Impar lauds the role of the Muslim community organisations who have displayed tremendous patience and acted wisely in recent years in the face of provocative acts and statements of right wing fringe elements and some of the State Governments alike.
The glaring example being the recent attempt of the UP Government by introducing the Population Control Bill so close to the elections, expecting fierce opposition by Muslim community and in the process hoped to polarise elections and benefit? To its great dismay the opposite happened.
Almost entire Muslim leadership either welcomed it or opposed it on facts and logics. This is quite a departure from the community’s earlier approach, where, incited by the shortsighted clergy or self-styled emotional speech master political leaders, it necessarily reacted to almost every issue with misplaced statements or street agitations.
And in the process it strengthened the very same ideologies it wished to defeat. In the context of the Population Bill, by opposing, we could certainly not have stopped it, but only helped a party harvest political crop of polarisation at election times.
Good that almost all muslim groups chose to support it. The political purpose, if any, of bringing this legislation at election times gets defeated. Let me share an example of how media works as spoon in the game. Yesterday one rightwing supporter channel asked for an impar panelist.
We suggested one name. The anchor asked if he kept beard, we told no. He asked if he will oppose or support, we told, support. He regretted, and asked if we could suggest name of a Maulana who would oppose it?
Therefore in our wisdom what muslim organisations have done is commendable. By supporting this Bill publicly, many risked being termed Yogi supporters. But still they acted and acted wisely. Hope, the community responds to all such issues in future too with due wisdom and caution, and thus helping defeat the Politics of Polarisation.