Poems

When someone weeps.......

Imagine a scene of tragedy

A woman robbed of her melody

Do look into her weeping

That should have been sleeping

The sadness of her eye glows

Is everything from her heart flows

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When one weeps you must realize

Its to prevent the heart to crystallize

When one weeps the bosom is flooded

With the sad thoughts cold-blooded

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All thoughts stream they become

From the scream of cry that burst from

Like the dam that is made

To prevent the water to over-bade

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But the limit when it exceeds

The dam is compelled to heed

To the torment of the water

That cannot be stopped later

Poems

Martrydom

Abudurra, the brave warrior

Who left us in tears

Wrapped in the coffin of martyrdom

Peacefully to Allah’s kingdom

Oh durra how did you feel

When your body was peeled

To the bullets piercing

And the agony charging

Oh Abu you are the lucky one

For the martyrdom you have won

There were many like you

But this time it was you

Martyrs are not dead

As the Quran has said

In Allah’s presence they dwell

Poems

Knowledge

Do notice the honey bee in the morning

In search of flowers it goes on buzzing

Nectar it is in search for

In each and every flower’s core

Neither time-waste is its aim

Nor buzzing simply to create blame

Nectar from flowers it gathers

To feed itself and others it bothers

Healing power the honey has

To make the pain of man pass

Peek into the door hole of Knowledge

Seek for the honey fruits of knowledge

To tell the truth there is

No better honey than knowledge

Clarity it gives to our eyes

Visuality it gives to our lives

Adorned is man’s soul by this

Elevated is man by bliss

Flowers are like books

View them if you can

With an eye of long span

Knowledge you should spread

From the words that is read

Poems

Environment

Dwelling place is the environment

Of all the creatures of nature

Guided are their lives

By the facilities nature provided

Protection they get from the environment

Is necessary for their nourishment

Like a mother it looks after

Like a father it takes care

God’s miracles are viewed in it

Denial of which it is impossible

Awareness it gives to men

Who think and wonder about life

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But as time moves the age

Subjected is the environment to change

Digging ground it has become

To the excavators of luxury

Thrusting is man’s mind

For development and progress

Forgetting God’s boon to mankind

Blind-folded man marches forward

To the destruction of the environment

And the extinction of life on earth

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But let man be reminded

Of the common natural phenomenon

Reaction for every action

Is inevitable in the laws of nature

Movement beyond the law is impossible

Judgment will be the result if he does

So let the slogan be raised

To save the environment and save life

DIALOGUE

INTER FAITH DIALOGUE – MERITS AND DEMERITS

Twenty first century has manifested a grave situation of ignorance of each other’s ways and lines, resulting in suspicious and mistrust among faiths, ethnicities, civilizations and cultures. Politicization of conflicts, backed by tremendous hi-tech power to kill has brought humanity to a perceptual state of war.

The world at the beginning of the 21^st century presents a grim scenario: the rising specter of global insecurity and terrorism, the emergence of a new mutant of imperialism represented by a hegemonic and expansionist United States and its allies, stark inequality and the widening divide between the rich and the poor, the evident human development deficit in large parts of Africa and Asia, growing apprehensions about food security, escalating ethnic, political and religious conflicts in many parts of the world etc. Modern information and technologies have brought to our awareness the magnitude of these challenges in all their vividness.

The thick shadow of conflicts and tensions hovering over mankind had lead some cynical prophets of doom like Samuel. P. Hundington to claim that an inevitable clash of civilizations is looming large and western and Islamic civilizations are moving on a collision course. Even some of the world’s leading thinkers and intellectuals, prominent public figures and heads of state have appreciated Hundington’s views. Seyed Mohammed Khatami comments on the present world scenario: “1. The eager approval of this suggestion indicates humanity’s pressing need for dialogue and understanding .2.This idea, its delineation and approval, are presented at a time, when we have put behind us a century of war, turmoil, usurpation, discrimination and terror. Fortunately, in these entanglements and wars, not only has the world of Islam not played any role, but rather in many it has itself been a victim of war and aggressions. The two world wars have been the bloodiest of the present grievous state. These two wars occurred in the west, at the hands of the westerners. The infringements on the rights of human beings throughout the world have occurred outside the world of Islam. The rights of the people of the continents of Asia, Africa and South America especially the oppressed people of Palestine, have been trampled upon. The inequality has been imposed even upon non-Muslim countries which were not among industrial nations.”(Islam, dialogue and Civil Society p.1)

