[Originally written on 5 November 2006; updated in 2012]
In continuation of my earlier article on this subject [The Missing Muslim – What Next?], let me analyse further the representation of the Muslims in some important walks of life and their contribution thereto.
The richest Indian for last several years has been Aziz Premji of Wipro, whose personal net worth is in the range of about Rs. 60,000 crore (more than US $12 billion). So, he is better off than ALL of about 110 crore (1.1 billion) people of India! Of course, just a few weeks back the two Ambani Brothers have overtaken him in being the richest Indians. But it’s a game of snakes and ladders and the persons at the top keep on changing every now and then depending upon the fluctuations in the share prices of their companies. Nonetheless, even as of today, Aziz Premji continues to be amongst the top three richest Indians.
Bollywood, the Hindi cinema, is dominated by Muslim personalities. We have the three Khan’s, namely Shahrukh Khan, Aamir Khan and Salman Khan, dominating the top positions of stars in the film industry. Many of the producers, directors, lyrists, music directors, script writers, and other professionals in Bollywood belong to the Muslim community. The best-ever male singer, i.e., Mohammed Rafi, was a Muslim. A.R. Rehman is the best music director in the industry today. Dilip Kumar, Meena Kumari, Shabana Azmi, Waheeda Rehman, Suraiya, and innumerable other Muslims have dominated the Hindi cinema in the past. In fact, Pakistani ghazal singers Ghulam Ali and Mehadi Hassan are also household names in India, as are many other singers from Pakistan.
In the Indian cricket team, we have presently 5 Muslims in a team of 16 players which has been recently selected to visit South Africa. They are, Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel, Wasim Jaffer, Mohammed Kaif and Zahir Khan. When Mohammed Kaif scores runs and Munaf Patel or Irfan Pathan takes wickets, the whole nation celebrates.
When we talk of movies and cricket, remember they are like religions in India! In fact, they are bigger religions in India than Hinduism and Islam. And, look who are the leaders of the religions of Cricket and Films in India? Not convinced yet?
The present President of India, Shri APJ Abdul Kalam, is a Muslim. So, he is the “First Citizen” of India from out of its 1.1 billion population. In past also, we have seen Dr Zakir Hussain and Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed as Presidents of India. So, out of a total of about 11 Presidents, we have seen 3 Muslim Presidents.
In fact, the present President of India, Shri APJ Abdul Kalam, had long been a leading scientist in the defence and space sectors. He was at ISRO for two decades helping in development of SLV-III and PSLV. He was then the Chief Executive of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme in DRDO (i.e., Defence Research and Development Organisation). He was also the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government of India (and that too, during the BJP-led NDA rule; the BJP is supposed to be a Hindu nationalist party). In fact, his appointment as President of India was also made during the BJP-led NDA rule. This means the defence laboratories and the space sector were in the hands of a Muslim for a long time.
We have had personalities like Hidaytullah who was the Chief Justice of India and subsequently Vice President of India. Justice M. Hameedullah Beg and Justice A.M. Ahmadi have also been Chief Justices of India. [Update (1 May 2012): The next Chief Justice of India is also expected to be a Muslim, Justice Altmas Kabir, w.e.f. 29 September 2012.]
The above details are only the tip of the iceberg. There are a large number of other successful Muslims in all walks of life.
The point here is – if you have the talent, capability, the will-power, and the other qualities which make a person successful, and work hard, you’re bound to succeed in India, irrespective of your community. India is a truly vibrant, open, multi-cultural, democratic society which has embraced and continues to embrace people from all communities. Every person has the right to equality in India and they are treated equally. In fact, the minorities in India have some special rights under the Constitution of India which are given only to the minorities. The Indian laws do not follow any discriminatory practices. India is a truly secular country with respect for all the religions and every person has been guaranteed freedom of religion in letter as well as in practice.
Had there been any systematic discrimination in India (as it happens in some countries like Pakistan), we would not have seen persons like Aziz Premji, APJ Abdul Kalam, and Shahrukh Khan, leading the country in various sectors – ahead of 1.1 billion people including the majority community. Now, if somebody does not want to study (and there too – the modern sciences), does not want to take advantage of the latest advancements in science and technology, does not want to mix with the society, or does not want to work hard, or wants to continue believing in age-old concepts, or wants to talk only in terms of zehad, how can he or she progress? Why to blame the society then?
In fact, what is creditable for the Indian society is the fact that a person like APJ Abdul Kalam, who rose to be the President of India and who dominated the Indian defence and space sectors for several years, came from a very poor Muslim family. So, it is not that leading Muslim personalities in India are from influential or rich families. If a poor Muslim like APJ Abdul Kalam could rise to be the first citizen of India, why can’t other Muslims in India do reasonably well?
Admitted, there may be some negative news here and there. But, it is bound to be in any multi-cultural society of the size of 1.1 billion people. Even in a small family of 2-3 persons there are differences of opinion and there are serious disputes also. When 1.1 billion people live together in 7,00,000 villages and a large number of big cities, with close interactions on continuing basis, there are bound to be some differences. Within a religion itself, there may be dissensions. We always hear of Shia-Sunni conflicts in Muslim community. We have caste conflicts in Hindus. In Christians also, there are divisions and differences.
The point that I am trying to make is that there will always be some exceptions. Nobody has ever been able to rule out all exceptions. But, an exception rather proves that there is some rule which applies in majority of the cases. One must not go by exceptions to undermine the existence of the rule itself.
In fact, on the other side of the spectrum, there is no dearth of people in India who continue making allegations of minority appeasement. The recent example being excluding the minority institutions from the reservations when the Constitution was amended while private institutions of the majority community have been included in the amended provision. Another example is the question of having a common civil code in the country, which could not be done mainly because of objections from the Muslim community, in spite of the fact that the directive principles of State policy in the Constitution require the state to do so and there have been Supreme Court judgments too in that regard. [Update (1 May 2012): Yet another example is the latest Supreme Court judgment in respect of the Right to Education Act, 2009, in the case of Society for Un-Aided Private Schools of Rajasthan v. Union of India, in which it has been held that all private institutions will have to adhere to 25% quota for poor students, but (only the) minority institutions are exempted from this quota rule. So, the minorities have some additional rights over and above the normal populace.]
And ultimately, the fact remains that, as mentioned in the previous article, the Muslims are lagging behind not only in India but all over the world. It is for the genuine and well-meaning leaders of this community to diagnose the reasons and take the necessary corrective steps. Without offending the community, what an outsider like me can say, at least, is that there are many internal contradictory forces within the community which are withholding its progress and development (just as an illustration – why is it that half of the community, i.e., the women, is deprived of its basic rights within the community itself?). My only submission is that the image of the whole of India as a country should not be painted with a negative brush in this regard.
And, the politicians in India? The lesser said the better. Their only objective is to keep dividing the country more and more so that they could reap the benefit of votes and thereby continue to rule the country. The latest exercise, the Justice Rajinder Sachar Committee, to try to divide the nation on the communal lines is most deplorable. Nobody will stop you when you want the betterment of the society in a non-partisan manner and make genuine efforts for that. But, nobody gives you a licence to divide the country further in the name of religion for your narrow partisan gains.
