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Questions from Secular Muslims :: The PPI FAQ's

Q. 1 Muslims should integrate with fellow Hindu citizens so that no discrimination conies against them. How could you hurt the feelings of secular Hindus who side with Muslims a many issues? Q. 2 Muslims are better-off supporting the Congress as Maulana Azad had supported and remained in Congress. Why should we heed to your request of a Muslim Party? Q. 3 Why do you not work for Indian Nationalism instead of Muslim Nationalism? Q. 4 With one Muslim political party, you are creating a dangerous wedge between Muslims and Hindus. It may lead to 1947 like situation. How you quell such fears? Q. 5 How would you like Javed Akhtar, Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi to react to your ideology of a United Muslim Party.? Q. 6 What response would you like to get from Arif Mohd. Khan, Maulana Obaidullah Azmi and A.A. Fatmi?? Q. 7 Why do you think that all Muslims should support your ideology?



Q. 1 Muslims should integrate with fellow Hindu citizens so that no discrimination conies against them. How could you hurt the feelings of secular Hindus who side with Muslims a many issues?

Ans: PPI wants to integrate and interact with all fellow non-Muslim citizens but as an organised and coherent political group. So far Indian Muslims have integrated, rather submitted to the political will of the majority but the series of discrimination against them has further accelerated. This clearly indicates that the government, bureaucracy and even law enforcing agencies are communally biased against Muslims. In some cases even the integrityof judicial system also at the lower level in under queston. This situation will persist, perpetuate and accelerate if they remain unorganised and politically powerless. PPI stands for assertion of the political rights of Indian Muslims within the constitutional framework of the country. It does not intend to usurp the privileges and political power of other communities. Rather, PPI will support other minorities and oppressed and weaker section of Indian society in the process of their political empoverment and socio-economic betterment. PPI will assert for the political rights of Indian Muslims on the one hand and social integration with non-muslim fellow citizens on the other. This is an essential part of the PPI political policy to ease social tension between Muslims and other fellow citizens. This will be in the interest of the country, society and PPI. PPI acknowledges with great appreciation the role played by secular Hindus in past and present. However, it is an unfortunate chapter of our political fabric that inspite of their best efforts communalism and hatred against Muslims propagated by organised Hindutva fascist forces like RSS, VHP, Bajrang Dal and BJP has tremendously increased out of proportion. PPI is sorry to announce that these secular Hindu brethren are now not in a position to resist this anti-secular effort. Rather than checking these communal organisations, they have confined themselves to academic discussion merely to pacify the sentiments of Indian Muslims instead of evolving any concrete and proactive policy. PPI considers that majority of the Hindus are secular but only handful organised communalist RSS minded sections have vitiated the atmosphere. To resist their efforts and to give a befitting reply it is tlie effort of PPI to organise Muslims politically, socially and culturally. In its effort PPI will seek the support of Hindu majority and secular minded intellectual class from enlightened section of the Hindu society.


Q. 2 Muslims are better-off supporting the Congress as Maulana Azad had supported and remained in Congress. Why should we heed to your request of a Muslim Party?

Ans: There is no doubt about that immediately after partition demoralised Indian Muslims under the political leadership of Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad opted for the merger of their separate political identity with the so called secular parties (Congress being the only of its kind in those days). The feeling of Maulana Azad can be easily assessed on the basis of the last thirty preserved pages of "India Wins Freedom" which were kept in safe custody till thirty years after his death. What this unfortunate situation is that a front ranker congress man of leader like Maulana Azad could not dare to express his views in his life-time and after a long period of his death it was to be revealed. However, Indian Muslims pursued the policy of Maulana Azad and supported the Congress and other secular parties for the sake of their survival for the fear that communalist Hindu forces will capture power. Unfortunately, this happened within less than half century and RSS supported BJP has captured the political power and mustered the support of civil administration, judiciary, law enforcing agencies and even armed forces. Saffronisation of education and culture is taking place at a fast pace. Islam and Muslim civilization are being targetted in an organised manner with the active support of the political and administrative machinery of the state. Demolition of Babri Masjid, burning of Quran and state sponsored genocide of Muslims have become the order of the day. Discrimination against Muslims has reduced their presence in government services to barely 1.5% and in legislative bodies their presence has been further marginalised. The pursuance of the policy to support the so called secular parties and not to organise themselves politically has generated this kind of results which have been mentioned above. Is there any other alternative strategy except that Muslims should organise themselves politically and then make political alliance with other political parties to share political power in proportion to their numerical strength and historical status? PPI convincingly stands for this as it has studied meticulously the political history of post independence India.