The grave scenario in front of us urges us to take up measures to try to lessen the rising tensions of fear and terror throughout the world. Fortunately enough the hope for that attempt hasn’t faded out. The rather gloomy scenario has not discouraged a fairly large number of far-sighted individuals and groups from holding aloft the torch of hope and struggle for a peaceful world. They have realized that even though it is impossible to root out the conflicts and tensions, it is well within our reach to make efforts to contain them in a framework of negotiation, dialogue and conciliation. The needs to build bridges of inter cultural understandings, tolerance and peaceful co-existence is being acutely felt across large parts of the world. Laudable attempts for emerging international movements for promoting human understanding are on the move. Zuleyha Keskin, Vice president, Affinity Intercultural Foundation says: “the important objective here is to eliminate misunderstandings, work to eliminate racism and encourage interaction and dialogue within society. If we remove the “unknown” then we go a long way towards achieving understanding and eventually peace and harmony.”(From the article ‘Living in Harmony through dialogue’)

The present situation requires an array of solutions. Human wisdom can efficiently create solutions if the power of peace is at play. Creating mutual human understanding requires dialogue among faiths, civilizations and cultures. No one can deny the fact that in order to create understanding and mutual respect dialogue forms a major technique. Dialogue is human in its character and has been used in most crucial situations in human history. Dr.A. Roest Crollius S.J says: “In India, the ancient Hindu ideal of the Hindu Dharma Sambhav has inspired great rulers as Ashoka and Akbar, who, each in his own way tried to give a form to this ideal. Countless are the believers of different traditions who have not ceased to search for the one Truth beyond all diversity” (Interfaith dialogue as a Historical Challenge and as a Religious Experience p.1). At another instance he said “ One of the very first texts that has been transmitted to us is the dialogue between the Nestorian Catholics Timothy I (780-823) and the Abbasid Caliph al-Mahdi (158/775-169/785)”.(ibid p.2) .Throughout history we can notice that when people of different religions lived in each other’s vicinity, there were attempts from men and groups from either sides to understand and interact with each other so as to get a better understanding of the Truth.

Since the beginning of the history of mankind, man is or has been in search for a sense and direction in their life. His quests might have ended up in believing in religions which gave him that sense. But still his mind while thinking about God and the universe becomes restless and again sets out in search for a clear vision in his life. Dr.A. Roest Crollius S.J says: “Interfaith dialogue is not an affair between an elite of mankind. It is not just the matter of comparing notes between those who have same notes to show. This dialogue is rather open to the profound questions with which all human beings become confronted when they search for a sense and direction in their life.”(ibid p.6). It would be desirable to include an atheist in the dialogue so that our efforts in seeking a deeper mutual understanding in the truth would be a service to them.

Among the topics to be included in dialogue, dialogue for peace and justice among faith communities should be given top priority. No one can ignore this aspect of dialogue, especially, in the present context. Misunderstandings, misconceptions, suspicions, and hate figure higher among many faiths communities despite the fact that no such sanction is available for such negative stance in the basis of any faith sources. Dialogue can bring together faiths that have a significant role in creating a humane society. In addition to this, procedure and strategies to tackle atheism so as to seek means to defend the values of religion should also be given preference as a topic. Another topic which should be considered is techniques to tackle forcible and tempting conversions by religions should be resolved and agreed. This can help to bring down the tensions and irritations rising among the faiths.

The main focus in the process of dialogue should be on the spiritual values of our traditions and religions. While concentrating on them we must also enliven our institution of religions with faith, love and sincerity. This will give us a hand in attaining the soul of dialogue in a more accurate way.

Our dialogue should also include topics in which initiatives can be taken to hold prayers of different faith in one place. The profound example of the mosque- cathedral of Cordoba is in front of us. The history of this peculiar mosque is very interesting. Abdur- Rahman I built a mosque at a place of a pagan temple which was completed at his death in 788. His successors enlarged and embellished this mosque. In 1236 Cordoba was captured by Christians and the mosque became a place of Christian worship. When plans were made to build a cathedral in its place Emperor Charles V opposed the destruction of the mosque. Instead a Cathedral was erected in a part of the old building while the rest was left as it was. Prayers and praises in different religion take different forms. But in every religion there exists an inner experience which are almost common and which cannot be expressed in words. Dr. A. Roest Crollius says: “in our various traditions, the rituals of cultic worship are different. But in every tradition there exists the awareness of a dimension of this prayer and praise which transcends the actual cultic community and encompasses the universe. Among the many expressions of this cosmic dimension of prayer and praise, we may recall the words of the Holy Quran: “Have you not seen that all those who are in the heavens and all those who are in the earth prostrate themselves before Allah; and so do the sun and the moon, and the stars and the mountains, and the trees, and the beasts, and so do many human beings, and even many of those who are condemned to chastisement. And he, whom Allah humiliates, none can give him honor. Allah does whatever He wills”. (22:18) (ibid p.10).

