Home | Society | Asian Interests
While at Modern School, Barakhamba Road, witnessing the history of Vande Mataram in a ballet on the occasion of the 59th anniversary of India's independence, my body, mind and soul, all in unison vouched that this is the song of the soul of each Indian irrespective of religion, caste, colour, status or creed. The melody, the thought content and the ambience of patriotism of Vande Mataram is unmatchable. As an Indian, I simply fail to understand as to why some of my co-religionists are trying to make a religious issue out of Vande Mataram that has a universal appeal for all Indians irrespective of caste, creed and faith. As a Muslim, I would like to convey a message to all my countrymen and especially my own community that some politically motivated people are trying to make an emotive issue of Vande Mataram, gem of a song which in my view should have been the national anthem in place of Jana gana mana... What is very unfortunate is that clerics like the Shahi Imam (of Jama Masjid), Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangimahli and others give Hindutva forces the handle to beat Muslims with. Why should we fault Ashok Singhal (Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader) for giving anti-Muslim statements when our own clerics utter vitriolic things which give an impression that Muslims are less patriotic than the Hindus? Perhaps, the beautiful song got caught up with the electoral calculations keeping in view the approaching Uttar Pradesh elections. The media is also responsible for creating such an impression by repeatedly giving publicity to speeches by these clerics who are no more than bigots. It is because of irresponsible statements made by these people that Muslims have to suffer. The voices of secular, patriotic and liberal Muslims never get a forum. We live in a liberal society where we are encouraged to know about one another's religion. Does a Hindu become 'ashudh' by going to Jama Masjid or a church? Don't the Muslim children going to Christian schools sing psalms from the Bible in the morning assembly like "Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name"? Do they come back home losing their faith? Then how can singing Vande Mataram be un-Islamic? Moreover, the words of Vande Mataram "Mother, I bow to thee! Rich with thy hurrying streams, Bright with thy orchard gleams... Mother, to thee I bow...", found to be objectionable to the clerics, have nothing of that kind as we are not making 'sijda' (bow) before anyone except Allah. Where's the controversy except in the minds of the misguiding fundamentalists? What is of paramount importance today is that people must beware of the ugly face of fundamentalism commonly constituted by the so-called champions of Islam and advocates of Hindutva who, having lost their say in the aftermath of the Babri Masjid controversy, want to revive that cold and hot war. So far as Muslims are concerned, true, as per the dictates of Islam, they can never worship or bow in front of anything other than Allah. But that doesn't take from them the fact that they are loyal to the nation and that they do not need a certificate to prove this. I simply pity a handful of rabble-rousers who object to the singing of this very emphatic, inspiring and expressive song. Rather than going into the hair-splitting linguistics of the song, the spirit is important that conveys the message of cementing the bonds between Indians from all cross sections of society. Muslims must follow the example of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, independent India's first education minister, who though born in a predominantly Hindu environment, was bold enough to propagate nationalism to Muslims at variance with the prevalent political consciousness based on communalised politics while supporting the same with Islamic sanction. Maulana Azad saw in Vande Mataram the fusion of the endogenic creativity, the Vedantic vision of many parts of truth with the Islamic doctrines of Wahdat-e-Deen (unity of religion) and Sulah-e-Kul (universal peace). While listening to a rendition of Vande Mataram in 1952 by a renowned maestro, Krishna Kumar, in Delhi, Maulana Azad admired it saying it was graceful and inspiring as great luminaries like Rabindranath Tagore, Surendranath Banerjee, Satyabhushan Gupta, R.N. Bose and others had sung it. Muslims should not get carried away by a few lines of the song as nobody is asking them to bow down. They must learn a lesson from Maulana Azad. On the occasion of the inauguration of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Maulana sahib's forehead was smeared with a tilak at which Dawn, a Pakistani daily, commented in a cartoon that he changed his religion to Hinduism. At that, Maulana said that in fact by such participation, his faith in his religion strengthens more. Muslims must learn from his example. Let me submit that the politically motivated individuals or the ones from clergy should not try to snowball the issue that it might acquire communalist overtones. It's a charming song and must be sung on coming Sep 7 in India at all places where Indians live. Muslims must not find any difference between "Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamarey dil mein hai..." or "Sare jahan se achha Hindostan hamara..." The glorious Vande Mataram belongs to Muslims as much as it belongs to any Indian. We are one and just Indians! Don't divide us into Hindus, Muslims and Christians.
Article Source: http://www.share.onlypunjab.com
Please Rate this Article
5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5
Not yet Rated
