Author: Pervez Iqbal Siddiqui
Publication: The Times of India
Date: February 10, 2002
One can call it ISI's dos and don'ts
on assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. Audio cassettes, doing rounds in
pre-dominantly Muslim pockets of the state, carry fiery speeches on jehad
and fate of Muslims in India with bottomline on tactical voting during
the forthcoming assembly elections. What has added an element of surprise
to the propoganda is many cassettes carry speeches by women orators as
well.
Marked "Dukhtaran-e-Millat ki niyaz
se Tehrik-e-Millat ki Janib" (By the women of the community for the rest
of the community) the audio cassettes come in a green coloured cover carrying
a photograph of Osama bin Laden with the symbolic "Chand - Tara" (moon
and a star) at one corner. The cassettes are titled "Musalmani hukmarano
ke liye sabaq" (A lesson for Muslim rulers).
Slotted into five crisp 10-minute
long speeches, the cassette warn that Is bar jehad Hindustan se shuru hoga"
(This time jehad would begin from India).One orator announces that after
American President Bush, it would be the turn of Prime Minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee.
"Our new hero is Musharraf and we
should see him as an example ... even other Muslim leaders should learn
a lesson from his diplomacy and act accordingly to uphold the dignity of
the community," says another orator in his speech highlighting how Pakistan
has managed to maintain its esteem at the international level.
"It is high time that Muslims in
India realised the need of a conserted effort to make their presence felt,"
another speech highlights. "Qaum ke liye ab humko ek hona padega," (We
will have to unite for the sake of community). The cassettes seek vote
for candidates who would not be a hinderance for the community in executing
its religious plans. "Every political party is contesting the elections
on the basis of caste and religion ... now we should also start thinking
on same lines," says one of the speeches.
Copies of cassettes have already
landed in Kanpur, Moradabad and are now spreading in Lucknow.