India has a cherished, long history of civilization march over centuries. Indian philosophical and spiritual heritage presents glorious chapters of composite culture. All faiths have contributed to this march.

India has suffered in a big way due to misunderstanding and suspicion among communities. But, the spirit of India has always manifested its positive side as well. India is also credited to have a liberal, democratic Constitution with impressive inclusion of rights. Nevertheless, India needs to push forward its tradition of composite culture forward. All must participate in development. Dialogue may prove to be a viable and effective instrument in achieving the goal of peace, progress and justice.

The future of interfaith dialogue depends on the increase in the attempts of groups and movements to understand different faiths. If the governments take up the task of teaching interfaith subjects in their education institutions it will surely be an endowment to those adults. The government would benefit from these initiatives because it will ideally mean a harmonious society. For keeping the interfaith activities on its track for a longer period funding support should be initiated for the groups on a long term basis. The world has begun to recognize the need for interfaith dialogue as a human activity as so will the coming generations. They have understood its significance in the modern scenario. The attempts and efforts to make effective understanding between religions should be encouraged and applauded in all means.

Merits and Demerits of Interfaith Dialogue:

While analyzing the merits of interfaith dialogue we can find that the merits are directed to eliminate misunderstandings, racism and encourage interaction and dialogue within the society. The following merits can be listed:

1. Interfaith dialogue demonstrates too the public how different faiths can live together in harmony without hurting of insulting each others instincts. The tone of dialogue is not aggressive. It teaches the viewers and its followers that every religion and its followers must be given due respect.

2. It enhances understanding, goodwill and a sense of community between people of different faith. Zuleyha Keskin, Vice president, Affinity Intercultural Foundation says: “They can share knowledge and awareness of the issues people of different may experience. They are in a position to encourage shared projects in the community and address issues as they arise. They can help other people to better understand their neighbours.”(from the article ‘Living in Harmony through dialogue’)

3. Interfaith dialogue helps to explore and learn about each other and know more about the traditions of one’s faith. Every man’s inner soul is in search for a deep understanding of the truth that includes God, the Universe and the Life etc. The process of dialogue helps the participants and the viewers to get an insight of the concepts of truth in other religions which will help them to get a clear vision of the different aspects of truth. Also the knowledge and insight of other religions will help to eradicate the misconceptions and misunderstandings of any particular religion.

4. There are many moral stories which expose the moral values or are brought as examples for a particular moral value in every religion. These stories of morality and virtue can be exchanged in the process of interfaith dialogue which will be quite helpful to the recipients in inducing those values among its followers.

5. Interfaith dialogue of great help to achieve common goals of the society and nation. It enhances the participation of every member of every religion in the development and prosperity of the nation. Dialogues help in making public opinion against the evils prevailing in the society and thus result in its eradication from the society. Dialogues lessen the gap between communities which in turn strengthens the national integration of any country. Syed Mohammed Khatimi say: “All human beings are entitled to participate in the activities that will shape the world in the third millennium. No nation should be left on the sidelines because of some philosophical, political or economic argument. It is not enough to tolerate others but one must work with others. The human world must be shaped by the massive co operation of all human beings. Though this notion upto the early 20^th century sounded like a humanist motto, today it is a necessity for the continuation of human life.”(Islam, Dialogue and Civil Society, p 32).

6. Inter-faith dialogue can be helpful in removing the fear from the minds of the minorities who are oppressed and help them to co-operate with the majority community in the field of development and prosperity of the nation.

7. Inter-faith dialogue encourages in the supporting of each other in times of difficulty. When natural or man-made calamities strike upon the society, dialogue helps in creating people and individuals who do relief work irrespective of caste, creed, religion, language etc. They don’t consider priorities in rendering their much needed services. They only see that their services are rendered in its proper channel to each and every one affected by the calamities.
Likewise when any individuals of any particular religion suffer economically or physically he will be looked after and taken care of by the members of the other religious groups without considering his religion. This mind can be set up and build very strongly with the help of interfaith dialogues.

