Integrating Indian Muslims to Fight Terror
Last month, Indian Muslim leaders gathered in a conference in New Delhi to voice their concerns about the negative portrayal of Indian Muslims as terrorists by the government as well as by the Indian media following a string of terror attacks throughout the country. Attended by Muslim leaders in the country as well as by government representatives including PM Singh, they requested the government to introduce curbs for biased and partisan projections on Muslims in India and to formulate concrete steps to eradicate stereotyping on Muslims. Responding to this request, PM Singh said that he heard the message and promised to formulate concrete steps in this regard.
On Tuesday, 5 September 2006, speaking in an internal security conference with the chief ministers of India’s 30 states in New Delhi, PM Singh asked the chief ministers to be proactive to counter further intensification of terror activities and to ensure that a few individual acts should not tarnish the image of an entire community. Regretting that terrorism has created a wrong impression of radicalisation of the entire Muslim community, he said the adverse consequences of the "prevailing insecurity" among minorities, especially Muslims, could be "extremely deleterious for our polity".
Sharing New Delhi’s serious threat perception based on intelligence reports on the possibility of more fidayeen attacks (use of suicide bombers), attacks on economic and religious targets and targeting of vital installations including nuclear establishments, PM Singh sought the "personal involvement" of the chief ministers to co-opt the public to act as counter-terrorist wardens to report unusual activity.
Thus, cautioning these deleterious consequences, PM Singh said that the government – both the center and the states – should take the sole responsibility to contain them and he asked the chief ministers to remove any feelings of persecution and alienation from the minds of the minorities. According to him, the best way to fight terrorism – besides the police response – was by not creating an environ where terror elements would have nurseries of support. At the same time, respect for fundamental human rights of citizens, particularly of minority communities, should become the core concern of the law enforcement agencies in dealing with terrorism.
Talking in the same vein as his PM, the Indian Union Home Minister, Shivraj Patil, said that his ministry has proposed a monitoring mechanism to ensure proper follow-up on intelligence inputs shared by central and state intelligence agencies. It has also asked states to strengthen the intelligence machinery up to the level of the police station by involving beat constables.
Patil further said that the Center also asked state governments to allocate more funds from its annual budget and five-year plan for strengthening their intelligence. He promised that if required, the Center would assist with more funds to revamp intelligence and police modernization in the states.
PM Singh’s suggestions above, countering terrorism with an emphasis on the respect of fundamental human rights of Indian citizens, were in line with his commitment to the conference of Muslim scholars in August to take "concrete steps" to address their concerns. Singh had reiterated this commitment to a delegation of minority MPs who had called on him subsequently to raise similar concerns.
With Muslim leaders agreeing to denounce terrorism in any form and pledging to cooperate with each other to maintain peace and tranquility in the country and concrete steps formulated by the Indian government to engage actively and understand the issues faced by the Indian Muslim community, it would not be difficult for the Indian government to achieve its target in defeating terrorism. Closer and vigorous cooperation between various government and non-government agencies as well as an objective and non-biased media will only help in the successful effort to achieve this goal.
The fight against terrorism is one of hearts and minds. These steps, I believe, would yield into a successful process of eradicating the feeling of insecurity prevails among the minority communities, especially the Muslims, that could cause some deleterious consequences to India and integrating them into the mainstream community. Furthermore, these efforts could become a positive precedence in the global fight against terrorism.
Striking at the roots of terrorism with force is rendered useless unless there are concrete steps to change the mindset in the society and full respect for human fundamental rights. PM Singh has formulated the “concrete steps” and it is now the responsibility of all agencies, both government and non-government agencies, to implement these steps vigorously and with full responsibility.
On Tuesday, 5 September 2006, speaking in an internal security conference with the chief ministers of India’s 30 states in New Delhi, PM Singh asked the chief ministers to be proactive to counter further intensification of terror activities and to ensure that a few individual acts should not tarnish the image of an entire community. Regretting that terrorism has created a wrong impression of radicalisation of the entire Muslim community, he said the adverse consequences of the "prevailing insecurity" among minorities, especially Muslims, could be "extremely deleterious for our polity".
Sharing New Delhi’s serious threat perception based on intelligence reports on the possibility of more fidayeen attacks (use of suicide bombers), attacks on economic and religious targets and targeting of vital installations including nuclear establishments, PM Singh sought the "personal involvement" of the chief ministers to co-opt the public to act as counter-terrorist wardens to report unusual activity.
Thus, cautioning these deleterious consequences, PM Singh said that the government – both the center and the states – should take the sole responsibility to contain them and he asked the chief ministers to remove any feelings of persecution and alienation from the minds of the minorities. According to him, the best way to fight terrorism – besides the police response – was by not creating an environ where terror elements would have nurseries of support. At the same time, respect for fundamental human rights of citizens, particularly of minority communities, should become the core concern of the law enforcement agencies in dealing with terrorism.
