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Indian Muslims need the likes of Madhura Swaminathan, not Zahir Kazis

Let me tell you, Dr Zahir Kazi, with all due respect. You failed the Muslim students. You failed me and my community, your community. Read More

Thursday February 22, 2024 12:20 PM , Aleem Faizee, ummid.com

Let’s begin from here. If you are in the field of social and community work, you will meet various types of people. The best and most committed among them all are those who render their services without caring if their contributions are acknowledged and rewarded for or not.

The next lot of people is of those who are committed to social cause but they expect rewards and acknowledgements to keep going. Not that worst anyway as long as the actual aim is not compromised.

But, the worst are the people, who somehow or by chance, get themselves involved in social and community projects, most of the time initiated by others, and start claiming all credits in their name. They will resort to cheap publicity stunts, seek regular media coverage come what way, and lobby for awards, if not prestigious, will be ready to pay for the sponsored ones.

These are the people who will, in most cases, demean and degrade their colleagues so as to lift their own status. Unfortunately, the last category of the people has dominated today’s world, especially the Muslim society, as never before.

Ironically, the Narendra Modi government, to score some cheap brownie points, took this “ugly race for awards” and “credit war” to their lowest level. True, the erstwhile government awardees too were of one or the other political leanings. Yet, the government awards till 2014 were not decided on the basis of political interests and were never a sell-out.

The best example is that of Fali S Nariman – the renowned jurist who died today. He had resigned as Additional Solicitor General of India in 1975 protesting against Emergency imposed in the country by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Nevertheless, the UPA government led by the Congress Party awarded him Padma Vibhushan in 2007 when Manmohan Singh was the Prime Minister and Padma Bhushan in 1991 when PV Narismha Rao was the PM.

Same cannot be said for the BJP government in New Delhi which is led by Narendra Modi as Prime Minister. The Modi government in the last month announced Bharat Ratna to five Indians – LK Advani, PV Narsimha Rao, Choudhary Charan Singh, M S Swaminathan and Karpoori Thakur. The National Awards are traditionally announced by the Rashtrapati Bhavan. But, here Modi himself announced the awards that too on social media.

Besides Bharat Ratna, the government also announced other national awards that included Padma Shri to Dr Zahir Kazi. Dr Zahir Kazi, the President of 150-year-old Anjuman-I-Islam Mumbai since the last 13 years, has been conferred the fourth-highest civilian awards in the Literature and Education category in recognition of his work in promoting Education, especially among the Minorities.

The conferment of a National Award on someone from their own should be a proud moment for any community. And, for me, Dr Zahir Kazi, you deserve a bigger award than the Padma. For, the Integrated Technical Campus the Anjuman has established in Panvel under your leadership is a masterpiece, infrastructure-wise as well as in terms of quality education. I would be mean if I don’t acknowledged this as my own son has graduated from there and today he is a successful Architect.

The government’s decision to confer Bharat Ratna on five Indian nationals – highest in a year and the manner they were announced, are being questioned. But, more than the number and the manner the awards were announced bypassing the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the political observers are calling out the Modi government for demeaning the highest civilian award of the country and exploiting it for political mileage.

It is now no longer a secret that the Bharat Ratna was conferred on Karpoori Thakur and Choudhary Charan Singh so as to lure Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and RLD leader Jayant Choudhary back to the BJP fold, and M S Swaminathan was chosen for the award to please angry farmers. The reasons why the Modi government thought LK Advani deserves the highest national award of the country are obvious to everyone.

The idea to lure Nitish Kumar and Jayant Choudhary back to the BJP worked well and as planned. However, Bharat Ratna to M S Swaminathan – a distinguished Agronomist, Agricultural Scientist, Plant Geneticist, Administrator, and Humanitarian who is also billed as the Main Architect of Green Revolution in India, in a sheer bad luck for the Modi government, boomeranged.

Far from pleasing the farmers, the Modi government found itself in an embarrassing situation when M.S. Swaminathan’s daughter, Madhura Swaminathan, called out in public the present regime’s aggressive and anti-farmer position that too at an event held to celebrate the conferment of Bharat Ratna to her father.