8. Interfaith dialogues provide a frame reference to shape one’s identity. Knowing the faith of others, will help one to improve his self identification. Zuleyha Keskin says: “This (the merit) was noticeable in the Youth Encounter Project which Affinity Intercultural Foundation was part of. The high school students, who participated in this project, improved their self identification once they knew students of other faiths. They began to see what they had in common and what they did not have in common which is an important analysis that needs to be done, to crystallize one’s identity in their minds”.(from the article “Living in Harmony through Dialogue”)

Demerits of Interfaith Dialogue

Interfaith dialogues on the whole don’t possess any significant demerits which can be highlighted. But then too, some demerits can be pointed out if some particular situations arise:-

1. Dialogue and discussion to self-affirm religious values of one religion can result in the denial of the right of the existence of the religions which might lead to inevitable conflicts. Dr. A Roest Crollius S.J says, “A Self Affirmation in which the right of existence of other religious groups is curtailed or denied would lead inevitably to conflicts, which are contrary to the message of peace that is at the heart of every religion”. (Interfaith dialogue as a Historical Challenge and as a Religious Experience. p 4)
The fascist forces of the world especially in India will try to utilize this negative aspect of the dialogue if it is continued to turn the people against the holding of dialogues. They will accuse the organizers of such dialogues and rise alarm that the people are being converted by force.

2. The participants of interfaith dialogue are set together with the intention to win the hearts of the other and to get them from their own religion. Even though they say and comment on moral values and mutual understanding this intention will surely be there at the back of their minds. This aspect of interfaith dialogue will surely make it futile.

3. Religions have different groups among themselves. When interfaith dialogues are held participants of each religion don’t represent all those groups. How can a dialogue be fruitful without a proper representation of the whole section of the religion?

4. Prophets have been appointed throughout the ages to reform the religions of their ages from its deformed and degenerated forms. This aspect of each religion will be highlighted in the dialogues. This will not help in gaining the main aim of dialogue i.e. Mutual Understanding.

To conclude we can say that interfaith dialogue has become the need of the hour. Ignoring the demerits which can not be highlighted as reasons for preventing dialogues to take place as they are mere possibilities or rare situations, mankind today has to take initiatives to continue with the dialogue process. Peace and social harmony depends on our mutual understanding of diversity and acceptance of diversity in globalised world where people of diverse religions and racial backgrounds interact with each other on a daily basis.

Communal Harmony

Role of minorities in promoting communal harmony in the country

India is known as a nation where communal riots have scorched millions of lives. The partition massacre following Indian freedom remains as an explicit example of such brutalities, where as per official reports 2.5 lakh people were butchered and 1crore 7 lakh people were mercilessly thrown to the cold streets.¹ Apart from places like Aligarh, Meerut and the like, India enjoyed a common situation of peace and harmony for 40 years after independence. Slowly towards the nineties the evil sirens of communism arose as the public desire for a new horizon of an independent India was overwhelmed by communal fascist ideologies and took the public eye. Another reason was the upholding of the Hindutva as the leading nationalistic torch against British imperialism. This flickering flame of Hindutva spread like wildfire upon the onset of Babri Masjid demolition. Ram Puniyani describes this situation “last two decades have seen a massive change in the social and political scene. We have not only witnessed the worst communal riots in this phase but also have seen attempt to eliminate the liberal and democratic values.”² Again he comments “ The demolition of the Babri Masjid unleashed a phase in which thousands lost their lives and properties worth millions were destroyed in the controlled mass hysteria directed by those who are baking their bread on the fire of communal hatred.”³

The main victims of these communal clashes were the minorities. They were projected as outsiders and enemies of India to the country. In fact the minorities are neither outsiders nor invaders to India rather their traditions are deeply rooted in this very same soil. Most of them been converters, who not being able to withstand the social injustice and caste indifferences were prompted to adopt a more justifying community. Due to the same reason the existence of various traditions and descendants are not the elements posing a threat to communal harmony. Five to ten centuries ago, the whole mankind belonged to one known anthropological society. Communal polarization was used as a trap by the feudal lords to retain their influence in the society. They had planned strategies to alter the society’s harmony by injecting venoms of false historical facts. They had been successful in disguising the truth about Muslims and stereotyping them by propagating the Muslim use of weapons and abuse to spread Islam. In the post-modern consumer society, communalism and subjective thoughts have become of aid to those majorities of the middle classed to fill the gap of their spiritual vacuum and urge for power. These anti-social leaders make people believe that their hardships are due to the presence of other religions and because of their spoiled structure. Such a situation which favors on par development of the lower class society creates sparks of jealousy and frustration in them which results in the outbreak of communal hatredness. F.R Fareedhi quotes “The other argument that religion, ipso facto, generates conflict is preposterous, in view of the fact that conflicts of much greater intensity and far longer size have had their origins in political ambitions and economic aggrandizement.”⁴ This is the very same scenario visible to us in the modern India. These communal forces create controversies upholding their scriptural statues and use it as an instrument to create divisions in the public.

