Hasan suroor biography of albert
Indias Muslim Spring : Why is Nobody Talking about It?
October 17, 2015
I am familiar with Hassan Suroor’s essays and articles in ‘The Hindu’ on subjects related to secularism in India, Indian Muslims and Muslims in the UK. He has always been a credible journalist on these issues. However, the title of this book came as a surprise to me because I had not come across him write on this subject in the columns of ‘The Hindu’ so far. Naturally, I had to read it straight away, because secular Indians cannot have enough of the good news that the title promised - especially in today’s atmosphere of distrust and suspicion towards muslims wherever they are in a minority.
The author’s thesis in the book is briefly as follows:
There is a pleasant spring breeze blowing in the world of India’s muslims today in so far as their outlook and mood are concerned. They are no longer mired in self- pity and victimhood. Instead, young Indian Muslims are introspective and are vigorously engaging in debates on the challenges facing their 177-million strong community. They are looking for ways to pull themselves up by their own efforts instead of blaming others for their problems. The Mullahs have been gradually pushed aside in representing their community; instead, education, jobs and economic advance have taken more centre-stage in their consciousness, just as it is with Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Jains and Parsis. As a result, the younger generation does not feel the identity crisis that their parents felt and hence feel more comfortable in asserting their ‘Muslim-ness’ by wearing the hijab or being more religious than their parents or even doing the Haj even as they are young. In this endeavour, the author calls for more support from the majority community for the flowering of this spring by not harping on muslims to answer provocative questions like, ‘are you Indian first or Muslim first?’ or accuse them as ‘Babur ki aulad’. He asks the police not to immediately pounce on young muslims and take them into custody the moment a terror attack takes place. He wants the media to give more space to these ‘modern younger muslims’ in their TV and written forms, instead of always asking a regressive mullah or an avowed political polemicist to represent the muslim viewpoint, as it happens now. Some of the young muslims whom Suroor interviewed for research on this book said to him that ‘ India is the safest and best place for Muslims to live’ and that they have never faced discrimination in India. One young man even said that the muslim leadership could have shown grace and offered to relocate the Babri mosque in order for the Hindu community to build a temple for Ram on a spot they have revered for centuries.
It is indeed heart-warming for me to read such inclusive sentiments in today’s BJP-inspired vitiated atmosphere of communal relations where I see Muslims being displaced from their homes due to the engineered riots in Muzaffarnagar and Gujarat. At the same time, I feel that the book is quite short on empirical evidence to accept that such a spring is upon us and that it is only because of the negativity of the media that we don’t experience it. For example, having come from Tamilnadu, I see empirical evidence everyday around me for the claim that the ‘reservation’ policy has made a huge difference to the Backward Castes in the state, irrespective of the media. One doesn’t see such pervasive evidence of the muslim spring yet in India. Most of the interviewees in the book are urban young muslims from Aligarh, Lucknow or Delhi. It does not include the different denominations among muslims and even the author himself says elsewhere that Indian muslims are not a single monolithic block, all thinking the same at any given time. There are no interviews with rural muslims or muslims from southern India. I would make bold to say that if northern Indian muslims feel so positive of their future, then it must be even better in the less communal and more development-focused south. But, even in Tamilnadu or Kerala, one does not easily experience such a spring in public life in the cities.
There are other points as well in the book that I have a beef with. The author, while very critical of the mullahs and Deobandi clerics, rates the demolition of the Bari Masjid as a defining moment in alienating Indian muslims. There is no doubt it is so but it is also mainly due to the mullahs raising this issue to such a life and death question, aided by well-meaning secular Hindus. Looking at it dispassionately, surely, the Gujarat 2002 pogrom or the recent riots in Muzaffarnagar are more devastating blows to the muslims than the demolition of a mosque which was not even in use. By raising the masjid demolition to such a high level, I think the author has played into the hands of the clerics he criticises. Elsewhere, the author says that today’s young muslims are pragmatic by even voting for BJP in Gujarat after 2002. The truth may be is that they are so intimidated by the thuggery of what they experienced in 2002 rather than pragmatism. The author is extremely critical of the Congress party in the way it played the muslim ‘vote bank’ under the disguise of secularism. I agree with the author on this fully. Still, when it comes to the safety and security of muslims in India, it is more likely that they will always be safer under the Congress and other secular regional parties like the DMK, AIADMK, JD(U), TMC etc instead of the BJP and its parivar. At times in the book, I felt that the message is confusing and less hopeful. On the one hand, it is about the resurgence of young muslims and the retreat of the regressive forces among Indian muslims. On the other hand, there is a contradictory message of doubt about the larger Indian polity - the people, the state, the police, the media etc - on whether they will support this spring to flourish. I believe Mr. Suroor should be more hopeful because even in the big 2014 victory of Narendra Modi, only 30% of the people voted for the BJP and even all this 30% cannot have done so for sectarian reasons. It would be impossible for any minority in India to prosper if the Hindu majority is not secular and inclusive. The fact that all Indian minorities having prospered ahead of the Hindus in living standards gives us hope for the Muslims too, however tortuous the path may be, due to the legacy of partition.
One other issue is with the question of reservations and quotas for muslims as recommended by the Ranganath Mishra Commission. Even though some of the young muslims interviewed in the book have spoken against ‘reservations and quotas’ for muslims, I wish the author had thrown in his support on this key issue. Surely, there is no doubt that muslims must be considered an economically backward community as they are the only minority group which has a lower standard of living in India than the Hindus but still not covered by affirmative action. It is important to stress that reservations will help to improve their lot just as it has done for OBCs, SCs and STs in India. All the four Southern states have reservations for muslims ( as much as 12% in Kerala) and it has gone a long way in their upliftment, whereas UP, which has a large muslim population, has no quota for muslims.