Q. 3 Why do you not work for Indian Nationalism instead of Muslim Nationalism?

Ans: PPI is not working for a parallel Muslim Nationalism to Indian Nationalism. Its concept of Indian Nationalism is entirely different from that of the neo-facist majoritism of Hindutva forces. We refuse to accept the parochial claim that Hindutva is the fountain-head of Indian Nationalism. For Hindu fascists the post independence ressurgence of Hindutva means Indian Nationalism. For instance. Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the symbolic leader of neo-fascist Hindutva forces, declares that Ram Mandir construction movement is the manifestation of National sentiments. Furthermore, Mr. L.K. Advani, the prime accused of the Babri Masjid, asserts that Hindutva and Indian Nationalism are synonymous. PPI can not accept this narrow and sectarian concept of Indian Nationalism as propagated by the Hindutva forces. The perception of PPI is that it is the continuity of Indian civilization which forms the core of Indian Nationalism. The pluralistic characteristic of Indian civilization is based upon a mutual respect for history, culture, tradition, religion and language of each composite group of Indian community. The composite Indian culture ensures independent and dignified position for every section within Indian society. In view of PPI Dalits, Backwards and other religious and lingual groups all form together mutually dependent and integral component of the great Indian composite culture and hence Indian Nationalism. However, every secton within this great Indian composite culture has its unique socio-cultural and historic position and therefore they have the constitutional right to organise themselves socio-politically within the constitutional framework to realise their aspirations. The sum total of their realised aspirations will form the basis of collective ad balanced development of India. Only this strategy can help establish a socially harmonious and economically developed India as a distinguished nation at the global plane. As far as the Muslim Nationalism is concerned PPI considers Indian Muslims as a distinct socio-politically group within the composite Indian culture. Unfortunately, Indian Muslims are not working as a unified politically organised group as they are divided on social caste and religious sect lines. To unite them as a politically organised monolithic group Muslim Nationalism is the only panacea. Those Indians who believe in Islam, irrespective of their affiliation to a social caste or religious sect, form the Muslim Nationalist group. In essence we can say that Indian Muslim Nationalism is not in conflict with the concept of Indian Nationalism of our perception. Thus Indian Muslim Nationalism is a subset of the composite and great Indian Nationalism.


Q. 4 With one Muslim political party, you are creating a dangerous wedge between Muslims and Hindus. It may lead to 1947 like situation. How you quell such fears?

Ans: There is no historical evidence that a Muslim political party has created wedge between Muslims and Hindus. It is rather fanatic religious organizatins which are responsible for this situation. In fact political parties take advantage of the situation by polarising their vote bank on communal and caste lines. The hatred against Muslims is but systematically spread by communalist Hindutva organizations like RSS, VHP, Bajrang Dal, Shiv Sena and BJP not on the basis of their political party but on the basis that they are followers of Islam. It is the inferiority complex of fascist communal Hindu, that has turned them against Indian Muslims. Rather, Indian Muslims will comfortably defend their faith and culture if they are politically organised and socially aware.


Q. 5 How would you like Javed Akhtar, Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi to react to your ideology of a United Muslim Party?

Ans: PPI beleives that may Muslim intellectuals like these persons are secularist to the bottom of their heart. They love humanity without any bias of caste or creed It is the policy and practice of PPI also. We hope to get support from them for PPI and its policy. PPI is basically the political party with the Muslims as its core support group but its doors are open for all Indian citizens irrespective of caste, creed or any other distinction. Its sole purpose is to create political awareness among Muslim masses to actively participate in the social, secular and democratic process of the country as a dignified and distinguished community. PPI beleives that once they are convinced regarding the intentions of PPI they will think it as their valuable service to the country to support PPI. PPI intends to seek their expertise and guidance in propagation of its policies to the fellow citizens.


Q. 6 What response would you like to get from Arif Mohd. Khan, Maulana Obaidullah Azmi and A.A. Fatmi??

Ans: PPI Central Council is in touch with these persons and other Muslim political activists in so-called secular parties. They have expressed their opinion publically and privately in the support of the ideology of PPI. It is a matter of time and strategy that those and other Muslim politicians will practically join the march of political empowerment of Indian Muslims.


Q. 7 Why do you think that all Muslims should support your ideology?

Ans: Based on the experiment with the so called secularist parties, Indian Muslims are conviced that there is no alternative to political organization of their own. The only panacea of all ills of Indian Muslims lies in their political empowerment. PPI thinks that in their due interest and of their future generation Indian Muslims should support its ideology.



Published in favour of general circulation by Dr. Ali Ameer, Chairman, Political Affairs Committee, Parcham Party of India. 1-Rahmat Bano Market, Medical College Road, Aligarh-202002, U.P., India.