Misguided and false biased propagation that the future of the lot is in danger by the leaders have certainly tried to catch the public attention. The role of media is also not exceptional in this case. But the truth remains that most minorities were forced with the conversion of the low classed and the like to other religions than Hinduism and who remained withdrawn in their academic pursuals. Their indulgence in the top layers of the government is negligible. Most of the them are expatriates or small scale industrials. This just shows how strategically corrupted the majority are who flame the flame of communal aggression on the weak and backward minority.

Communalism serves no other cause other than disrupting proper modernization of the society and welfare projects which bring back their once dead identity. All present most of the communal riots occurring are strategically planned. While earlier riots would extinguish within a night, recently incidents like Gujarat massacre are targeted towards, the wiping out of a special group of believers. Such strategic and pre-planned attacks on communities have occurred at many places says officers dealing with the problem.

Nowadays the concept of doubts between the people even in silly matters and thus creating barriers between them has become a common phenomenon. The very existence of the minorities has been threatened .Their future looks very bleak. It is at this pitiable state that the minorities are burned with the responsibility to protect communal harmony. In this very critical juncture instead of indulging in counter attacks minorities must bring back the real communal harmony of their religious and establish humanitarian and brotherly love among the public. They must present before them the true spirit and essence of religion because no religion or religious scriptures says to destroy other religions and its follows .No one can allege and establish this fact on the religions.

A major threat faced by the minorities is the polarization of the society .this polarization which is religion based is becoming stronger day by day. It must be combated in a democratic and secular way so as to combat it perfectly .Ram Puniyani comments: “to fight against this type of polarization is not easy as it rides on the chariot of emotions based on misuse of faith and religious symbolism. The common defining factor of all the Indians as enshrined in the constitution of India, the equal citizenship rights irrespective of religion, caste and gender to be upheld in a serious way and all needs to be done to strengthen the deeper bonds of Indians –ness, which in turn are based on the common premises if human rights of the weaker and oppressed sections of the society. Every struggle for these rights will be an attempt to weaken this polarization, which currently has assumed menacing proportions.⁵ Again he comments “this polarization can be undone only by strengthening the struggle for the human rights of weaker sections and the democratic rights of the minorities.⁶

Maintaining communal harmony in its full scale is inevitable not only for the welfare of the entire nation but for the security of the minor communities .The bloodshed in Gujarat has been cited as an example of communal attacks aimed at wiping out a particular group of believers. Its successful execution could gain the power to spread and destruct. Eventually it becomes clear that creating havoc and uncertainty is the agenda worked upon by the majorities .The strategy to use illiterate people among the minorities to pave way for the clashes is itself pathetic .Therefore those armed Muslim terror groups are themselves harmful to other Muslims, Hence it becomes exceptionally important for different communities to forget their indifferences and join hands to promote communal harmony. The stereotypes held against minorities need to be excluded from the society. This big task lies in the hands of media, social workers and experts.

Muslim minorities and their role:- The main focus of this article is to present the role of Muslim minorities in promoting communal harmony in the country as they constitute a large proportion of the minorities in India, also they might be perhaps the section of the minorities who suffered much during the communal riots that occurred throughout the country.

Muslim have a remarkable historical background of good communal bonds with other communities .Islam itself encourages and teaches its followers to maintain communal harmony with members of other religions .An overall view of the basic teaching of Islam in this topic and a brief sketch of some examples from the life of prophet Muhammad, his companions and the Muslims in India will be helpful to understand the role ancestors of Muslims played in this context and the role to be played by the Muslims today.

Teachings of Quran : Studying the Quran we can find that it gives much importance to religious tolerance. The Quran declares that all believers in god are called a single brotherhood and thus made it an article of faith for its followers to believe in all earlier scriptures and prophets. Religious tolerance is therefore Islam’s gift to humanity. According to Bernard Lewis; “Islam was the first to create a multi-racial, multi –cultural, inter –continental civilization and to borrow adapt and incorporate significant elements from remoter civilizations of Asia”. Intolerant behavior towards the prophets of the other religions cannot be seen in the history of Islam or Muslims. The Quran repeatedly emphasizes on the unity of revelations to all the prophets.

