Both madrasas and RSS shakhas should fly Indian flag
Kazi Masum Akhtar, the headmaster of Talpukur Ara High Madrasa in Kolkata, was recently assaulted by radical clerics. What crime did the headmaster commit which enraged the maulanas? Akhtar taught his pupils the national anthem which was reportedly described as a "Hindutva song" by the maulanas. Media reports also mentioned that this was not the first time that Akhtar was facing the ire of local religious figures. He was earlier physically attacked on charges of being anti-Islamic.
Akhtar has claimed that he has not been allowed to attend the school ever since the incident occurred. His repeated pleas for rehabilitation and security to the State Minority Commission (six times) and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee have so far fallen on deaf ears.
In poll bound Bengal, Mamata Banerjee is committing one blunder after another. She tried to downplay the violence in Malda by terming it as a "BSF versus people struggle" which was not a "communal incident". As far as the controversy concerning Akhtar is concerned, we are yet to hear from the Trinamool Congress supremo.
A mob of over one lakh people clashes with the security forces, torches police vans and ransacks the police station yet the chief minister has the audacity to somehow brush aside the incident by delving into a needless debate whether it was a communal occurrence or not. She also absolved her government of any responsibility by claiming that the "state was not involved."
The violence in Malda has raised some serious questions wherein it has been alleged that the police station was set on fire to destroy the crime records available with the police. Instead of sidestepping the issue, Mamata should and still can set up an independent enquiry commission to figure out what exactly transpired and how the mob turned violent.
The West Bengal chief minister must have her eyes set on punishing the culprits behind the Malda violence, not on debating the nature of violence with Bharatiya Janata Party leaders who will try their level best to reap electoral fortunes out of Malda. It is also incumbent on the TMC government to openly back Kazi Masum Akhtar against radical forces that are thriving on anti-national activities and hooliganism.
If the state government doesn't show the acumen to deal with the perpetrators of the violence against security forces in Malda and Kazi Masum Akhtar in Kolkata then the impression that the TMC government is pandering to radical Islamist forces will strengthen. Mamata must rein in radical elements because if she doesn't then not only will she be providing BJP with readymade ammunition in the upcoming polls but will also fall short of fulfilling her constitutional obligations.
The notion that if any government deals harshly with radical, thuggish elements within the Muslim community will result in an electoral debacle and cost the party Muslim votes in completely misplaced, nonsensical and an insult to the intelligence of the Muslim voter. Despite all the controversy, what impact did the executions of Afzal Guru (February 2013) and Yakub Memon (July 2015) have on the 2014 General Elections, 2014 Jammu & Kashmir Elections and 2015 Bihar Elections, respectively?
The vast majority of Muslim voters did not rise in rebellion against the Indian state nor did they forsake every other issue and cast their vote in the forthcoming elections only on the basis of Afzal Guru and Yakub Memon executions. One must recall that after being voted to power in Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party government had revoked the charges against certain terror accused Muslim men who were booked under laws formulated by the central government.
In December 2013, the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court came down heavy on this decision of the SP government and told them that they do not have the authority to do so without the consent of the central government. What was the response of Uttar Pradesh's Muslim community to the same?
Yes, there is anger against false implication of Muslim men in terror related cases, harassment and murder at the hands of security forces like the Provincial Armed Constabulary's extra-judicial killing of Muslims in Hashimpura locality of Meerut but the large majority of Muslims wouldn't even bother for a moment if an anti-national element be it a rioter or terrorist is prosecuted for the offence he has committed. It would be foolish to believe that a cleric sitting somewhere in Kolkata will issue a fatwa calling the national anthem "anti-Islamic" and all the Muslims of the country will blindly agree with him.
Radical clerics do have their following without a doubt but their reach and influence is hugely overrated. Most Muslims don't give a damn about the everyday ludicrous fatwas reported in the media that are issued by clerics known to only a handful of Muslims. In August 2007, MIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi threatened Taslima Nasreen by stating that "there is a fatwa against her and the fatwa is one and all for the entire Muslim world" and that if she visits Hyderabad again, Owaisi "will try to implement the fatwa on her."
Despite Akbaruddin Owaisi's claim of the universality of the fatwa against Taslima Nasreen, his actions were condemned by none other than the then Vice President-elect Hamid Ansari. Therefore, anyone who is suggesting that action against those involved in Malda violence and the attack on Kazi Masum Akhtar will result in dreadful electoral repercussions as Muslims will get offended are living in a fool's paradise. Ordinary Muslims outnumber radical ones by a monumental margin. Thus, Mamata should act urgently and act tough without fearing an electoral backlash.
Harping on the Talpukur Ara High Madrasa incident, Muslim Rashtriya Manch, an affiliate of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has embarked on a mission to persuade madrasas nationwide to the hoist the tricolour and sing the national anthem on Republic Day. The initiative per se is not wrong but one should put his/her own house in order before disciplining others. Let us not forget RSS's opposition to the tricolour. In fact the ban on RSS post-Gandhi's murder was lifted only when they pledged their allegiance to the constitution and national flag.
On the eve of Indian independence in 1947, Organiser, the official mouth piece of RSS, stated, "The people who have come to power by the kick of fate may give in our hands the tricolour but it never be respected and owned by the Hindus (sic). The word three is in itself an evil, and a flag having three colours will certainly produce a very bad psychological effect and is injurious to a country."
Dr Subramanian Swamy, currently a Hindutva heartthrob who is impatiently batting for the initiation of construction work at Ayodhya, was once an ardent opponent of Hindutva ideology. In an article for Frontline Magazine titled "The RSS Game Plan" (Volume 17 - Issue 02, Jan. 22 - Feb. 04 2000), he had taken a dig at the RSS for its alleged leaning towards the saffron flag instead of the national flag. Dr Swamy wrote, "Symbolically, the bhagwa dhwaj (saffron double triangle flag) does not yet flutter from the Red Fort; but the hated tricolour which no RSS office can hoist even on August 15, still does."
Considering RSS's history of opposition to the national flag, RSS affiliate Muslim Rashtriya Manch should urge not only madrasas but also RSS offices across the country from Jhandewalan in New Delhi to RSS headquarters in Nagpur to also hoist the national flag on Republic Day. RSS must also come clean on its past positions vis-a-vis the national flag and distance the current leadership from the same. If the RSS fails to do so then morally it will be pushed on the back foot and the activities of Muslim Rashtriya Manch viewed as nothing but a political gimmick.