The recent news of two Kashmiri youth who were physically assaulted in Mahendergarh in Haryana while going back to their university after their Friday prayers in a mosque brought to the surface two of my subterranean memories. One of these was from the very recent past; the other, though comparatively old, was not in the very distant past. All these put together set a train of thoughts in motion.
In a cafe, two friends sat discussing the situation in the country and where it could lead to. I was one of the two. The discussion veered round to the issue of the challenge to the secular ethos and the insecurity being felt by the minority classes, especially the Muslims. While talking about another mutual friend, my friend opened up about the fact that she was often worried about her friend’s safety. She also confessed to having the nagging concern of where he could possibly stay safely in an environment becoming increasingly unsafe for his community. All the more so, because our mutual friend isn’t a person of resources, and is neither influential nor connected to those with influence. He would not be in a position to fend for himself if the chips were down.
The counter-argument that people like us can be his shield, or that he could be closer to other friends in a physical space (to feel secure) did not cut much ice because of the long-term logistics involved in terms of a settled life. In short, it was an argument rooted more in emotion than on a logical assertion.
The second memory related to a group-interaction with an intelligent young Kashmiri girl. She was sharing her experience of living in Haryana where she had come for her studies. Here, she recounted her experience of growing up in her homeland, Kashmir. Even though there was an element of pain and bitterness her experiences of Kashmir she shared, she seemed to be largely positive and appreciative of the time spent in Haryana. This, despite the oddities she faced here and there. At that time, this was a comforting thought, for this happened somewhere around the time of the unrest in Kashmir following the killing of Burhan Wani.
These memories now re-surfaced with renewed vigour in the wake of the news of what happened with the two Kashmiri youths in Mahendergarh. Leaving aside the different, widely-divergent versions coming out as to what had actually transpired, the really significant aspect is that this once again brings back into focus the issue of the insecurity being felt by people from the minorities. The lynching of the 52-year-old Mohammad Akhlaq in 2015 probably was the initial, very prominent flashpoint. Since then, the intermittent regularity of such incidents forces one to think as to why this is happening now like never before.
One possible reason for this is the silence of those in power. This silence gives the perpetrators of these crimes the courage to go ahead and do what they wish, for silence is taken to be consent. Emboldened by the belief and confidence that the ruling establishment will be on their side, and that the law will not take its due course, crimes are often committed in broad daylight, in public places. The declaration that the guilty will be brought to book is quite obviously taken to be no more than pro forma voices – coming not from the heart, but for the sake of public consumption, even as the field is open for these perpetrators to act as they wish.
However, even if we take this as an answer, even if these repeated incidents (with no justice being rendered) are considered to be the catalyst for the creation of an atmosphere gradually leading up to the accomplishment of the ultimate nefarious ends of those in power or those around them, a deeper introspection is in order.
The Preamble to the Indian Constitution is a page we need to go back to every now and then – all the more so, to understand, reflect upon and introspect on what is happening around us these days. According to the Preamble, “WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:
JUSTICE, social, economic and political;
LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;
EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;
and to promote among them all
FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation […]”
The lynching of an Akhlaq in Uttar Pradesh or a Junaid in a train in the NCR or a Mohammad Afrazul in Rajasthan or what happened in Kasganj on Republic Day or the beating of these Kashmiri students in Haryana negates each one of these principles of the Preamble. This, then, is the deepest of the malaises we have to contend with, these days. These are not just attacks on individuals or a community or a religion – rather, they are attacks on the very fundamentals of our rights as citizens, and on the very basis and spirit of our Constitution.
One is forced into thinking the following – is this, then, at least in part, a failure of our secular-democratic project of a society and nation built on the principles spelled out in the Preamble and the Constitution? At first glance, we might as well reach this conclusion, given the gradually increasing virulence of the attacks on people from the minorities (more so, a specific minority) and on those from the marginalised sections of society as exemplified by the Rohith Vemula and the Una incidents and numerous others in the last decade or so, including those in Haryana.
