Author: Firoz Bakht Ahmed (Educationist and
grandnephew of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad)
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: August 25, 2006
While witnessing the history of Vande Mataram
in a ballet celebrating India's 59th Independence Day at Modern School, Barakhamba
Road, my body, mind and soul vouched in unison that this was the song 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
why some of my co-religionists have made a religious issue out of Vande Mataram
as it has a universal appeal for all Indians irrespective of their caste,
creed or faith.
Firoz Bakht Ahmed (Educationist and grandnephew
of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad)
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 out of Vande Mataram,
a gem of a song and perhaps the song that in my view should have been the
national anthem in place of Jana, gana, mana...
What is of paramount importance today is that
people must beware 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.
As 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 away from them the fact that they
are loyal to the nation and they do not need a certificate to prove their
loyalty.
I simply pity the handful of rabble-rousers,
who object to the singing of this very emphatic, inspiring and expressive
song. Rather than indulging in hair splitting over the linguistics of the
song, they should realise that the spirit is important as it 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, 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 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 Abul Kalam
Azad admired it saying that it was graceful and inspiring as great luminaries
like Rabindranath Tagore, Babu Surendranath Banerjee, Satyabhushan Gupta,
RN Bose, H Bose Records 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, Maulana Sahib's forehead was smeared with
a tilak at which Dawn, a Pakistani daily commented in a cartoon that he had
converted to Hinduism. Maulana replied saying that on the contrary, by such
participations, his faith in his religion was strengthened. Muslims must learn
from his example.
Let me humbly submit that the politically
motivated individuals or the ones from the clergy should not try to make the
issue controversial so that it might acquire communalist overtones. It's a
charming song and must be sung on coming September 7 in India and all places
where Indians live.
Muslims must not find any difference between
Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamarey dil mein hai... or Saare 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.