40 INDIATODAY AUGUST 19, 2019
up for the oppressed. Yet, self-consciousness and apprehension
among Muslims is inevitable. It’s no longer just the danger of be-
ing insulted, but an issue of personal safety. The demand doesn’t
stop at the visual affirmation of national aspirations and its
repeated endorsement; now religious slogans of the majoritar-
ian faith must be incanted submitting to the will of bullies.
But, truthfully, there are no issues of conflict between the
majority of Hindus and Muslims except, perhaps, on contested
claims like Ayodhya. Anyone familiar with the Bhakti move-
ment knows of its close interface with Sufism. Sant Kabir,
in his remarkable life as indeed even when his last rites were
performed at Maghar in Sant Kabir Nagar, left little scope for
disagreement between Islam and Hinduism. By any analysis,
India is culturally and spiritually a richer country by being
home to the world’s greatest religions and cultures. Muslims
and Hindus alike repudiated the two-nation theory in 1947.
It would be tragic in the extreme if anyone seeks to revive that
thesis within independent India by creating a subjugated na-
tion within. Those seeking affirmations of patriotism overlook
the sacrifice of Brig. Usman and Hav. Abdul Hameed, the
prowess of cricketers like M.A.K. Pataudi and Mohammad
Azharuddin, the wisdom of late president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
and former vice-president Hamid Ansari, the musical notes of
Amjad Ali Khan and A.R. Rahman, the virtuoso performance
of Dilip Kumar and Meena Kumari, the hockey dribbles of
Aslam Sher Khan and Zafar Iqbal and an endless legacy that
has enriched our home called India.
A
sking a Muslim, Christian or Sikh to display
proof of patriotism is the most unpatriotic act
anyone can indulge in. India, even as it is poised
for greatness in the world, must recognise its
unique greatness at home first. There is no prob-
lem in reaching out to the past to revive a sense of belonging
and self-esteem, but then the past cannot be chosen selectively.
Furthermore, to use the past for inspiration cannot be faulted
so long as it leads to noble dreams for the future. Learning from
the past is useful in looking ahead but getting preoccupied in
undoing part of the past can itself be severely counter-produc-
tive. When compassion is questioned for motives, and human
rights advocacy for sedition, we know the air is toxic.
India’s syncretic ethos is not an artificial construct but a
product of centuries of shared experiences of Hindus and Mus-
lims. It culminated in the most remarkable collaborative effort
during the Independence movement as millions of Muslims
and Hindus walked behind Mahatma Gandhi and a galaxy of
brilliant leaders, the likes of whom the world has seldom seen.
The refrain of ‘Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamare dil mein
hai, dekhna hai zor kitna baazu-e-qatil mein hai’ celebrated
the greatest non-violent movement in the world, turning the
belligerent and violent Pashtun people into peace-
seeking khudai khidmatgars of Khan Abdul
Ghaffar Khan. A deliberate or ignorant oblitera-
tion of that glorious legacy to extract narrow
political advantage by polarising united India
is an affront to patriotism and a betrayal of the
nation. When self-professed pseudo-nationalists
undermine our national ethos, the response lies in
fortitude, patience, determination and foresight.
For the love of India, a love that we know surpass-
es all else, it is important that Indian Muslims do
not lose faith in the idea that we call our home.
We must continue to show our love as we feel,
neither forced nor contrived. Let us refresh our
rich history and recapture the public imagination.
The darkness cannot but give way to a new dawn.
If we do not despair and surrender, generations to
come will pause to hear us sing, ‘Ham laaye hain
toofan se kashti nikaal ke, iss desh ko rakhna
mere bachchon sambhaal ke.’
The Muslims of India must relive the glorious
moments of 1857 and 1947 in camaraderie with
our Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Jain, Parsi brothers
and sisters to keep India free of the darkness of
mistrust and division. Our success will be the
clarion call of our patriotism. The proof of our
patriotism must be given to our conscience, not
to those who know not what patriotism is. Our
reward will be when we pass the torch to a new
generation of Indians who will all cherish their
respective faiths and yet think of themselves as
one family. The acknowledgement of tomorrow’s
torch-bearers—that we kept the torch alive—will
be the lasting legacy of our patriotism.Salman Khurshidis a senior advocate
and former Cabinet ministerTHERE CANNOTBEA
GREATER INSULTTO
THE INDIANPSYCHE
AND BETRAYALOF
ITS CONSCIOUSNESS
THAN TO QUESTION
THE INDIANNESS
OF AN INDIAN