As soon as my name with the above mentioned title would appear on the screen of a reader sitting in a distant part of my nation, there would be not one but many thoughts that would strike the readers mind at once. India as a country has witnessed massive changes in its social, political and economic structure in the past one decade. If we take a look at the beginning of the 21st century, the nation had begun its metamorphosis stage and till date we are all somewhere caught up in the same phase.
As an Indian Muslim, I grew up to love my nation, my land in the same way as my Hindu friends did. My parents instilled in me the understanding of an identity of an Indian national, just as my Hindu friends in the neighbourhood were getting. I felt the same patriotic emotions my Hindu friends did when I stood up for my national anthem on every occasion.
I also experienced goose bumps when I heard the lines “Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab humare dil main…..”I used to also scream my lungs out when India won the World Cup or won any match. I also love the tri-colour, listening to stories of freedom fighters also stirred up similar emotions in me as it did in the Hindu classmate who sat next to me. Watching the Republic Day parade made me a proud Indian in the same way, as watching it made my Hindu neighbour. Speaking up against any social evil made me feel like a responsible citizen as any Hindu would feel. Celebrating Independence Day made me feel as ecstatic with happiness just as my Hindu friends were.
But often sitting in the corner of my room, I contemplate and the following questions revolve around me and haunt me:
If I am an Indian as much as you are my Hindu friend……
Then why was I slaughtered in Gujarat?
Why was I butchered in Muzzafarnagar?
Why do people stare at me when I wear my skull cap or Hijab?
Why does my name force people to doubt my love for my nation?
Why do I hear comments like “Tu toh Pakistan ko support kar rahi hogi/hoga” during a match?
Why do I not get a good apartment on rent in a posh locality?
Why do people call me staunch if I pray fives time in a day?
Why am I called an orthodox Muslim if I follow my religion to the best of my capacities?
Why are the boys of my community under constant surveillance?
Why am I not an Indian as much as you are?
The above questions and emotions are not something new for any Indian Muslim. But we still look forward for answers. This blog is actually a questionnaire for our nation, our state machinery, our government which needs to fill it up so that the blanks that have risen in the minds of the Indian Muslim community get filled. Our nation today is heading towards a crisis that is threatening the strong pillars of secularism and brotherhood on which the largest democracy of the world stands strong.
We the People of India, have to make sure that our future generation does not continue to live with the same doubts and fears which these blanks leave unanswered. As a part of this democracy I would like to ask not just every Muslim but every Hindu friend of mine to Rise for India. The issue addressed in the blog today is not about a minority, a community or a particular sect but it is about a society, we all are part of. The nation today does not only need leaders but the youth of our nation needs to stir up a revolution against the attitudinal discrepancies that exist in our society. As an Indian Muslim I would want to feel like an Indian as much as my Hindu friends do.
I have always held the religion of Muhammad in high estimation because of its wonderful vitality. It is the only religion which appears to me to possess that assimilating capacity to the changing phase of existence which can make itself appeal to every age. I have studied him – the wonderful man and in my opinion far from being an anti-Christ, he must be called the Saviour of Humanity. I believe that if a man like him were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world, he would succeed in solving its problems in a way that would bring it the much needed peace and happiness….
– George Bernard Shaw