Talking in the same vein as his PM, the Indian Union Home Minister, Shivraj Patil, said that his ministry has proposed a monitoring mechanism to ensure proper follow-up on intelligence inputs shared by central and state intelligence agencies. It has also asked states to strengthen the intelligence machinery up to the level of the police station by involving beat constables.
Patil further said that the Center also asked state governments to allocate more funds from its annual budget and five-year plan for strengthening their intelligence. He promised that if required, the Center would assist with more funds to revamp intelligence and police modernization in the states.
PM Singh’s suggestions above, countering terrorism with an emphasis on the respect of fundamental human rights of Indian citizens, were in line with his commitment to the conference of Muslim scholars in August to take "concrete steps" to address their concerns. Singh had reiterated this commitment to a delegation of minority MPs who had called on him subsequently to raise similar concerns.
With Muslim leaders agreeing to denounce terrorism in any form and pledging to cooperate with each other to maintain peace and tranquility in the country and concrete steps formulated by the Indian government to engage actively and understand the issues faced by the Indian Muslim community, it would not be difficult for the Indian government to achieve its target in defeating terrorism. Closer and vigorous cooperation between various government and non-government agencies as well as an objective and non-biased media will only help in the successful effort to achieve this goal.
The fight against terrorism is one of hearts and minds. These steps, I believe, would yield into a successful process of eradicating the feeling of insecurity prevails among the minority communities, especially the Muslims, that could cause some deleterious consequences to India and integrating them into the mainstream community. Furthermore, these efforts could become a positive precedence in the global fight against terrorism.
Striking at the roots of terrorism with force is rendered useless unless there are concrete steps to change the mindset in the society and full respect for human fundamental rights. PM Singh has formulated the “concrete steps” and it is now the responsibility of all agencies, both government and non-government agencies, to implement these steps vigorously and with full responsibility.
Labels: Indian Muslim
blog by Mas Qisa'i at 12:19:00 AM
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THE HISTORY OF MAJLIS ITTEHADUL MUSLIMEEN PARTY IN HYDERABAD
The grip of the Majlis-e-ittehadul Muslimeen on the community remains strong, With a Member representing Hyderabad in the Lok Sabha, five members in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly, 40 corporators in Hyderabad and 95-plus members elected to various municipal bodies in Andhra Pradesh, the All-India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen is one of the foremost representatives of the city’s Muslims and the most powerful Muslim party in India and one can see the partys strenghth if it goes to Hyderabad old city and Parts of Muslim Dominated Villages of Andhra Pradesh everywhere u look u can see MIM written on walls ,lightpoles and buildings leaving aside green flags and posters of its Leadership and there small Offices . The Majlis has brought lot of development to the Old part of the city even after it is said it hasnt done anything by its opponents who are mostly Ex Majlis workers.The Majlis was formed in 1927 “for educational and social uplift of Muslims”. But it articulated the position that “the ruler and throne (Nizam) are symbols of the political and cultural rights of the Muslim community… (and) this status must continue forever”.The Majlis pitted itself against the Andhra Mahasabha and the communists who questioned the feudal order that sustained the Nizam’s rule. It also bitterly opposed the Arya Samaj, which gave social and cultural expression to the aspirations of the urban Hindu population in the Hyderabad State of those days.By the mid-1940s, the Majlis had come to represent a remarkably aggressive and violent face of Muslim communal politics as it organised the razakars (volunteers) to defend the “independence” of this “Muslim” State from merger with the Indian Union.According to historians, over 1,50,000 such `volunteers’ were organised by the Majlis for the Nizam State’s defence but they are remembered for unleashing unparalleled violence against Communal Hindus and the communists and all those who opposed the Nizam’s “go it alone” policy. It is estimated that during the height of the razakar `agitation’, over 30,000 people had taken shelter in the Secunderabad cantonment alone to protect themselves from these `volunteers’.But the razakars could do little against the Indian Army and even put up a fight. Kasim Rizvi, the Majlis leader, was imprisoned and the organisation banned in 1948. Rizvi was released in 1957 on the undertaking that he would leave for Pakistan in 48 hours. Before he left though, Rizvi met some of the erstwhile activists of the Majlis and passed on the presidentship to Abdul Wahed Owaisi, a famous lawyer and an Islamic scholar from jamia nizamia who also was jailed for nearly 10 months after he took over the Majlis leadership as the then govt wanted to abolish the Majlis party but Owaisi refused to do so and was seen as a person who had financially supported the party when it was a bankrupt and weak one after the Police Action in Hyderabad State.Owaisi is credited with having “re-written” the Majlis constitution according to the provisions of the Indian Constitution and “the realities of Muslim minority in independent India”, and fought the legal case for winning back darrusslam mim headquarters for years according to a former journalist, Chander