Terrorism Plank and Indian Muslims

The era of US-led terror wars has helped anti-Muslim India to treat the Muslims as terrorists, the suspected and the potential ones.

Indians living abroad and leading a comfortable life often enjoy "patriotic" rhymes and rejoice at praising India the best country in the world where the Muslims are  "better" placed than Hindus and that the Muslims are bad guys and live quite comfortably in India . They are in no way different from those in India who enjoy the fruits of development all by themselves leaving almost nothing to Muslims, but relish by insulting them. Hypocrisy and shame know no limits, of course.

A few lines would help these self proclaimed patriots" to understand the factual position.

Muslims lead a pathetic and strained life as  offered to them by the governments  of India and states.The role of the Muslims in India 's independence, wherein many of them lost lives for the country's sake as well as their positive contributions to country's development are totally ignored by  State as well as media.Instead, issues like Pakistan and terrorism are cleverly brought in to play a destructive role in the lives of Muslims. While focusing on Muslims in India, t he media and politicians encouraged by the bureaucrats make it appear that Muslims are a burden and a lot of resources are spent on them unnecessarily. Wonderfully, even by keeping a Muslim as President, India keeps doing what the USA does to Muslims all over the world. Insulting and bashing the Muslims is routine event in the country, including  New Delhi .

Babri Mosque, pulled down during the Congress rule at the centre, and with its support, by the anti-Islamic terrorists and other state-sponsored forces led by the BJP and the UP state then ruled by the BJP, is a glaring example of how the Muslims and Islamic institutions are treated in India. With advent of US sponsored war on the so-called terrorism, India has been ably use the terrorism plank to deny what is legitimately due to Muslims. Like the USA and the West, India too describes and views the Muslims as suspected terrorists. All Muslims thus are potential terrorists, if not real or suspected ones.

All these years since Independence, the print media, English as well vernaculars, have faithfully portrayed Muslims as evils and unwanted elements that need to be eliminated at all costs, secretly or, if that is not possible, openly. The majority Hindus are projected as the "tolerant ones" and "sufferers" and badly hit people by the "onslaught" of the Muslims, whereas the truth suggests to the contrast.Of late, however, Indian media, under the prevailing circumstances, seem to have been caught between its 'duty' to go all out for shielding the majority and advancing the so-called national interest and the need to project India as the largest democracy, at the same time. The media that are used to paint the Muslim in India in dirty colors of their choice, find it extremely difficult now to change their anti-Muslim format.

Media successfully fueled the anti-Muslim tragedy and promoted the anti-Islamic propaganda.The ugly depiction of Muslims, where the Muslims are shown as villains and ugly guys, have caused tensions in the society that led to the slow annihilation of the Muslims. The media that are so used to paint the Muslim in India in dirty colors of their choice, now would find it extremely difficult to change their anti-Muslim format for fear of angry reaction from the special sections that fomented  friction in the society, apart from from the  worry about a possible slash in daily circulation affecting the profits of the media magnets controlling politics in the country.

More Indian Muslims are employed outside India than in the country, as India refuses to ensure their involvement in jobs and education.Neither the media not the governments, both the central and the states, seems to be ashamed of the fact that Muslims have look outside India for a lively-hood, if they want to live some how. Muslims, deprived of any dependable leadership and resources to face the challenge from the media. While criticizing the Muslims for what they may or may not be responsible, the media refuse to give due credit to the hard work the Indian Muslims do not just at home but  in the Middle East and contribute immensely to the upsurge of Indian economy during the past 20 years with their regular bank remittances.   

But for the Gulf countries the plight of Muslims in "democratic" India would have been indescribable in a normal language.It is too difficult now, or at a later stage, to remold the mind of the people by giving real facts, even if the media want to set the record straight.More so those Hindus who enjoy a fine life abroad.

The crux of the issue is how to reset the mind-set of the readers who were made to believe as facts the fiction presented to them, even if the media want undertake that. Indian newspaper readers and media viewers were earlier told that Muslims are bad lots, terrorists and suspected fellows and that they shouldn't be entertained in societies at all. Muslims, deprived of any dependable leadership and resources to face the challenge from the media, are used as mere vote bank.The majority might question the veracity and reliability of the "new" material if supplied to them as new facts about Muslims. To accept the Muslims as fellow travelers, after targeting them thus far for no fault of them, is difficult and the readers would be required to treat the Muslims as humans, which would indeed be a difficult proposition. That would mean that democracy is farce.

Of course, it is not to deny the fact that Indian Muslims are not too great and that they also cheat, insult and would not even hesitate to kill each other, if the network asks the to do. Mischief and distrust characterize the intra-relationship among the Muslims not only in Muslim dominated areas, but even in localities where there are hardly much Muslims living. Torture, physical as well as mental, inflicted by the state agencies upon the Muslims has driven them away from seeking any justice from the government agencies and seeking any share in the national development or resources. One does not know, if that is a victory for the State and the loyal media.

A faulty and corrupt leadership has harmed the cause of Muslims in a great way. Also, the Muslim leadership is controlled by the ruling parties both at the center and states and the Congress and other major parties oblige the Muslim leaders by meeting their personal demands. As a result the Muslims are betrayed by the very leaders who claim to be protecting their interests. Not less corrupt and tricky than other political parties in India, Muslim League and Hyderabad based Muslim majlis party (MIM) having the pretensions of defenders of Indian Muslims, quietly take dictates from the Congress party.This explains why the Muslims in Kashmir are subjected to insults and harassment by those very personnel who are duty bound to protect them, apart from regular genocide and loss of properties. Gulam Nabi Azad, the chief-minister of JK and the only Muslim chief-minister in "secular" India, like all other chief-ministers in the country do, pretends ignorance of what has been happening right under his very nose. New Delhi still perceives and views Kashmiris as troublesome, bad guys

The main worry of the media magnets and their political bosses seems to be economic advancement of Muslims which they don’t wish for them. By re-projecting Muslims as humans now, the media indirectly try to make room for advancement of Muslims in the society. Because the governments by taking cue from the media suggestions would be compelled to pass necessary laws to uplift the Muslims as well.  But the readers are well equipped to receive the supposedly change in mind of the journalistic justice. This is the real dilemma that media, like the bureaucracy and politicians, face today .Hence the reluctance on the part of the media to present facts as facts and turn away from fictional portrayal of Muslims as unwanted ones coming in the way of the majority sharing all resources by themselves, just as the war booty is being shared by the US-led forces in the Middle East.

Of course, enough of the so-called terrorism, as this plan has harmed the Muslims more than any other section in the society in terms of living and advancement. A better future for the Muslims would be possible only if the media change their mind-set in favor of uplifting the Muslims.It is time, therefore, now after six decades of Indian independence, for the governments, both the central and the regional, to formulate afresh the media rules of portrayal of Indian reality in the context of the growing "popularity" of anti-Muslim journalistic format in the country and in keeping with the growing urgency for a new  face of journalism which should be against anti-Muslim but reflect an all-people theme.

The Indian majority population does have a right to appreciate reality correctly, view their Muslim brethren correctly and not to insult them for no reasons. Will the Indian State and media magnets cooperate at least now to create a genuinely conducive media atmosphere promoting mutual respect across all sections of the people in India and thereby serve the national interest better? Or, is nurturing that kind of an idea of real secularism still a utopia? A particular section of population cannot be considered as anti-national, ill-treated badly and denied, on some pretexts, their due share in national development of the so-called largest democracy. It would be nothing but a national shame!