I am agitated, and I must write this. I sensed that trouble was brewing as I drove to my office yesterday at about 2 in the afternoon. As I passed Churchgate station I saw several young men in groups of 4 to 7 walking purposefully towards New Marine Lines. What set this group apart was that they were wearing caps proclaiming their religious identity. This was distinctly odd in Churchgate, I thought to myself, where nobody really bothers about your ethnic, religious or linguistic background. Their body language and gestures as they talked told me that these fellows were in no way going for a peaceful prayer meeting. Little did I realize that they were on their way to Azad Maidan for their cocktail of arson and mayhem.
This morning as I read the newspapers I was shocked and appalled at the senseless rioting that claimed 2 lives and crores in property-damage. The reason? These guys were protesting the killing of Muslims in Assam and Myanmar (Burma). The organisers? According to the TOI a dozen Sunni Muslim organisations, prominent among them being the Raza Academy.
I got nowhere in my quest to find some logic and reason behind this violence. In fact, I was flooded with more questions than answers that came from all corners of my mind. Why Myanmar, for instance? Why not Syria where Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad is trying to crush a 17-month old revolt against his rule, in which more than 18,000 people have been reportedly killed? Why no protests against the 846 killed in Egypt’s revolution? And why no protests against Tunisia where as many as 300 people have been killed and 700 injured during the month-long uprising in early 2011? And pray, why not against Libya where about 50,000 people were killed since the start of the uprising, according to Dawn of Pakistan? And why not against Pakistan where bombing Shias and Ahmedias has become a state-sanctioned pastime? Why were no protest marches launched against the embassies of these countries, particularly against Pakistan? Is it the contention of the Raza Academy that it’s OK for Muslims to kill Muslims?
And why no sympathy (this is the least that I expect) for the 250 Hindus seeking asylum in India following reports of forcible conversions? Are these guys trying to create a communal wedge, this time in Bombay? This was the one thought that came to me in the utter confusion following yesterday’s madness in my backyard.
The only voice of reason (Where are the others? Why are they silent?) that I read was that of Maulana Wahiduddin Khan in Mumbai Mirror. “A large number of Bengali Muslims migrated from Bangladesh and settled in the area. It is strange how the government failed to check this illegal migration. . . It is the Muslim tendency to maintain their cultural identity wherever they settle. I think this is not a correct practice. They do this in every country”, said he. These Raza guys will undoubtedly brand him a traitor. Instead of burning public property in Bombay, these guys would do well to go to the jungles of Assam and try to alleviate the suffering of their co-religionists. And never mind if they ignore the original locals who are equally affected, if not more. At least someone will be given succour.
If only the Raza Academy had sent sms’s to protest against corruption and other social ills and gathered in thousands as they did yesterday, they would have been part of the mainstream and of the nation-building process. Alas!
As for the police who were roundly thrashed by these miscreants, they have their images on camera – of a few of them at least. Why not chuck them into jail along with the ringleaders of this Academy and throw away the key? But I know this won’t happen. 2014 is not very far away.
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