The uproar over the slogan “I Love Mohammad” in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, is not only against the composite culture of India but also against moral conduct. As for Bareilly, it is the headquarters of a sect of Islam, while also witnessing the Lakshmi-Narayan Temple built by the late Fazlur Rahman, also known as Chunna Mian. Chunna Mian donated his land for this temple, located in Bareilly’s Sahukara neighborhood, and also provided financial assistance of one lakh and one rupee for its construction in the 1950s. During the temple’s construction, Chunna Mian himself performed Kar Seva for the temple. Chunna Mian’s portrait is also displayed in the temple. This is proof that Indian Muslims have been deeply sensitive to social unity and have a deep respect for Hindu culture. Chunna Mian’s life was that of a saint, for whom all Hindus and Muslims were true Indians. When Chunna Miyan was building this temple in 1960, India’s first President, the late Rajendra Prasad, also conveyed his best wishes. Therefore, it would be foolish to ignore the brotherhood between Hindus and Muslims in a city with such a rich heritage. However, we also know that after independence, education was not promoted among Muslims living in India, and this entire community was left at the mercy of mullahs, clerics, and Islamic scholars. As a result, this community could not keep pace with the progress of the rest of India. Evidence of this is the Sachar Committee report, formed by the previous Manmohan Singh government to assess the financial condition of Muslims, which revealed that their condition was even worse than that of Scheduled Castes. Indeed, humanity is the first religion of a human being, followed by other religions that provide recognition in the world. But a week ago on Friday, the way Maulana Tauqeer Raza of Bareilly tried to create communal frenzy under the guise of ‘I love Mohammad’, the message that went out was that Islam instead of peace, shows extremism, whereas this is completely wrong.
Islam is a religion with a socialist ethos, as Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) has instructed us to always be considerate of our neighbors and see if their homes have food. Besides fasting during Ramadan, every Muslim is also instructed to contribute alms, or zakat, to enrich the lives of the poor. Such a religion can never advocate violence. This is why, around 1922, Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation, wrote in Young India and around 1941 in Harijan Patra, that Islam is fundamentally a religion of peace. However, the problem is that mullahs, maulvis, and scholars have exacerbated its aggressive nature, and the ultimate consequence is that previous governments have considered the religious appeasement of Muslims their sole responsibility. The icing on the cake was that in 1947, the British government went back to London after creating a separate Pakistan for Muslims solely on the basis of religion. It is a historical fact that after the first war of independence in 1857, the British sowed the seeds of hatred between Hindus and Muslims very deeply and in the twentieth century, by forming the Muslim League in 1906 and by declaring separate electoral constituencies for Muslims in 1908, they bled the composite culture of India from within. The British did not stop here; in 1919, they created separate electoral constituencies for Sikh citizens as well.
The irony of independent India is that education has failed to spread among the Muslim community, and Muslim fundamentalists have devoted all their efforts to keeping the entire community illiterate so that their political business can flourish. The way Maulana Tauqeer Raza attempted to incite a riot in Bareilly last Friday testifies to how easy it can be to mislead the Muslim community in the name of religion. Indian Muslims should remember that in independent India, they are as equally empowered by the Constitution as any Hindu citizen. Therefore, they should not, even by mistake, succumb to the influence of any mullah or cleric, nor should they harbor hostility towards any other community. All are Indians and reside on this glorious Indian soil. As for Hindus, they too should express their religious sentiments within the bounds of the Constitution and should never, under any circumstances, show disrespect or disrespect towards followers of other religions. During Dussehra and Navratri, Ramlilas are staged across India, in which even Muslim citizens happily participate as actors. Because an artist is simply a performer. The violence that erupted in Bareilly after Friday prayers has no place in secular India. India is a land that also produced Guru Nanak Dev Ji Maharaj and great saints like Kabirdas. Who can match the sensitivity with which the diversity of India is described in Nanakvani? This verse is as follows:
Koi bollai Ram-Ram koi Khudaye
Koi seve Gussaiyaan, koi Allaye
Kaaran kar karan Kareem, kirpa dhaar taar Raheem
Koi nhavai teerath, koi haj jaye
Koi kare pooja, koi sir navaaye
Koi phadhai Ved, koi kached
Koi aoudhe neel, koi safed
Koi kahe Turak, koi kahe Hindu
Koi baanchai bahisht, koi sur bindu
Kahai Nanak jin hukam pachhaya, Prabhu Saheb ke tin bhed paaya.
