India had aspired for a permanent seat in UNSC. Initially, several states endorsed our standing. Now there is no utterance. Reasons may be traced in economic misadventures and flagrant trampling of Minorities’ rights.
High-pitch hate-mongering and violence against the Dalits, Tribes and especially the Muslim Minority, irrational economic adventures like demonetisation and sudden lockdown coupled with a shift in economic policies, from people-centric to corporate-favourite, created an unfavourable atmosphere for development. In 2011 India was the third-largest economy, after the US and China; our position in 2005 was 10th. Adverse social and economic moves damaged the economy, resulting in job loss in millions. The GDP fell to minus 27% in 2020 from +7.41% in 2014. The ‘vibrant economy’ of the last decade became lame. Status of “Developing Country” stripped. To restore the reputation and attract investment, a reversal of social policy from ‘Hindutva’ to ‘Hindustani’ is vital with corrective steps in the economy.
MINORITIES RIGHTS DAY
UN observes 18 December as “Minority Rights Day.” On the occasion, we encounter some un-realistic statements, advertisements, and ‘Hunar Hats’. The need of the hour is to restore Minorities Rights and reverse the divisive agenda.
Aspiration to become “World-Guru” and acquiring a UNSC seat cannot be achieved until we respect UN resolves and world opinion regarding the state of our minorities. UN had promulgated the “Declaration on the Rights of Persons belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities” on 18 December 1992. But it is unfortunate that India’s record has been unsatisfactory. Especially since 2014 decline is fast. Keeping in mind the recent incidents, India may be bracketed with Israel, France, and Myanmar for unlawful and harsh actions against Muslims.
LARGEST MINORITY OF INDIA
19% of the Indian population is counted as Minorities. Our Constitution used the word ‘Minority’, considering religion and language. Among the six notified minorities, the Muslim community is the largest (195 million). It is the third-largest Muslim population and largest minority in any country. To develop India, this 17.2% i.e. 1/7th population needs targeted economic and educational measures and a due place in all fields. Instead, unjust derivation and undemocratic policies as ‘revenge’, and demonisation as antinational, are being used in complete disregard of Constitutional Guarantees and UN resolves.
MINORITIES RIGHTS
Besides basic fundamental rights as protection of life and dignity, profession, places of worship, equality before the law, freedom of speech and assembly, and religion of choice, etc., India’s Constitution grants additional rights to the minority communities. Protection of personal laws and social practices, right to establish and manage their own educational institutions are among them. But overlooking these guarantees has become a routine. Lynching on camera to celebrate and thereafter political support by garlanding accused killers causes a threat to the life and dignity of concerned minority, Dalits, Tribe and OBCs. Divisive slogans like ‘goli maro…’, ‘Shamshan’ v/s ‘qabristan’; ‘recognise by the dress’ are flashed for electoral benefits. The threat to citizenship, through CAA and NRC, is on the lips of every leader. This has built an atmosphere of fear and hatred, which is robbing the Minority of their lives and livelihood. In turn, it is robbing national reputation also. Gitika Jain, a law graduate researcher of Amity University, Kolkata noticed, “Abuses of religious freedom in India had attracted international attention, especially in the era of the Modi government.”
IN THE NAME OF LOVE
Article 25 of the Constitution grants unconditional freedom to adopt and practise any religion of choice. This freedom is being supressed under recently promulgated “The Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Ordinance, 2020” in UP. Under this law, the Police had intervened in at least 15 marriages of adult women during last week for changing their religion at free will and marry the man of another religion. We do not support inter-religious marriages or ‘live-in relationship’, as our Shariah does not permit this wandering. Yet it may be underlined that the government should not deviate from the principles laid down by the Constitution.
The Police actions are also in violation of the “Equality before the law” rule. Police stepped in cases where the bridegroom has a Muslim name. If the bride is from the Minority community, and the groom non-Muslim, no protection is provided to the woman.
The ordinance is in utter disregard of Allahabad HC verdict on November 11. A bench of Justices Pankaj Naqvi and Vivek Agarwal ruled, “We do not see Priyanka (wife) and Salamat (husband) as Hindu and Muslim, but as two grown-up individuals who out of their own free will and choice are living together peacefully.” Priyanka had married Salamat after changing her religious identity.
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
As mentioned above, to establish and manage educational institutions of their choice is a fundamental right of Minorities. But the state administration fails to recognise institutions established by Muslims as ‘Minority Educational Institutions’. “The Commission for Minority Educational Institutions” established in 1998 by UPA Government to facilitate grant of Minority Status to such institutions has been made defunct. Efforts are on to snatch the Minority Status of AMU and JMI also. The identity of Osmania University has already been changed.
DISTORTION OF HISTORY
History is also being distorted. The names of historical cities, roads, and institutions are being changed since 1947. Recently Mughal Sari Railway Station has been rechristened as “Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction”. Allahabad is now ‘Prayag Raj’. The name “Mughal Museum” launched in January 2016, near the Taj Mahal to showcase Mughal-era culture, artifacts, paintings, and cuisine have been irrationally changed to “Shiva Jee Museum.” These acts are indicative of anti-Muslim Minority mindset and deep hatred.
We are not against a “Shiva Jee Museum”. If UP wants to highlight his personality that is welcome, but it should be befitting to his stature. The Maratha ruler was not a communalist and should not be portrayed as a Hindutva icon.
WORDS OF WISDOM
Franklin Roosevelt, US President (1933 to 1945), had said, “No country can survive for long unless and until it accepts very basic fundamental of democracy. Democracy can only exist when the rights of the minorities are respected.”
Gitika Jain concluded her research paper, “The amount of confidence and sense of security enjoyed by minorities is the ground upon which the interdependence of minorities in a democracy can be laid. India is a civilized country. The pillars of this great civilization are its nature of accepting diversities.”
TRUST OF ALL
Mr. Narendra Modi’s utterances after the 2019 elections, “Sab ka saath, sab ka vikas and sab ka vishwas’ (everyone’s support, development of all, and Trust of everyone) had invoked some hope but it did not live long. Anti-Muslim statements of top leaders, treatment to anti-CAA protesters, Delhi Riots, anti-Muslim tirade under the guise of Tablighis have caused immense anti-Muslim hatred. How the government acting against CAA protestors and ignoring of slogans like ‘Goli Maro…’ raised widespread criticism worldwide. This hurt our reputation. To dismiss such criticism by depicting in-house brutalities as our “internal matter” cannot remove the stains from the fabric of the nation.
[The writer is Chairman, Forum for Civil Rights. Email: syyedagha8@gmail.com]