In some total, it is a ‘feel good’ book about Indian muslims. However, the author needs to write more on the subject to convince even his admirers like me!
The author’s thesis in the book is briefly as follows:
There is a pleasant spring breeze blowing in the world of India’s muslims today in so far as their outlook and mood are concerned. They are no longer mired in self- pity and victimhood. Instead, young Indian Muslims are introspective and are vigorously engaging in debates on the challenges facing their 177-million strong community. They are looking for ways to pull themselves up by their own efforts instead of blaming others for their problems. The Mullahs have been gradually pushed aside in representing their community; instead, education, jobs and economic advance have taken more centre-stage in their consciousness, just as it is with Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Jains and Parsis. As a result, the younger generation does not feel the identity crisis that their parents felt and hence feel more comfortable in asserting their ‘Muslim-ness’ by wearing the hijab or being more religious than their parents or even doing the Haj even as they are young. In this endeavour, the author calls for more support from the majority community for the flowering of this spring by not harping on muslims to answer provocative questions like, ‘are you Indian first or Muslim first?’ or accuse them as ‘Babur ki aulad’. He asks the police not to immediately pounce on young muslims and take them into custody the moment a terror attack takes place. He wants the media to give more space to these ‘modern younger muslims’ in their TV and written forms, instead of always asking a regressive mullah or an avowed political polemicist to represent the muslim viewpoint, as it happens now. Some of the young muslims whom Suroor interviewed for research on this book said to him that ‘ India is the safest and best place for Muslims to live’ and that they have never faced discrimination in India. One young man even said that the muslim leadership could have shown grace and offered to relocate the Babri mosque in order for the Hindu community to build a temple for Ram on a spot they have revered for centuries.
It is indeed heart-warming for me to read such inclusive sentiments in today’s BJP-inspired vitiated atmosphere of communal relations where I see Muslims being displaced from their homes due to the engineered riots in Muzaffarnagar and Gujarat. At the same time, I feel that the book is quite short on empirical evidence to accept that such a spring is upon us and that it is only because of the negativity of the media that we don’t experience it. For example, having come from Tamilnadu, I see empirical evidence everyday around me for the claim that the ‘reservation’ policy has made a huge difference to the Backward Castes in the state, irrespective of the media. One doesn’t see such pervasive evidence of the muslim spring yet in India. Most of the interviewees in the book are urban young muslims from Aligarh, Lucknow or Delhi. It does not include the different denominations among muslims and even the author himself says elsewhere that Indian muslims are not a single monolithic block, all thinking the same at any given time. There are no interviews with rural muslims or muslims from southern India. I would make bold to say that if northern Indian muslims feel so positive of their future, then it must be even better in the less communal and more development-focused south. But, even in Tamilnadu or Kerala, one does not easily experience such a spring in public life in the cities.
There are other points as well in the book that I have a beef with. The author, while very critical of the mullahs and Deobandi clerics, rates the demolition of the Bari Masjid as a defining moment in alienating Indian muslims. There is no doubt it is so but it is also mainly due to the mullahs raising this issue to such a life and death question, aided by well-meaning secular Hindus. Looking at it dispassionately, surely, the Gujarat 2002 pogrom or the recent riots in Muzaffarnagar are more devastating blows to the muslims than the demolition of a mosque which was not even in use. By raising the masjid demolition to such a high level, I think the author has played into the hands of the clerics he criticises. Elsewhere, the author says that today’s young muslims are pragmatic by even voting for BJP in Gujarat after 2002. The truth may be is that they are so intimidated by the thuggery of what they experienced in 2002 rather than pragmatism. The author is extremely critical of the Congress party in the way it played the muslim ‘vote bank’ under the disguise of secularism. I agree with the author on this fully. Still, when it comes to the safety and security of muslims in India, it is more likely that they will always be safer under the Congress and other secular regional parties like the DMK, AIADMK, JD(U), TMC etc instead of the BJP and its parivar. At times in the book, I felt that the message is confusing and less hopeful. On the one hand, it is about the resurgence of young muslims and the retreat of the regressive forces among Indian muslims. On the other hand, there is a contradictory message of doubt about the larger Indian polity - the people, the state, the police, the media etc - on whether they will support this spring to flourish. I believe Mr. Suroor should be more hopeful because even in the big 2014 victory of Narendra Modi, only 30% of the people voted for the BJP and even all this 30% cannot have done so for sectarian reasons. It would be impossible for any minority in India to prosper if the Hindu majority is not secular and inclusive. The fact that all Indian minorities having prospered ahead of the Hindus in living standards gives us hope for the Muslims too, however tortuous the path may be, due to the legacy of partition.
One other issue is with the question of reservations and quotas for muslims as recommended by the Ranganath Mishra Commission. Even though some of the young muslims interviewed in the book have spoken against ‘reservations and quotas’ for muslims, I wish the author had thrown in his support on this key issue. Surely, there is no doubt that muslims must be considered an economically backward community as they are the only minority group which has a lower standard of living in India than the Hindus but still not covered by affirmative action. It is important to stress that reservations will help to improve their lot just as it has done for OBCs, SCs and STs in India. All the four Southern states have reservations for muslims ( as much as 12% in Kerala) and it has gone a long way in their upliftment, whereas UP, which has a large muslim population, has no quota for muslims.
In some total, it is a ‘feel good’ book about Indian muslims. However, the author needs to write more on the subject to convince even his admirers like me!