to gain in Mumbai Corporation and U.P. elections. The veterans of Parbhani would like the Muslims and Hindus to be united against the onslaught of communal forces. The Mumbai Urdu News of 28 August has reported this.
In the prevailing circumstances, it is equally important for Muslims in India to realise that any linkage with the extremism is suicidal for its interest.
All the issues concerning the allegedly false arrest of Muslim youths are brought before the NCP supremo who comprehending the gravity of the situation spoke against such arrests.
The observation made by Pawar on this count does not tally with earlier stances concerning Muslims.
At the time of protest against Salman Rushdie’s novel Satanic Verses when around 14 Muslims had to pay with their lives, Pawar did not oppose the firing.
His role in the disgraceful demolition of Babri Masjid was questionable and as well he failed to inspire the confidence of Muslims in the worst ever communal violence in Mumbai in the wake of the Babri Masjid demolition.
The track record of his own party which was part of the government earlier with Congress concerning Muslim arrests in the name of terror is equally not comfortable.
In the tenure of Congress-NCP government many a time Muslim delegations met the then Home Ministers Chchagan Bhujbal and late R.R. Patel on the question of wrong arrest of Muslims in terror cases but in vain.
It is not known whether Pawar has spoken against the wrong arrest of educated Muslim youth for any political gain or refurbish the NCP’s secular credentials.  However political culture in our country is rooted in political opportunism. The politicians wearing humility and smile in public life are fairly arrogant and quite non-cooperative in the private life. The sympathy card is only for the media and public consumption. The dichotomy in public and private domain, bane of our system is percolated down the line.
No less significant, it is to note that Congress-NCP had come to power on the plank of implementing the Srikrishna Commission recommendations which were allowed to lie in the cold storage. The situation got further stressed with the grant of promotion to the police personnel indicted by Srikrishna Commission. The Congress-NCP combine forgot to implement the recommendations of Srikrishna Commission which were passionately talked about during the election.
As far as Congress is concerned, it’s the picture of confusion worse confounded with its dubious role vis-à-vis Muslim educated youth’s arrest.  Its role can be summed up in one Urdu verse quoted by the distinguished MP Ms Tarakeshwari Sinha:
Khub Parda hai chilman se lage baithe hain/ saaf chupte bhi nahin samne aate bhi nahin. [What a veil! You are seated at the window in a way that you are neither coming to the front nor properly hidden.]
The politicians in the country are to take cue from the scene from the film Mughle Azam and remain faithful to the promises and expected to see the larger interest of the nation than the petty political gains. The primacy of national interest carries more credibility than the opportunistic politics.
It is also important for Muslims to focus on developing essence of character.  Only good character can ensure their dignified survival and earn many Pawars to speak against the victimisation of the community in the name of terror.  In these circumstances, Hindu-Muslim unity is also need of the hour.