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For a common Indian Muslim, the basic issues are education, employment and safety -- and certainly not the Babri masjid. Muslim leaders should offer this patch of land to their Hindu brethren for them to build the Ram temple.
It would only be sensible on their part to make this offer in a dignified manner with the assurance of the mosque being rebuilt. Otherwise, the Togadias and the Singhals of the land will snatch it without second thought.
Muslims should realise that they have to change their whole outlook. They are now disliked by a large section of the majority community. This is reflected in the attitude of not only the Hindu communal politicians but also the media, which end up presenting Islam in the most stereotypical manner.
Afflicted by educational backwardness, social stigma, administrative apathy, religious orthodoxy and political expediency, the Muslim community is caught in a tweezer-grip. A large chunk of the blame for this must go to the so-called representatives of Muslims.
The imams and members of the ulema who have been seduced by the State to jump into the political fray are poorly versed in the community's problems. They are too suspicious to appreciate any effort by anyone to uplift the madrasas.
Muslim leaders also suffer from a complex which makes them think at each step that minority rights have been denied to them. During every elections, it has been proved that all of them indulge in pernicious vote bank politics. Owing to their obscurantist approach, these leaders are leading the community back to the Dark Ages.
India is a country of bewildering diversity. No single community can claim credit for the richness of its culture, heritage and traditions. What's praiseworthy is that despite this diversity, India has remained united.
Muslims in India today must make all possible efforts to remove the cobwebs of religious prejudice and historical distortion. They must try and cultivate the Hindus in the same manner and spirit as their great leaders, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Syed Ahmad Khan, did.
In a democracy which is becoming
increasingly religion- and caste-based, Indian Muslims must befriend the
Hindus and desist from agitating on non-issues. There is little doubt that
the Hindu response to the ills of Indian Muslims, if articulated properly,
will be positive. It will not only help in the removal of many prejudices
against them, but will also create the proper environment for a meaningful
and lasting understanding with the Hindu majority community.
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