ANWAR RAJAN of Yuvak Kranti Dal spoke perceptively on the need to do away with caste system as it percolates all religions. He believes that all religions are expressions of cultural pluralism and reflect the reality of multicultural dentities in our social set up.

A very important exhortation of his was that "Diversity is given (in the context of any society), difference is created (or engineered)." Today what has happened is that difference is being foisted on people in response to various agendas of politico-religious forces for their vested interests.

On the question of tackling the very amorphous issue of identity, he said it is not easy to do it. He cited the instance of Justice Munim who headed a commission in 1964 to identify, among other things the definable criteria of who constitutes a Muslim. Even he had to conclude that such a simple thing as defining a Muslim is very difficult. Can a person be identified as a Muslim who speaks Urdu language. How can this be allowed the essentials of Muslim religion are in Arabic. The Koran is in Arabic. There are many Muslims who consider themselves Muslims who do not know either Urdu or Arabic. So he stated that QUESTION OF RELIGIOUS IDENTITY IS COMPLEX AND POLITICAL.

What is largely passing by today as religious is nothing but religious fundamentalism. What happened in Afghanistan is a dangerous precedent. Everything progressive has been destroyed in the name of religious fundamentalism. Closer home, Gujarat is an apt illustration. However, he warned that Gujarat is just a trailer. Still greater and more vicious aspects of such fundamentalism are sure to unfold in India in course of time. Very poignantly, he said that members of the same community are also responsible for the perpetration of religious fundamentalism. Those who are suffering are Muslims, those who are inflicting such fanaticism are also Muslims. He had in mind the clergy and other ecclesiastical potentates who are forcing people into submission and steamrolling any protest against it. Anwar said that when Islam has given the right of education to all Muslims, what right has the Taliban to restrict Muslim women from the fruits of education.

If one looks at the scriptures, the Muslim women have been accorded independence of vocation. The Prophet's first wife, Khadija was allowed to conduct business by her husband freely. Why are such retrogressive elements propagated in the name of religion? This is because, according to Anwar, people have to intoxicated with fundamentalism so that they do not ask fundamental question regarding their social development and their demands and aspirations. The wine of fundamentalism corrodes everything progressive. The Bamiyan Buddhist states were also destroyed by it, something which even the marauding inroads of Mahmud of Ghazni left it untouched.

The danger of Hindu rashtra is now an impending reality. Problem is not what will happen to Muslims, but rather what will happen to Hindus. The religious fundamentalism inflicted by the BJP and its cohorts are slowly but surely turning India into a fundamentalist society. Gujarat and Afghanistan have a lot of parallels. This is against the cultural ethos of India. Tulsidas who translated Ramayana into Hindi used to live in a Masjid. Sant Jnaneshwar had to suffer innumerable severities for preaching the philosophy of sadbhavana to one and all and for translating the Vedas into Marathi. The fanaticism of Atheists is also a cause of concern. History is not a matter of opinion. Take from History the lessons to construct a new society based on secularism and democracy.

The need to transcend religion and reach out to the truth about our self identities is now. Anwar however is hopeful that such transcendence can be possible.

For Hindi click here

Copyleft. Any part of the content on this site can be used, reproduced, or distributed freely by anyone, anywhere and by any means. Acknowledgement is appreciated.

Designed and maintained by CAPITAL Creations, New Delhi. Phone 91-11-26194291