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The Student Opposition Will Be The Driving Force For The Future : Nahas Mala

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Q: It’s been a year for you in the position of National President of SIO. How do you evaluate the activities of the year that went by?

I was given the responsibility of the national president of SIO at a crucial juncture where Indian Muslims were going through tougher situations. In spite of all the odds of being less in number and the lack of resources, I strongly believe that SIO has been able to usher rays of hope in the Indian Muslim community. The academic excellence reflected in our cadres was continuing in the last year too. SIO has its active presence in almost all the major universities of the country. It has been actively present in the forefront of student activism of the country. SIO cadres are active in the voluntary service practices.

Anti-fascist movements have won the majority of the unions in the recent university elections. Does that sense a hopeful future?

It is indeed happy to see anti-fascist movements succeeding in the recent elections in the most prominent universities like JNU, HCU, Pondicherry University and Delhi University. Such movements countering the efforts to saffronise the Indian campuses should be promoted and encouraged. The most striking feature of such movements is the visible presence of Muslim-Dalit groups.

But it is very sad to note that the left parties in these movements are reluctant to accept the existence of Dalit and Muslim groups in such movements. This can be seen as an ideological dilemma the left parties are in. I feel pity for them who were once self-heralded as the saviors of the downtrodden including Dalits and Muslims; the same left was seen sloganeering against the Muslim groups in the broad anti-ABVP front of which they were also part which won the elections to Hyderabad Central University Students Union last year; the same left was forced to campaign against SIO in the left nostalgic wonderland of JNU where SIO is not strong in numbers.

Q: What was the contribution of SIO in such fronts?

I am very glad to say that SIO activists were in the forefront of such movements. SIO activists actively participated in the elections held at JNU, HCU, AMU and Pondicherry University. It is a part of the anti-ABVP front that won elections in the HCU; SIO activists also won the union elections in Maulana Azad National Urdu University. It also strengthened its position in the university known as left bastions.

Q: At a time when Indian Muslim is undergoing a critical stage, how much have SIO or other Islamic movements in India appear to be a hope for them?

The problems that we refer to as suffered by the Indian Muslims are not certainly something that sprouted only after the Modi government has assumed power, but it has made a reason to discuss it. Muslims in India have been undergoing insecure and unsafe social conditions for many years. There have not been any significant improvements in the Muslim social conditions even after ten years of Sachar committee report that looked into the social backwardness of Muslims in India. SIO frames its activities keeping in view such social scenarios.

Q: Being an organisation that has been actively participating in the Justice for Najeeb movement, can you elaborate the timeline and prospects of the struggle?

The Justice for Najeeb movement helped in revealing the Islamophobia deep-rooted in the Indian public conscience, even in the so-called intelligentsia. The “progressive left” for which JNU is known for, has not responded strongly yet even after a companion has been forcefully disappeared from their campus. This proves how deep rooted is Islamophobia in Indian public conscience.

SIO has been in the forefront in the struggles of Fatima Nafees, in finding justice for her son Najeeb. When the Delhi Police which investigated the matter first could not make any significant developments the case was transferred to CBI. Even after CBI taking up the case there are no visible developments. They have not even bothered to interrogate the ABVP goons who attacked Najeeb the night before he was found missing. On another hand, they are troubling the student activist who stands for the Justice for Najeeb movement for no reasons. The CBI which repeated the first report in the second hearing clearly reveals who they are aligned with. The court criticized the snail pace of the investigative agency and asked a responsible official to be present for further hearings. There were times when you had feelings of disgust from the judicial system. A mother who keeps raising voices for his son for the past two years was asked by the court once to have patience and resilience.

Though they are slow in the investigation of Najeeb case, the Delhi police was swift and spontaneous in cracking down the protests. Protestors including Najeeb’s mother were manhandled and treated very badly in the streets.

Q: There has been a sharp rise in the atrocities against the Muslims after the BJP came into power in India. What according to you is a solution for this?