Compulsion or coercion in matters of faith is disagreed by the Quran. Islam accepts the existence of the others religions and also of those who do not believe in god. Islam also asserts the point that there are no chosen people in the matter of salvation. Islam points out that god judges everyone according to his deeds but open to everyone who consciously realizes the oneness of god, surrenders himself to his will and live righteously.

The Quran enjoins upon Muslims to be kind and fair with the decent people of other faiths and to avoid the hostile the unfriendly & the wicked. It also stresses the need for reason and tact in religious discussions with people of other faith. This command of the Quran has two purposes one is to maintain peaceful relations with people and the other one is to not compel them to Islam .The Quran also teaches its followers that honest dealings are necessary with everyone and it is not limited to the people of the own religions .

Guidance from the life of prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H): The life of the last prophet of Islam also presents and excellent portrait of the teachings of the Quran in the subject of communal harmony. The constitution of the new state established under the regime of prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) was the first written constitution in the world dealing with a pluralistic society. It was based on the principles of unity, justice , peace , mutual support and co-operation –exertion and respect and fulfillment of commitments .the Jews and Christians in medina enjoined full freedom of religion and were even allowed to be governed by their own laws and even have their own judges. The prophet offered even territorial autonomy and self –government to the Christians of Najran. History reports that Jews flourished vastly during the Muslim regime.Jews fled from Christian persecution to Muslim countries for refuge. According to Samuel Hudington “if the Jews today knew that under Islamic rule, they had security, prosperity for themselves and their properties, they would have refrained from oppressing the Palestinians.⁷

Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) treated the Christians who came from Najran in the year 10H with utmost courtesy .He even allowed them to pray in Madinah mosque with their religious rites. It may be noted that the Quran calls the Christians as believers, in total contrast to the crusaders who called the monotheist Muslims as infidels.

The treatment of early caliphs: A Few examples from the life of early caliphs will brighten the picture of Islam’s role in promoting communal harmony among the public. In the time of Caliph Umer certain Muslims had usurped a piece of land belonging to a Jew and had constructed a mosque on the site. Hearing the news, the caliph ordered the demolition of the mosque and the restoration of the land to the Jews .They were also banned to enter Jerusalem before Jerusalem came under the Muslim rule. Thanks to Islam’s tolerance and to its universalism the Jews succeeded in re-establishing their secretaries and financial officials of Muslim rulers.

Muslim rule in India: A misinterpretation of history especially the medieval history has taken place in the case of Indian history. A propagation that remains intact in the minds of people is that Muslim rule in India caused all the problems of communal prejudices. The communal forces use this as a tool to demonize the whole community leading to intensification of hated.

This allegation is only true to a small extent. Even though some of the rulers carried out demolition and plundering acts against the Hindus majority of them ruled with he spirit of communal harmony with everyone. Akbar’s state policy which treated all religions alike and regarded it his duty to make no difference between his subjects on the basis of religions is mentionable. Here Aurangazeeb who is alleged as anti-Hindu by the communal forces issued several orders in which land grants were given to several temples. Muhammed bin Qassim directed the nobles, the principal inhabitants, and the Brahmins to build their temples, traffic with the Muslims, live without fear and to strive to better themselves.

Harmony in History: Two major religious trends came up in the medieval times –Bhakti from Hindu and Sufi from Islam .Scholars like kabir, nanack and tulsidan reflected these trends in their works and lives. Tulsidas in an autobiographical couplet says:

“A slave of ram is tulsi

What ever they say left them say.

On alms I live, the mosque is my refuge

My give and take with the world is done here”⁸

Tulsidas did most of his conventional worked for lord Ram from a mosque. Guru nanak also tried to unite Hinduism and Islam by adopting beliefs from both these religions. The writings of the Sufis attracted the public .The poetry & other writing of Baba farid has become part of the holy book of sikhs. He had great respect for local traditions and was against Islamic orthodoxy.

These are a few examples to prove that religions in the medieval ages had no barriers to inter –mingle and co-operate with each others. Thus they were able to establish strong communal bonds with each others which in turn resulted in maintaining the communal harmony in the country.

The culture and tradition of the people also inter-mingled during this period ,North Indian classical musical as knows today is a thourough blend of Hindu and Muslim elements achieved over 500 years, Also we can see dargahs (shrines) of Sufi’s which are run and managed by Muslim as well as Hindu families. The offerings given at the shrine include traditions of Hindus and Muslims .Ram Puniyani says; “such examples are numerous and scattered all over. Today there is a conscious attempt to down play such a valuable tradition and to harp upon the differences of the elite and the rulers. There is a need to look at the truth as a whole. There is need to observe the richness of these syncretic traditions which are a rich tribute to our communities love, respect and tolerance for each other “⁹

Allegations of terrorism against madrasas: One of the widely propagated allegations against Muslims is that they are using the madrasas and religious institutions as centers of terrorism. Terrorism is being imparted from these madrasas. But a deep study and analysis of this allegation and the working of these institutions will render the allegation baseless.