Srivastava. For the first decade-and-a-half after this “reinvention”, the Majlis remained, at best, a marginal player in Hyderabad politics and even though every election saw a rise in its vote share, it could not win more than one Assembly seat.The 1970s saw an upswing in Majlis’ political fortunes. In 1969, it won back its party headquarters, Dar-us-Salaam — a sprawling 4.5-acre compound in the heart of the New City. It also won compensation which was used to set up an ITI on the premises and a women’s degree college in Nizamabad town. In 1976, Salahuddin Owaisi took over the presidentship of the Majlis after his father’s demise who also was also Jailed Various times .This started an important phase in the history of the Majlis as it continued expanding its educational institutions,Hospitals,Banks, including the first Muslim minority Engineering College and Medical College. Courses in MBA, MCA ,Nursing, Pharmacy and other professional degrees followed and now a daily newspaper known as Etemaad Daily. The 1970s were also a watershed in Majlis’ history as after a long period of 31 years, Hyderabad witnessed large-scale communal rioting in 1979. The Majlis came to the forefront in “defending” Muslim life and property Majlis workers could be seen at these moments defending the properties of Muslims in the wake of riots and these workers were very hard even for the police to control them even now it is a known fact that there are nearly about 2500 units of strong members who only act if there is a seirous threat to the Owaisi family and these members are under the direct orders of the Owaisi family which leads the Majlis party leaving aside thousands of workers and informers throughout the State and even outside the country far away till America and the Gulf countries.Salahuddin Owaisi, also known as “Salar-e-Millat” (commander of the community), has repeatedly alleged in his speeches that the Indian state has “abandoned” the Muslims to their fate. Therefore, “Muslims should stand on their own feet, rather than look to the State for help'’, he argues.This policy has been an unambiguous success in leveraging the Majlis today to its position of being practically the “sole spokesman” of the Muslims in Hyderabad and its environs.Voting figures show this clearly. From 58,000 votes in the 1962 Lok Sabha elections for the Hyderabad seat, Majlis votes rose to 1,12,000 in 1980. The clear articulation of this “stand on one’s feet” policy in education and `protection’ during riots doubled its vote-share by 1984. Salahuddin Owaisi won the seat for the first time, polling 2.22 lakh votes. This vote-share doubled in the 1989 Lok Sabha elections to over four lakhs.The Majlis has since continued its hold on the Hyderabad seat winning about five-and-a-half lakh votes each time.Despite remarkable economic prosperity and negligible communal violence in the past decade, the hold of the Majlis on the Muslims of Hyderabad remains, despite minor dents. And despite widespread allegations of Majlis leaders having “made money”, most ordinary Muslims continue to support them because, as one bank executive put it “they represent our issues clearly and unambiguously'’. An old Historian Bakhtiyar khan says the Owaisi family was a rich family even before entering Politics and he says he had seen the late Majlis leader Abdul Wahed Owaisi in an American Buick car at a time when rarely cars were seen on Hyderabad Roads and the family had strong relations with the ersthwhile Nizams of Hyderabad and the Paighs even now the family is considered to be one of the richest familes in Hyderabad.A university teacher says that the Majlis helped Muslims live with dignity and security at a time when they were under attack and even took the fear out of them after the Police action and adds that he has seen Majlis leaders in the front at times confronting with the Police and the Govt. Asaduddin Owaisi, the articulate UK educated barrister from Lincolns Inn College son of Salahuddin Owaisi and Former leader of the Majlis’ Legislature party and now an MP himself who has travelled across the globe meeting world leaders and organizatons and even in war zones compares the Majlis to the Black Power movement of America.The Majlis that emerged after 1957 is a completely different entity from its pre-independence edition, he says adding that comparisons with that bloody past are “misleading and mischievous”. “That Majlis was fighting for state power, while we have no such ambitions or illusions”.He stoutly defends the need for “an independent political voice” for the minorities, which is willing to defend them and project their issues “firmly”.“How can an independent articulation of minority interests and aspirations be termed communal,” he asks and contests any definition of democracy which questions the loyalty of minorities if they assert their independent political identity. “We are a threat not only to the BJP and Hindu communalism, but also to Muslim extremism,” Asaduddin claims. “By providing a legitimate political vent for Muslims to voice their aspirations and fears, we are preventing the rise of political extremism and religious obscurantism when the community is under unprecedented attack from Hindu communalists and the state'’. He can be seen in his speeches speaking against terrorism in the Country and says if the time arises Majlis will stand side by side in defending the Nation and Recently Majlis ittehadul Muslimeen MP Asaduddin Owaisi has Visited Lebanon after the war with israel and met the leaders of the resistance group Hezbollah and he has even visited Bombay and Malegaon Muslims and raised there issues in Parliament and has even represented the police torture victims to the Prime Minister and has given aid From Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen Party Fund.
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