The anti-Muslim activities the Sangh Parivar has been continuing since many years rose to another level with Modi assuming power at the centre. They have shifted their focus from Mass riots which create large-scale casualties to more number of smaller riots with small-scale casualties. These riots may seem confined to a particular area but is a part of a larger propaganda. Though the Sangh Parivar justifies those attacks in the name of cow protection, most of the victims of mob lynching were proved to have no such links. The murders of Pehlu Khan, Junaid, Muhammad Akhlaq proves the same.BJP, which rules a majority of these states pays no heed to them.Even after Supreme Court regulations attacks on minorities continues to recur.

Through these attacks on minorities, the Sangh forces are trying to create a common enemy called Muslim thereby hiding the internal clashes. These otherisations makes them advantageous in the long term project of saffronisation of the  Indian society.The numerous riots and communal clashes orchestrated in the country big or small helped in constructing a Muslim other. The wrong notion of Hindu-Muslim enmity is the result of such authorisation projects.

Q: Being someone who had the chance of travelling across India, how do mark the Muslim lives there?

In the last one year, I had the chance to meet many people from various societies of the Indian diaspora. In contrast to the Kerala Muslim society, Muslims outside live in very pathetic conditions. My experiences with them and their lives are terrifying and disturbing. Majority of the Muslims in the country lives in separate colonies created by Hindu-Muslim polarisations.And the state machinery does not pay attention to the Muslim colonies. And that adds to the agony of social and educational backwardness of the community.The Muslim majority district of Murshidabad in West Bengal does not even have a university. Developmental efforts terminate in the Hindu colonies in Gujarat.

And in between all of this, they are being attacked and assaulted brutally for being a Muslim. Standing upon its limitations, SIO has been in the process of confidence building measures by visiting the victimised families.

Q: How much aware is the North Indian Muslim community about the challenges the face?

It is hard to believe that the Muslim community in that area has such political education owing to their social and educational backwardness. Most continues to live assuming it to be their fate. The only way to get them out their current situation is by the social and educational upliftment.

Q: What are the prospects and the aims of the upcoming All India Conference?

SIO as an Islamic Student Organisation has been focussing on the organisational growth in the North Indian states where the organisational structure is weak. A campaign with the same intention has been ongoing for the past five months.The conference will be a culmination of this campaign.The conference intends scheduled on 23rd,24th & 25th of February mainly intends to educate and make aware the activists from Northern states of India.The conference spanning over three days will have sessions analysing and educating views and activities on the SIO.

Q: Can you elaborate the theme “Reclaiming Dignity; Designing Nature”?

Status quo of our country is such that Dalit-Muslim-Adivasis and other communities branded as down-trodden by the society are facing harsh challenges. Newses of attacks, lynchings and murders from different parts of the country puts the very existence of these communities at stake. They should realise that their ideological premises to are a reason for such attacks. We shouldn’t let the perpetrators of these crimes be named as ‘mobs’, which is a naive misnomer. We hope collective attempts to defend such well-planned attacks be arisen. Only such collectives can envision an optimistic future. Dignity is as important as oxygen to humans. Our constitution promises a right to dignified life for every citizen of India. As the theme of the conference suggests SIO is adamant in standing up to any kind of attack against our dignity.

Q: As we know, Muslims have been witch-hunt nationwide. Why isn’t there a strong voice of dissent coming up from the society against this?

The question is very relevant. It shows the depth of the dilemma Muslims of India have been succumbed to. Reasons for this predicament are manifold. Lack of awareness of the gravity of the dilemma is the primary reason. Even when the existence of the community is in peril, Majority of us act as failed community giving into the secular-dramas. Fear of repercussions of indulging in the issues is another reason. We should admit that Sangh-Parivar and their ilks have succeeded in creating such atmosphere of fear. That is why there has been no strong protests arising beyond mere press releases. Deficiency of leaders with visions of clarity stands out to be the most important factor. We believe that our youth has been successful in countering Sangh Parivar forces in academic discourses. But how far have we been successful in assigning the leadership for social revolution?. We should self-criticise and bring up such new generation leaders.

[Note: This interview has been taken from The Companion Print’s Feb-March special edition]

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