In an interview to Navika Kumar and the other guy (you know, the really tough interviewer) from Times Now, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed his kind self to the Muslim samaj (community), and especially asked padhe likhe (educated) Muslims to do aatmamanthan – introspection – about why Muslims are in this durdasha (state of pity), and why even in Congress ke kaal khand mein they did not ‘benefit’ to use his word (big fat tushtikaran flop, that was).
I am reasonably padhi likhi. So, I did. Aatmamanthan, I mean. It did not take long. Because I have in fact, been in aatmamanthan mode for close to 20 years on the subject of Muslims and development. I even helped the Sachar Committee, whose eye-opening report came out in November 2006. See their acknowledgement page – it gave me such a thrill to be thanked in what I consider one of the most historic reports on Indian Muslims. So, I also felt somehow implicated in that never-allowed-to-be-forgotten speech the following month, in December 2006, in which the then prime minister, Manmohan Singh, naturally included minorities and Muslims in his list of groups (STs, SCs, OBCs) who lay at the bottom of the national development heap.
I was also a member of the Post-Sachar Evaluation Committee (aka the Kundu Committee) whose report was submitted in 2014 – to the very government Modi heads. These were all moments of great aatmamanthan on development and marginalisation.
By the way, many highly padhe likhey Hindus were not just part of, but led these aatmamanthan sabhas with great commitment. Anyway, gradually the lynching, bulldozing and arresting thing started and everyone got distracted and started scrambling around for cover and lawyers and forgot about Muslims and development.
Now, thanks to the honourable prime minister, the spotlight is back. But instead of dusting off reams of our policy recommendations to answer his question of why Muslims are where they are, I feel we could seek answers from the seer himself. Because he is clearly doing some serious aatmamanthan on Muslims. In fact, he has stopped thinking about anyone else. No one matters. Because, Muslims.
And those who accuse the man occupying the highest executive office in the largest democracy in the world of not speaking on important issues facing the nation, are liars. He has been speaking. Everyday. 24/7. On vital issues. Never losing his way. Never losing sight of his favourite community. These speeches are backed by entire Political Science.
He has asked India to give him 400 paar to prevent Muslims from locking Ram temple; also, please give 400 paar to prevent Muslims from joining national cricket team; Dalit and Adivasi Rights – only if Muslims don’t get any; OBC quota – as long as Muslims don’t get any; reservations (for any group); maybe, if Muslims don’t get any; national resources (gold) – Muslims will plunder; vikas – will happen, when there’s no Muslim tushtikaran; women’s security – Muslims doing their love jihad; women’s property rights – Muslims snatching mangal sutra; legal reform – Muslims will impose Sharia; Voting rights – Muslims doing vote jihad; land rights – Muslims do land jihad; food security – Muslims eat cows (Opposition eats mutton, fish); livelihood – Muslims will take away buffaloes; women’s reproductive rights – Muslims have too many children; heritage preservation – Aurangzeb, the great grand father of all Muslims, destroyed temples; national security – Muslims are infiltrators.
So, why are Muslims in this durdasha and unable to get ‘benefits’? I personally think, following the lead of the honurable prime minister, it’s because of Ambani and Adani.
Farah Naqvi is a writer and activist who lives and works in Delhi.