The accusations about madrasas that they are funded by terrorist networks are wrong. The smaller madrasas are run by local donations and the larger ones also get foreign contributions. Prof.Akhtarul Wasey in his book “Madrasas: trying to be relevant” analysis the accusations against madrasas. He says “they do get foreign contributions but all that is through official channels as are the funds from abroad for RSS,VHP and Christian institutions”¹⁰ Again he points out “Mention has also been made of the complements paid to the Darul uloom deoband by the president’s and other ministers of India. There madrasas have played a significant role in the national freedom struggle and have the distinction of having stood like rock in opposition of the two- nation ideology”¹¹

Madrasas were also viewed as a proof of secular character of India. Many prominent persons have visited the famous madrasas and colleges in the country. Akhatrul wasey says: “Not long ago madrasas in India were regarded with admiration and even pride as a proof of secular character of India .Visiting dignitaries, particularly heads of states of Arab and other Muslim countries were regularly taken to madrassas. Presidents and prime ministers have regularly visited there madrasas, sometimes with an eye on Muslims votes in elections ………their active participation and contribution to the freedom struggle, as well as opposition to the two –nation theory is prominently acknowledged in India, including school history text books so in a way all Indian school children grow up knowing about the secular and nationalist credentials of darul uloom madrasa”.¹²

Role of minorities: We have knows India’s peculiarity is its pluralistic behavior .People with different and various beliefs & ideologies live in a mingled situation in India. This mixed culture is the strength of India. Weakening of this strength will weaken the secular base of the country. India cannot come under one state (for e.g.: Hindu state) as it will trigger the destruction of the unity of India. Dominance of one culture by suppressing other cultures& beliefs will result in the breakage of communal bonds. F.R Fareedhi says: “Suppression of cultural susceptibilities also inhibits the wholesome development of a society .Dominant religious or ethnic groups discriminate against the smaller one and hence fail to harness their energies to the benefits of the whole country”.¹³

Minorities especially the Muslim minorities can do a lot to maintain the communal harmony concept of Indians. They have an ideological share to present in this aspect. Their ideology prompts them to strive for the poor and down –trodden irrespective of any criteria. The Zakath system of Islam is a huge contribution to the society. The politics of Islam encourages the revolt against all corruptions and injustice to mankind. Islam defines Muslims as the society raised up for the mankind. Therefore Muslims must make contributions for the upliftment of mankind .Social service to mankind irrespective of any criteria is worship in Islam. Minorities must consider this fact and perform according to it. They must render social service to everyone. Muslims must do this without any desire for worldly gains. Our country has a good tradition of social service and relief works between communities of different religions. During the onset of the communal riots many Hindus protested against the atrocities of these communal forces. Fr.Fareedhi denotes: “A fairly wide area of interaction between communities professing diverse faith remains open if we consider that human welfare, minimization of human miseries and physical afflictions and removal of hunger and poverty irrespective of the difference of caste and creed, color and race, are advocated by all religions and creeds.

As stated above such interaction at individual levels has always existed in the past and it does exist even today between Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and Parsees, despite the communal venom spread by the Hindutva brigade and a section of misguided minority chauvinists. In the course of most communal riots sections of Hindus and Muslims have rendered priceless humanitarian help to each other. In the aftermath of the sad episode of Babri masjid vast sections of Hindu community have expressed their revulsion against the vandalism indulged in by a section of the Hindus. These are positive evidences that show that diverse creeds do not preclude comparative interaction in the normal course of life”.¹⁴

Today the society is under the grip of many social problems. Minorities should work and co-operate with the other communities so as to find solutions to these problems. This co-operation in turn strengthens the communal harmony between them. Minorities should take special interest in solving the problems of everyone especially majority communities. The majority community faces different problems of race, caste etc….Likewise the minorities must know that Islam has ordered them to believe in all the prophets who came to the world to propagate God’s message. The holy characters of Hindu religion might be prophets of god but not mentioned in the Quran. Hence Muslims have no right to make fun of them or disgrace them. Muslim minorities should have good relations with other communities Muslims must observe and show good behavior so that they are not viewed by others with fear and doubts. Islam gives much importance to relations with neighbors. Practicing the rules and regulations regarding neighbors of Muslims will certainly retain communal harmony in the society. The religious institutions can play a significant role in maintaining communal harmony. They must impart education which creates personalities who have respect and love to other religion and its follower’s. The life of these personalities will of course create an atmosphere where communal forces can never undertake their operations.

