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February 12, 1998

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BJP's past haunts Muslims's future

Syed Firdaus Ashraf in Aligarh

"My identity as a Muslim will be in danger if the Bharatiya Janata Party rules India," asserts Habib Ahmed, a shopkeeper in the Upper Court area in Aligarh.

"The BJP," says Ahmed, "will treat Muslims as second class citizens by imposing Hindu laws on them."

Be it Sumair Ali Khan at a kabab corner on Mohammed Ali Road, or Mohammad Khalid Hanif at a Jamipur cycle shop -- Muslims in Aligarh are a worried lot ever since various opinion polls have shown the BJP to be the frontrunner in the political sweepstakes.

Aligarh, which boasted of a 60 per cent Muslim population before Partition, today finds the community in second position, forming just 25 per cent of the populace. Today, of the 1.25 miillion people in Aligarh, Muslims make up only 260,000. Of the five assembly segments in the city, three seats are held by the BJP, one by the Lok Tantrik Congress and one by the Samajwadi Party.

Says Khalid, a cycle-shop owner at Javalpur area, a heavily populated Muslim area in Aligarh, "The BJP has united all the Hindus by propagating anti-Muslim sentiments. They never used to win a single seat in Aligarh. But after the Ram Janambhoomi issue they are ruling UP."

Agrees Sumair, a butcher, "The Hindus in Aligarh believe that Muslims are anti-national, courtesy the BJP. I don't know what they will propagate against Muslims once they start ruling our country."

Though you will not find posters in this city proclaiming Mandir wahin banayenge or Jai Shri Ram, Muslims are unwilling to believe that the BJP is a changed party six years after the demolition of the Babri Masjid.

In fact, every Muslim I met vividly recalled slogans of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad like Kamar me lungi, mooh me paan, bhago saale Pakistan.

Says Khalid, "India is my country. If I had to migrate to Pakistan, my father would have done so 50 years ago. The BJP is no one to question my loyalty to India. I am in India because I am an Indian, loyal to India.

Supplements Sumair, "How can I believe that my future in India will be safe when the BJP coined the slogan, 'Mussalman ka ek hi sthaan, kabristan ya Pakistan (Muslims in India have only one destiny, either graveyard or Pakistan)' ?"

Every single Muslim in Aligarh I met, be it a paanwallah, taalewallah or an intellectual, is a loyal follower of the Samajwadi Party.

The one exception was Zamir Ahmed Khan, president of the Aligarh Muslim University students union who was a Congress supporter.

In fact, noted historian Irfan Habib has been exhorting the AMU students to vote for the SP.

The general opinion among Muslims is that only Mulayam Singh Yadav can defeat the BJP in UP.

On the other hand, Hindus in the riot-prone areas seem to have united in their support for the BJP's sitting MP, Sheela Gautam.

And nowhere is the difference in perception between Hindus and Muslims more stark than in Abdul Karim Chauraha, one of the worst riot affected areas of Aligarh. The Hindu part of it, called Mahavirganj, is full of the BJP's saffron flags, while the Muslim enclave on Mohammedali Road, is full of the SP's green and red flags.

Says Dr Tariq Mansoor, secretary, staff association, AMU, "Muslims are supporting a secular party, but unfortunately, the Hindu secular voter gets divided between the Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party."

Interestingly, there are no takers for the BJP's prime ministerial candidate, A B Vajpayee. The general opinion among Muslims is that Vajpayee is not the real BJP, but it is the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

"The BJP is a product of the RSS whose basic credo is Hindi, Hindu and Hindustan. Let Vajpayee openly state that he does not believe in the RSS philosophy. Only then will we feel that the BJP has changed," says Zamir Ahmad Khan.

Adds Syed Qaiser Naqvi, "Till this day, the Ram Mandir is mentioned in the BJP's manifesto. So, how will I believe the same crooks who demolished the Babri Masjid in spite of the Supreme Court, will not harm Muslims?"

"Vajpayee," asserts Naqvi, "is only the mask of the BJP. And this was confirmed by the BJP general secretary, Govindacharya."

The students of AMU, the largest Muslim university in the country that boasts of 40 per cent Hindu students, are also shocked by the BJP's assertion that minorities are appeased in India.

Says Riyaz Shaikh, a final year commerce student, "My two elder brothers have been unemployed for the last three years. Moreover, not more than two per cent of Muslims are in government jobs. So, I do not understand what kind of appeasement the BJP is talking of."

Interestingly, not many Muslims believe that Sir Syed Ahmed, founder of the Aligarh Muslim University, propagated the two-nation theory. Says Dr Tariq, "Sir Syed never stated anything about Pakistan. In fact, the Muslim League was formed in 1906, after the death of Sir Syed."

Adds Rajat Abrar, assistant public relations officer at AMU, "This is a false propaganda against Sir Syed. In fact, the second principal of AMU was Baijnath Prasad, a Hindu. AMU till this day has remained a secular institution with Muslims in a majority."

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