But what is of even greater concern are questions that need appraisal and analysis. Have we failed to notice that in spite of the ‘Gunga-Jamuni tahzeeb’ we are so rightly proud of, there are underlying stresses, strains and pressures in terms of the inter-social relations between various sections of society – be they in terms of caste, class, religion, region or community? Have we tried to resolve them in a seamless, harmonious fashion that factors in the necessity of developing an understanding, giving space to and adjusting with one another and empathising with the socio-cultural milieu in which each of these sections is located, along with the causes thereof? Also, have we looked to the need of learning to respect the customs, mores and traditions of each one of them?
Whether it concerns the Muslims in general or those in Kashmir, it is, indeed, undeniable that the sense of alienation in them has been increasing by the day. What with these recurring incidents of increasing ferocity, an additional complicating factor is that the socio-cultural scenario of interaction between various communities and groups has gradually but surely changed. The change has happened such that the opportunities of intermixing have, instead of increasing, shrunk like never before – thereby leading to the strengthening of biases and misconceptions, especially about the minorities and the marginalised sections of society.
Thus, if one has never met a Muslim, they could possibly be harbouring notions about them which may have no truth whatsoever. If one has never been to Jammu and Kashmir, especially the valley, they may fail to realise the very deep resentment that all these years of violence (State-sponsored and by the militants) have surely engendered in the people’s lives. The mind boggles at the very thought that it is now nearly 30 years since the major flare-up of unrest in Kashmir in 1989. A whole generation of children has grown up witnessing nothing but violence, unrest and State-repression.
Until and unless we factor this in, one can surely not realise the angst of the Kashmiri youth that comes out into the open on the streets of various parts of Kashmir every now and then. And yet, one wonders at the vivaciousness of the young girl from Kashmir who shared her experience with us. One further recalls her remark to the effect that the ‘naughtiness’ now is perhaps an attempt at regaining what was lost of it in her childhood.
Perhaps, not at par with this – but certainly, not too below this – would be the alienation of the Muslims in general – ‘theirs’ from the ‘rest of us’, and ‘ours’ from ‘them’. Here, two stark images will help us understand where the larger ‘Hindu’ psyche stands with respect to the Muslim.
1. A friend recounted to me how he had never ever visited a masjid in his lifetime, for the fear instilled in his mind and heart never allowed him to do so. The first time he visited a masjid was when he went to Pakistan!
2. An aunt and her daughter-in-law visited India recently. They were all prepared to go on a sight-seeing tour of Delhi with their children. They shared with me their wariness in entering the Jama Masjid. In fact, they needed a bit of my re-assurance to actually visit it!
I think these examples will help one visualise the misconceptions about Muslims we often harbour. It’s highly possible that these misconceptions may be inculcated in young minds as they grow up in the limited, socio-culturally, claustrophobia-engendering environment of a middle-class home.
It goes without saying that the authorities need to take immediate action, and that all the arms of governance and justice have to see to it that justice is done whenever any incident like the one in Mahendergarh takes place. But the larger, much deeper aspect is this – to be able to create a society that is sensitive, sensible and rooted in empathy, we need an education that looks to all these aspects in the context of the socio-cultural domain. Have we made our education system, the curricular framework and the syllabi (especially those in the social sciences) sensitive to these requirements and conducive to the inculcation of democratic, secular values?
Were we to have such an education, neither I nor my friend would be worrying about our mutual friend. And as a society, we would have been much more in harmony with the various streams of belief and modes of living than we are at present. We would not be assaulting Kashmiris, even as we cry ourselves hoarse saying Kashmir is an integral part of India. Neither would we be having mobs attacking Muslims and other sections of society, even as we call ours a nation of many hues embodying the ‘Gunga-Jamuni tahzeeb’, a nation of multi-layered realities cohering and integrating as a single whole.
The author is a freelance writer and translator based in Rohtak (Haryana) and is actively engaged with social issues.
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Featured image used for representative purposes only.