The institutions run by the minorities as well as the majorities can also spread the message of communal harmony. They must not discriminate between religious in the case of labor and education. While starting institutions the share and partnership of every section of the society should be made sure. This will reduce the gap between minorities and majorities. The central and state governments must also try to apply these procedures in their offices and institutions.

The central government must upgrade the Urdu language to a link-language that connects all the Indians and thus strengthening the communal bonds. The election commission of India in 1989 released a regulation which disallows registration to parties which do not agree the constitution and secularism of India. This is a good step from the election commission to stop the break out of communal riots.

Religions communities and groups must maintain unity between them on the basis of two conditions:

1. The independent existence of each community must be recognized. No one must be made alien.

2. Every communities and groups should be given equal opportunity in rendering service to the country. They must have no fear to present it before the public. Their contribution and hard work must never be seen alien.

The libraries, clubs, social gatherings in the remote areas must try to promote communal harmony through their members .Youths must be made aware of participating in the training camps conducted by communal forces .Their energies must be utilized for the welfare of the society.

Comparative study of religions should be included in the school syllabi so as to make the new generation aware of the significance of communal harmony. The religious leaders and scholars should create awareness in this aspect. Festival occasions can be utilized to strengthen the ties between religions.

The Muslim minorities shouldn’t have a negative attitude towards government even though they face hardships from the government. They must take positive steps to help the government whenever it faces social and international crisis. It would be worth to mention the step taken by Jama’athe islami in solving the petroleum crisis of the country. A sanction imposed by the late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia on India created huge crisis in the petroleum sector all over India. It was at this instance that the Ameer (leader) Of Jam’athe islami late Mohd yousuf sahib held discussions with King Faisal – Saudi Arabian ruler, and requested him to fore think his decision and stand towards India. This step of Jam’athe islami was fruitful in all means and the sanctions were lifted.

Likewise minorities shouldn’t depend wholly or completely on the governments to solve their problems. This is because it will widen the gap between the government and the minorities as the government may become helpless in solving the problems of the minority. Of course it is the duty of a democratic government to take care of the welfare of its people. But the minorities should find others means and way to solve their problems by using their own strength and resources because such solutions can only be beneficial for them than those coming from the government. The relief works conducted after the onset of Gujarat riots is a good example. The central as well as state governments didn’t do anything mentionable to ease the tension. Muslims spend their own money to rehabilitate the riot –stricken people.

Conclusion: It is a huge historical huge fact that Indians never knew the concept of communalism and racial hatredness before the invasion of British. Communal harmony flourished beyond every barrier before the arrival of British imperialism.

When India came under the rule of British imperialism they began to import their culture and customs to the Indian culture. Their culture was a huge barrel of hatredness, fury, deception, selfishness etc….Thus they were able to create divisions of religions between people which inturn strengthened the British rule in India.

As citizens of India minorities must be aware of this danger of imperialism which can infiltrate the minds of people and create chaos in our social system. Also they must make the others aware and conscious of this danger which can be a major blow to the communal harmony of the country. It can also question the very existence of the minorities. Therefore they must do everything so as to spread the message of true communal harmony among the public and thus maintain and strengthen the national integrity of our country.

1. Freedom at midnight (Ch: 13)

2. Indian democracy, pluralism and minorities. (p.32)

3. Ibid.(p.32)

4. Living as a Muslim in a plural society. (p. )

5. Indian democracy, pluralism and minorities. (p.36)

6. Ibid. (p.36)

7. Speech in Frankfurt based Alfred Herr Haussen Institute for International dialogue Between Cultures and Religions of the World.

8. Tulsidas from Kavithavali.

9. Indian democracy, pluralism and minorities. (p.19)

10. Madrasas trying to be relevant. (p.17)

11. Ibid. (p.17)

12. Ibid. (p.85)

13. Living as a Muslim in a plural society. (P.21)

14. Ibid. (p.23)

Other references:

1. Islam and Pluralism – Article presented by Syed Hashim Ali (Formerly Vice – chancellor of Osmania University and Aligarh Muslim University) in a seminar held in the university o Chicago, on April 26, 1998.

2. Da’wath-ze- roza (Urdu newspaper)