Circa 1857. India’s first war of independence takes place. This movement morphs into violence against the British and coincides with the decline of Mughal rule in India. The British response is as swift as it is brutal. Delhi, Lucknow and those parts of India caught in the spiral of violence are decimated in an orgy of counter violence by the British. The aim is not only to stem and stanch violence but is vindictive: it is too teach Muslims and their allied supporters a lesson and humiliate them. The Mughal patriarch, Bahadur Shah Zafar, whose tepid but vacillating support to the movement infuriates the British, is viewed as a symbol of the resistance. He is humiliated, his sons executed and exiled to Burma.
A fatal blow is dealt to the Muslim collective conscious and psyche. The wounds are deep and have never healed. The formation of the state of Pakistan can be seen as a continuation of the blow dealt to the Muslim psyche and the attendant insecurities it generated. This is overlain by partition of the Indian subcontinent-another trauma to Muslims. Even ‘separate Muslim space’ in the form of Pakistan has not led to healing and recovery. What is the import of this overview?
This overview has implications for Muslims in India. The various communal rights that have been a blight on post independent India, the ghettoisation of Muslims in the country, the poor economic conditions and literacy rates of Muslims in India, recourse to gangsterism by some, and the lack of comprehensive integration may be said to be accruing from political decay and humiliation the Muslims collectively suffered after 1857. Muslims have retreated into a shell and turned inward.
Overlaying this condition is the Babri Masjid demolition saga and the Gujarat riots. The collective sense of victimhood is fed by these gory and unsavory incidents. The result is further retreat into themselves and at times, reaction in the form of groups like the Indian Mujahideen.
This is happening at a time when India is opening up to the world and has adopted an outward orientation. An outward looking and confident India hides within its womb a sullen, resentful and insecure class of peoples. This can only be ominous and rife with negative consequences. A two speed India means an India rife with contradictions which can pan out in a negative form and shape. It then becomes pertinent to resolve this contradiction. The question is how?
The onus for this lies on both Muslims and the Indian state. Muslims, collectively need to make a pledge and help themselves. This, first and foremost means education or empowerment through education; not through affirmative action but as equal citizens of the Indian state.
Yes: the condition of Muslims may warrant a degree of support by the state but the initiative must come from Muslims. We have to look within ourselves and dig deep into the reservoirs of ourselves and tap into our resourcefulness. The state can and should then ensure equality of opportunity and integrate Muslims into the Indian economy.
Overlaying this should be a commitment by the Indian state and the political class to pluralism and secularism. If India, for some reason, changes the tenor of its politics, this would spell gloom and doom. Muslims would further retreat into themselves and morph into a lumpen element whose consequences can only be deleterious for them and the country.
This scenario can be pre-empted and prevented by a combination of integrating Muslims into the wider economy and a commitment to liberal democracy and pluralism by the Indian state. It may also call for attitudinal shift by the majority community in terms of getting rid of the stereotypes about Muslims. The same holds true for Muslims as well.
Muslim pride and sense of self was deeply wounded by the saga of 1857 and the partition. Nothing in human affairs is, however, permanent. Wounds can be healed and estranged people reconciled. Muslims are no exception to this. For their own sake, Muslims need to come out of the shell they have retreated into. They need some assistance and encouragement to do so. The state along with the wider community in the country have a role to play in this. Retreat and sullenness are a non starter for Muslims. Let the tea leaves be read and a new chapter be opened in the history of the subcontinent. The time for this is now.
