I am not a Muslim but I endorse it. Himadri, student, Delhi School of Economics, DU.
On Mon, Jul 1, 2013 at 7:16 PM, ram puniyani <[email protected]> wrote: > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: [email protected] <[email protected]> > Date: Mon, Jul 1, 2013 at 6:40 PM > Subject: [pmarc] for Urgent Endorsement: A Letter from Indian Muslim Youth > to Chetan Bhagat > To: Dalits Media Watch <[email protected]> > > > > > > *A Letter from Indian Muslim Youth to Chetan Bhagat* > > * * > > *If you agree with the following Text and wish to be one of the > signatories of this letter, please send your signature (*Name, > Profession , City/State)* at [email protected] by 12 PM > tomorrow (2nd July 13). * > > > > Dear Mr. Bhagat, > > At the very outset, let us make it clear that we are not fans of your > regressive fiction. Therefore, we write to you not as crazy fans but as > Indian Muslim youth, who felt utterly patronized, insulted and hurt after > reading your article, ‘Letter from an Indian Muslim > Youth’<http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/The-underage-optimist/entry/letter-from-an-indian-muslim-youth>. > You might have not realized this, but in pretending to render “a strong > modern Indian Muslim voice’’ to the youth and the Muslim community at > large, you have ripped them of their agency. You have reaffirmed > stereotypes that many in the community have been fighting against. Heard of > the Muslim god and his flock? > > Sir, one does not need a name like Ahmed or Saeed or Mirza, or even be a > Muslim to show one’s genuine concern for the community. One just needs to > see beyond one’s own prejudice and biases. Believe us, this disgusting > piece of your writing made us more nauseous than any of your (or Madhu > Kishwar’s) love-verses to Modi. Your article is nothing but an extension of > the thought process that anything Muslim is backward and regressive. Since > you have assigned to yourself the task of bearing the moral burden of the > community, would you care to explain what a ‘Muslim cap’ is? > > We agree with you when you say political leaders make promises that go > empty post elections. And that there are Muslims who have achieved much > without any ‘’cap-wearing politician’’ helping them. But who is this leader > that you are suggesting; one who would understand ‘’the desire’’ of the > Muslim youth ‘’to come up in life’’ and ‘’inspire us to do better’’? Is it > by any chance the mass murderer, Narendra Modi? > > You know what hurts? That people pretend to care for you when they don’t. > When in fact they use you to grind their own axe. How cleverly you turn > everything that the Muslim youth face today – “being frisked with greater > attentiveness, denied renting an apartment” – into a product of the > community’s inherent backwardness, as if it bears no relation to the > increasing communalization of our polity and society. > > What makes you think that the ‘cap’ wallahs exercise a great deal of > influence within the community? Interestingly, one particular party has > been lately seeking a lot of photo-ops with precisely these kinds of > community leaders. Make no mistake Mr. Writer. They don’t. > > > > “Because of you”, you write castigating an imagined Muslim leadership, > “people feel we vote in a herd.” Now, isn't that really clever, Mr. Bhagat. > People feel we vote in a herd because certain parties never tire of > screaming hoarse about ‘minority appeasement’ and ‘vote banks’, even > though, any psephologist or political scientist, or even an ordinary Muslim > youth at *Chai dukaan* will tell you that Muslims vote just like any > other community does: according to a mix of factors: local, national but > above all, keeping in mind who will preserve their interests best. And > their interests do tend to include the safety of life and livelihood. > > > > We are sorry, Mr. Bhagat, but the ‘’democratic republic’’ you talk of is > not so democratic. If it were so, Afzal Guru wouldn’t have been executed to > ‘’satisfy the collective conscience of the nation’’. Muslim youth would not > have fallen prey to minority witch-hunting, and their killers not decorated > with gallantry awards. Adivasis in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa would > not have been ripped of their fundamental rights to live with dignity. > Dalit poets would not have been falsely charged under sedition laws. > > Loving one’s nation is well and good, but being blinded by patriotism is > not. Why do Indian Muslims always have to prove their allegiance to India? > Why can’t they also be critical of their country? > > The party whose path you are treading has had Indian Muslims pass through > too many Sita-like ordeals of fire, Agni Pariksha. You may have the > privilege to turn a blind eye to the post-Babri Masjid Demolition violence, > the Gujarat pogrom, but many others don’t. How then do you think a leader > who doesn’t even have the integrity to apologize for his complicity in the > Gujarat pogrom represent Muslim youth’s aspirations for ‘’scientific way of > thinking, entrepreneurship, empowerment, progress’’ and above all, > ‘’personal freedoms’’? And just by the way, have you heard of the word, > ‘Justice’? > > > > Sd/- > > Name Profession City (State) > > 1. Rafiul Alom Rahman, Student, Delhi University, Delhi > 2. Mahtab Alam, Civil Rights Activist and Journalist, Delhi > 3. Javid Parsa, Student, Maulana Azad National Urdu University, > Hyderabad > 4. Zulaikha Jabeen, Researcher and Activist, Raipur, Chhattisgarh > 5. Shahnawaz Malik, Journalist, Delhi > 6. Abdullah A Rahman, Student, TISS Tuljapur > 7. Abu Zafar, Journalist, Delhi > 8. Mahtab Azad, Development Consultant, Kishanganj (Bihar) > 9. Ali Amir, Student, TISS Mumbai > 10. Gauhar Iqbal, Entrepreneur, Delhi > > > Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre- PMARC has been initiated with > the support from group of senior journalists, social activists, academics > and intellectuals from Dalit and civil society to advocate and facilitate > Dalits issues in the mainstream media. To create proper & adequate space > with the Dalit perspective in the mainstream media national/ International > on Dalit issues is primary objective of the PMARC. > > You are receiving this message because you are a member of the community > Dalits > Media Watch <http://dgroups.org/groups/pmarc>. > > A reply to this message will be sent to all members of Dalits Media Watch. > > Reply to sender <[email protected]> | > Unsubscribe<[email protected]> > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "humanrights movement" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > . > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/humanrights-movement. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > > -- “ Protest is when I say this does not please me.Resistance is when I ensure what does not please me occurs no more. ” "When we revolt, it's not for a particular culture. We revolt simply because, for many reasons, we can no longer breathe." "I am........the Dog. I nuzzle the kind, bark at the greedy and bite scoundrels." -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "humanrights movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/humanrights-movement. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
