Urdu Press Roundup
By Indianmuslims.info Staff

The one issue that made headlines of news items, commentaries, editorials, letters to editors and various other columns in Urdu newspapers all through the past week is the singing of Vande Mataram on September 7 to mark the centenary celebrations of this song.

A number of Muslim leaders and organisations have criticised the Government for raising once again the controversial issue of Vande Mataram and advised the community to realise the political jiggery-pokery behind this issue, and not to sing this song at any cost as its singing involves polytheism and stands in sharp contrast with the very basics of Muslim faith.

In its front-page lead story the Dawat Sehroza (September 4) wonders how a controversial song can be regarded as a national song in a secular country where all communities enjoy the freedom of practising their respective religions.

“When the song has been optional right from the beginning, wherefrom has the necessity come to make it mandatory?� the story said.

“Equating Vande Mataram with patriotism is an expression of narrow-mindedness and mean thinking. The purpose of raising such an issue is no other than involving Muslims in a controversy on one hand and taking political mileage of division of the society on communal grounds on the other. Such an issue raised by the B.J.P. and other Hindutva forces has been part of their age-old policy. It is a matter of concern that such an opportunity is provided by Congress and its governments, which boast of secularism,� the paper added.

In its initially signed front-page column Khabr-o-Nazar by the Editor, Mr. Parwaz Rehmani, the same issue of the Dawat cited Rabindranath Tagore’s concern over the politicisation of this basically Bengali song.

“The very spirit of the song Vande Mataram is the praise of the goddess Durga. And this reality is so explicit that it needs no argument. Towards the end of the song Bankim has linked Durga with Bengal to the extent of its being inseparable. But no Muslim can be expected of worshipping this goddess with ten hands considering it to be the motherland… The novel Anand Math is a literary piece and this song does suit it therein whereas Parliament is the union of all religious groups; this song is quite improper over there. When Muslims express their anger and frenzy (over any issue), we call it unbearable. But when we too make improper demands, it is tantamount to self-defeat,� Tagore wrote to Subhas Chandra Bose in 1937 (translated from Urdu Dawat).

The same issue of Dawat editorially holds the Congress responsible for exploiting history for its petty political ends and provides solid arguments that this song has nothing to do with September 7 as it was never adopted as a national song.

“The issue of Vande Mataram is the issue of exploiting history for one’s own ends. Congress governments have been exploiting history for its own ends. It (the Congress) has once again repeated the same old mistake posing history as something sacred. But by doing so it has provided proof of its unawareness with history….

“It has not been said anywhere (in history) that the Congress had adopted it as a national song, nor has there been any reference to any discussion on it in the Constitution Assembly… thus it has no close or distant relation with September 7, nor does it hold any historical importance. The Congress has tried to exploit history for its petty ends in the past for which it had to pay a very heavy price. It is trying once again to play this dangerous game. It should take lessons from history, which would be beneficial to it as well as to the citizens of the country,� the editorial wrote.

Muslim men marching with Indian flag in Rajasthan

The Hindustan Express of August 31 reports that the People’s Democratic Front (PDF) has demanded from the Central Government to direct the Chhattisgarh Government to withdraw its directive issued to all educational institutions including madrasas to sing Vande Mataram or dissolve the State Government.

Addressing a Press meet in Lucknow, PDF General Secretary and Chairman of All India Muslim Forum Nehaluddin claimed that this directive of Chhattisgarh Government is against Article 25 of the Constitution.

The paper also reports General Secretary Samajwadi Party and member Rajya Sabha Shahid Siddiqui alleged that some political parties are hell bent upon disturbing communal harmony in the country by raising the issue of singing of Vande Mataram.

Singing of Sare Jahan se Achcha Hindustan Hamara

In another development the United Muslim of India on August 30 organised a programme in the Capital to celebrate the passage of one hundred one years of Allama Iqbal’s national song Sare Jahan se Achcha Hindustan Hamara, reports the same issue of the Express.

Chaired by Maulana Muhammad Furqan Qasmi, the programme unanimously adopted a resolution calling upon the Government not to force any community to sing the religious song of another community as India has been a secular country where every religion enjoys equal rights according to the Constitution.

Prime Minister’s Assurance

On September 6 Urdu Press covered widely and in great detail Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s address to the Chief Ministers, calling upon them to ensure the nation that Muslims en masse should not be treated as terrorists as the prevailing sense of insecurity among the minorities especially Muslims would tell badly upon the social structure of the country.

“It is unfortunate that certain sections of our populace are being targeted as a result of terrorism. This has resulted in creating a wrong impression that the entire Muslim community has turned violent,� the Prime Minister said adding, “It is our duty to bring this situation to an end.�

He said the minorities should not be harassed while dealing with terrorism. “If some mistake occurs in this process, immediate corrective measures should be taken with immediate effect,� he added.

The Prime Minister underlined the need for immediately devising a policy whereby to ensure that the image of the entire community might not be affected by the action of a few persons, and that the feeling of insecurity might be removed from the minds of minorities.

The Hyderabad-based Urdu daily Etemaad, in its editorial Hai Yeh Bechare Musalman, on September 6, paints a very pathetic picture of the situation confronting the Muslims in Maharashtra and elsewhere in India by presenting certain specific cases of the atrocities perpetrated on them.

Reminding the readers of Prime Minister’s assurance, given in the Ulema conference held in the Capital two weeks ago, that Muslims would not be harassed any more, the editorial laments that the method the Mumbai police has adopted aims more at anti-Muslim measures than at finding any clue of the real culprits of Mumbai serial blasts.

The Etemaad editorial expects of the Prime Minister, in the right earnest, to present the real picture of the oppression meted out to Muslims and take stringent action against the erring officials.

“Otherwise it will be understood that the apprehensions expressed during the Ulema conference are real and the attitude adopted towards the Muslims will continue,� the editorial maintains.

September 6, 2006

[photo: Fiona]