Move on, India

An aspiring super power’s medieval instincts

When Europe and other western countries are mulling over issues like legalizing gay marriages and space tourism, a section in this part of the world is fighting over a ruined medieval mosque belongs to a mythical figure.

Whatever be the court verdict, which will decide the fate of the 60-year-old dispute, the rightwing Hindutva forces, the sole beneficiary of the whole fiasco, has reconciled to the fact that Ayodhya-Babi issues is a dead horse, though some of its leaders might be indulging in self-delusional hallucinations about bringing it back into life. And on the other side, a bunch of funny mullas will equally be a distraught lot, because they have been out there to rebuild this medieval mosque as if its reconstruction will be the elixir for all the ills.

L K Advani, the yesteryear hero whose braying call for the destruction of the mosque has helped BJP seize power, has been sidelined this time around. For the critically ill Sangh family, who is trying to reinvent itself from its moribund present, the issue doesn’t provide a respite, let alone a placebo.

On its part, the UPA government is ultra-sensitive. Or at least that seems to be the impression it wants to send across. The frequency with which the government issued ads in the week past in newspapers and channels requesting people to keep calm in view of the court verdict looks gross. Well, it is essential for a responsible government to ask its people to keep cool in such a sensitive issue.

But the present-day Congress-led government’s alacrity seems to stem from an urgency to atone for the sins of a previous Congress government led by Narasimha Rao who allowed the mosque to be pulled down by a marauding crowd 20 years ago. But will these attempts lay the ghosts unleashed by the Rao regime to rest? Had the Rao government kept the one hundredth of the vigil and circumspection being exhibited by the present government, which is almost apocalyptic over the court verdict, the mosque wouldn’t have been destroyed.

I don’t shed a tear for the destruction of an old building, which hadn’t been used for half century as a place of worship. The loss, I feel, is in terms of its pure archeological value and hundreds of innocent lives. And of course, it paved the way for the fascists to usurp to power.

It’s time to move on. Well, this is a wishful thinking. Let a university or a cultural place be built at the disputed site where everyone can come. I wish the government has the spine for that. All these lofty talks about an aspiring superpower should be matched by real actions and thoughts. For that the country need to shed its past and adopt peace, modernity and prosperity, plus a judicious mix of amnesia.

HEY PURDAPHILES!

Who wants Raihana in Purdah? Arrest this extremism

Raihana R Khazi has taken on the extremist elements in Kerala society. This 23 year-old-woman from Kasargod has been getting threats from some Islamic extremists for not wearing Purdah. Raihana is an aeronautical engineering graduate and chooses to wear what she likes: jeans. But it irked some jobless fanatics. who want her in Purdah. When death threats started pouring in, she sought Kerala High Court’s help, which directed the state to give protection to her life.

The other day, she held a press conference in Calicut to say that none can dictate what she should wear, which is a personal choice. To become a Muslim, one doesn’t follow a particular dress code, Raihana feels. There are reports the opposition to her dress code came from within her family itself and that there is no need to make a fuss about. But being such a hotly debated subject, the issue needs some discussion.

Islam only asks its followers to dress modestly and doesn’t impose any dress code. There's no homogeneous dress code either for men nor for women, transcending boundaries. Purdah is not an Islamic dress. Common sense tells us that it is rather a dress meant for desert conditions. Its purpose is to guard one from the windy sandstorms and adverse climate conditions of deserts. Look at the traditional dress Arab men wear even today: the long rob is almost like a Purdah, except for the veil,

There are women who vouch for Purdah, saying it gives them a sense of protection. Fair enough. But that's doesn't mean obscurantists can go around imposing their sense of dress code. There are many other pressing, real instances of injustices and issues for these souls to feel moral outrage about.

Now I remember seeing an old black and white family photo of a friend’s grandpa in Calicut. There was nothing to suggest the `Muslimness’ in the attire of those women in the photo, except that his grandma’s head was covered with the tail end of the sari. That’s all. Purdah became prevalent in Kerala post-Babari demolition. A sense of Muslim insecurity coupled with the inculcation of fear by the Mullahs ensured that this desert dress has almost come to symbolize Muslim women. Was this black rob, covering head to toe, a sane way of establishing their identity?

Today, Purdah has become such a fashionable attire and it is big business. It's a classic case of mindless imitation in the name of religion. Lucky that camel is not a common animal in India!