FAISAL KHAN, National Coordinator of “Khudai Khidmatgar”, is recipient of many awards, including Rashtriya Sadbhavana Award 2018 for promotion of communal harmony, peace and brotherhood. In 2011, he was also awarded with the Twocircles.net Person of the Year award. In an interview with MOHD NAUSHAD KHAN, the diehard believer in communal harmony asserts that very few people in India believe in hatred, despite the aggressive campaign to divide and polarise. Excerpts:
What was the idea behind the formation of Khudai Khidmatgar? How far has the idea crystallised and what are the challenges now?
My activism began with National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) which I had joined as a student. Since struggle and constructive work (in Gandhian terminology known as sangarsh and rachna) is part and parcel of any movement, it is not easy to produce the kind of individuals that are desired. Our movements and struggles are to reform society. There is no system, which can bring about equality in society at the press of a button. It is done by people who emerge from a movement. I was in search of that process.
These days we can see a lot of commercialisation of NGOs and selfless service to society is on the backburner. We were thinking of starting a new organisation; peace, non-violence, love and humanity were very dear to me. And while reading the literature on Mahatma Gandhi, I thought of Khudai Khidmatgar. So in 2011, with around 50 people we launched Khudai Khidmatgar in India again and today it has more than hundred thousand volunteers in the entire country. We are trying to project the good message of religion and social welfare through our work. We have received overwhelming support from non-Muslim brothers in every nook and corner of the country.
Very recently you have completed cycle yatra. What was the message and what was the undercurrent message on the ground?
We started our cycle yatra with 10 people. The purpose of the cycle-yatra was to create awareness against mob lynching and promote communal harmony. The atmosphere was tense because of the murder of Kamlesh Tiwari, the Babri Masjid verdict and mob lynchings. Many friends asked us to cancel our yatra, but we resolved to move on despite all odds. Today after the yatra I can say with confidence that only 10 to 15 per cent people believe in hate. The rest 85-to-90 per cent believe in communal amity, despite aggressive hate campaign. Our ground impression is validated with the nationwide protests now against CAA-NRC and the kind of solidarity we have seen towards students of Jamia and AMU not only in India but also from across the world.
During our yatra I stayed at more than 15 temples. The cooperation and hospitality I received were remarkable. At one place, I asked the priest of a temple if I can offer namaz in the temple, he replied, “Is permission required to offer namaz? You are our guest and it is our duty to serve you.” I saw the trust they had. We were always at risk as we were travelling by cycles. But nobody touched us or pushed us or abused us. I would knock at people’s doors, speak to people on the street, address gatherings in many places but nowhere did we encounter any kind of resistance.
Despite our clear-cut message on papers, pamphlets or the placards on our cycles, namely on the topics of lynching and hate free India, at every juncture people co-operated with us and gave us a patient hearing. Except one or two untoward incidents, it was a smooth yatra. Our yatra started from Delhi, then Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar and then in West Bengal. We are also trying to pen down the love and cooperation we received during our 28 days cycle yatra.
So you mean to say that the hate atmosphere we generally see in TV debates and the media is not there on the ground?
Yes, we covered most of the Hindi heartland. And from our experience on the ground and while interacting with the people we can say that there is slight hate but definitely not in the proportion of what is shown to us through media.
You have talked about the ground reality but what is your reading about people who become mute spectators when lynching goes on?
Sometimes people do try to save the victims, but we only get to see the video of lynching. Some of them want to save the life of the victim but are afraid. Some do not find the courage to challenge the mob. Those who want to prevent lynching at that point of time are in minority. People are now fed up with seminars and conferences. All are looking for some innovative movements and protests. We asked people to take a pledge against lynching, hate and violence. We were expecting people to abuse us, tear our pamphlets or shout at us but instead we received full support, love and cooperation of people and at many places we were welcomed with flowers and garlands and also with food, tea and refreshments.
Now we see protest against CAA and NRC all over the country, what should be the role of Muslims therein?
Our protests should be based on the principles established by Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him). We must consider ourselves Muslims – 24 x 7 and be determined not do anything that may harm anybody. Peaceful protests are the only way forward. Our protests should not respond to any provocation or misguidance. There should not be any stone pelting, abusive and foul language.
Our protests should also reflect that we are Muslims and followers of Prophet Muhammad. I feel Muslims should decide to be on the street protesting for the next four years. The protest should be the real satyagraha. We must combat the CAA-NPR-NRC by exercising all legal options and our non-Muslim brethren should be made aware about the dangers of the process, application and implementation of CAA-NPR-NRC. We have to explain to them that it is against the very ideals of our country, against our Constitution, our culture and our diversity.
These days people are attacking the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi; do you believe these attacks have any relevance?
You can see more umbrellas during the rainy season. Similarly, the more the opposition to Mahatma Gandhi, the more will he become relevant. His sadbhavana work will keep him relevant for generations. We can hate or love Gandhi but we cannot ignore him. The most important thing to do now is to de-communalise the majority community. You will not find any youth who believe in hate but they are either being misguided or provoked to do so. Muslims should engage themselves in constructive work. It is important to explain to non-Muslim youth that no religion can rise with hate and violence. We the members of Khudai Khidmatgar are trying to do that.