Addressing the event, Madhura Swaminathan not only slammed the Modi government for laying nails and barricades to block the protesting farmers, but without mincing words, she also said that the farmers are not criminals and they must be taken along.

“The farmers of Punjab today are marching to Delhi. I believe, according to the newspaper reports, there are jails being prepared for them in Haryana, there are barricades, there are all kinds of things being done to prevent them. These are farmers, they are not criminals.”

“Don't treat our farmers like they are criminals”.

- Dr. Madhura Swaminathan, Economist and Daughter of Prof. MS Swaminathan, during the celebration of the Bharat Ratna awarded to her father.#FarmerProtest2024 #FarmersProtest #DelhiChalo pic.twitter.com/UqpilSHQU8

— Hate Detector (@HateDetectors) February 14, 2024

“I think if we have to continue and honour M S Swaminathan we have to take the farmers with us in whatever strategy we’re planning for the future”, Madhura, herself an Economist who is the Head of Economic Analysis Unit at the Indian Statistical Institute (Bengaluru), said.

It is said that Modi government does not give anything without getting something bigger in return. But, unlike the motives behind the Bharat Ratna to five Indian nationals listed above, it is not clear why Dr Zahir Kazi was chosen for the National Award as there are many others in India, and also among the Minorities, who have similar, if not better, records of “working and promoting Education, especially among the Minorities”.

I also chose to ignore the question, which others are asking, whether it was appropriate for Dr Zahir Kazi to accept this award at the time when the community is facing immense challenges because of the attitude of the present dispensation towards the Muslims in India.

I won’t also agree in the absence of any credible evidence that Dr Zahir Kazi lobbied for the award as claimed by his critics, based on the reports, along with the photos and videos that emerged in the last few years, showing him doing everything to remain close to the power corridors and please the present rulers, and also hobnobbing with known Muslim haters.

My contention, Dr Zahir Kazi, is this. An event - similar to the one organised to celebrate the conferment of Bharat Ratna to Dr MS Swaminathan, was organised by the General Council of Anjuman I Islam at Alma Latifi Hall, M H Saboo Siddik Complex in Mumbai on Feb 19, 2024 in your honour. The media focus was on this event as, besides other dignitaries, Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais was also present.

At this event, I wished, Dr Zahir Kazi, to be like Madhura Swaminathan. I had expected Dr Zahir Kazi to bluntly say to the government - like Madhura Swaminathan did, enough is enough, and it must now put a stop on the atrocities committed against the Muslims in India.

You, Dr Zahir Kazi, should have made it clear to the present dispensation that the Muslims too are Indian citizens, it should take them along and must stop treating them like criminals.

Dr Zahir Kazi, it was the most appropriate occasion in the present situation, for you to ask the government to put breaks on the bulldozers that - without any accountability and mocking all international and humanitarian laws, are demolishing the homes of poor Muslims.

It was the moment for you, Dr Zahir Kazi, to urge the government to stop the Hindus from claiming the Muslim places of worship.

It was also the moment for you to remind the government that round-the-clock hate speeches and anti-Muslim rhetoric broadcasted live on the National Televisions and in public rallies addressed by the leaders affiliated to the government have crossed all limits and the government must act against such nuisances.

Dr Zahir Kazi, you must have been aware, how the majority of Muslims, especially the poor and weak, have become vulnerable in ten years of Modi rule. Travelling in trains and on roads with exposed Muslim identities has become extremely dangerous. Muslim traders and businesses are facing boycott in various parts of the country. Muslims face arrest

I wished you had used the moment to say to the government without mincing words that there is an urgent need for course correction and make Muslims feel safe in the country.

Dr Zahir Kazi you have been awarded for your contributions in the field of Education. You should have mustered the courage to tell the government to restart the discontinued Scholarships and Fellowships for the Muslim students.

But let me tell you, Dr Zahir Kazi, with all due respect. You failed the Muslim students. You failed me and my community, your community. Sycophants surrounding you are hailing you as a Hero. But you missed the opportunity to be a LEADER.

Alas, the Indian Muslims have quite a few Zahir Kazis in their rank, but not one Madhura Swaminathan.

[The writer, Aleem Faizee, is Founder Editor ummid.com and Chairman SEWA. He can be reached at aleem.faizee@gmail.com]

 

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