Author:
Publication: Afternoon Despatch
and Courier
Date: October 26, 2002
Introduction: Self-appointed interpreters
of the holy book are raising flimsy objections with a view to achieving
politically motivated results
MATARAM. Mater. Mother. Ma. Amma
- the word produces a beautiful, soothing sound. A mystery is revealed.
There is no goddess here, no religion. An uplifting, nowhere image. It
is a word understood all over the world. It is the first word. Looks like
the baby knows the word from the day it is born.
Salutation to thee, mother. Vande
Mataram. You don't have to go down on your knees before your mother. If
you like, do not bow your head. The life-giving mother demands nothing.
She will not even mind if you say:
Hi Mataram. It is the feeling that is important: the emotion that wells
up in one and the mysterious bondage.
I experienced that feeling long,
long ago when Omkarnath Takore sang Vande Mataram. As he sang, the words
acquired a new meaning. There were shining, glorious images - of nature,
of the Universe itself.
As he sang, the audience listened
- spellbound. There was not a sound in the hall - quite unlike what we
see at shastriya sangeet sammelan.
New high
And then a couple of years ago,
there was another man who gave the song a new high - a new energy charging
the air and sweeping everything before it. Vande Mataram. It was a long-drawn,
high- pitched salutation. And - amma tuje salaam. What beautiful words.
Simply amma. No sanskrit, Latin word.
It was Rehman's interpretation.
The whole nation was thrilled.
The British - the rulers of India
- were scared by the song. They did not like it. They could feel the patriotic
fervour in the song - the reverence and love for the country. That one
song could rouse the people and make them fight for freedom. For those
brave people who fought for freedom, the song must have been morale-boosting.
It must have ended their fears and got them set for the battle.
There is history behind the song.
It has become immortal. So long as India is, it will be there. And India
will be there - let us hope - for centuries to come.
There are some citizens in this
country who are opposed to the singing of this song in schools.
They are all politicians.
The politicians object to the song
on grounds of religion. They are of course enable to pinpoint the objectionable
word - the word that has a religious sentiment in it. They say as per the
holy Koran's directives, a Muslim cannot bow to anyone except God. As far
as I can see what the great prophet meant was that a man must walk tall,
with his head held high and never cringe, crawl or prostrate before other
human beings.
Ask Dr. Rafiq Zakaria, a reported
Muslim scholar or others who have studied the Koran.
But a politician will not listen.
A politician has a different set of what constitutes truth. Because what
motivates him is something else. He has different aims and objects. Red
is not red for him, it is yellow, blue or green. That's how he sees things.
He is beyond reason. There is madness, but a method in it. And amazingly
enough, he can produce a strong argument - so strong that sometimes it
may even ring true.
Sometimes, he is involved in a tit
for tat situation or in a game of oneupmanship. Psychology, it would appear,
plays a big part in politics. Issues must be kept burning, otherwise they
die out. Protest is part of politics.
Now, let us take an example: A political
group in the BMC wants the singing of the Vande Mataram before the start
of the class in the morning. Objection immediate by a Muslim politician.
The song has a religious sentiment. Koran does not permit anyone to..."
Challenge and counter-challenge.
They are all playing a game.
The Hindu politicians will try to
make out that because there is objection to singing of Vande Mataram, Muslims
are not patriotic. If you want to remain in India, you have to sing Vande
Mataram. Why are we asked to prove our patriotism again and again? And
then the mediators come: okay, those who do not want to sing need not sing.
Let them stand while Vande Mataram is being sung.
I have been content to listen to
the singing of Vande Mataram. I have never attempted to sing it - in public.
The Self-appointed interpreters of the holy book are raising flimsy objections
with a view to achieving politically motivated results apaswara in my singing
would have become evident and I was always careful not to cut a pathetic
figure.
In fact, Vande Mataram is not being
sung as it should be.
It would be a good idea if the recorded
song is sung in schools or any other place. And it would be great if we
can persuade Rehman to record the whole song in his own inimitable way.
The whole nation would reverberate with the energy of his fantastic tune.
All those beautiful words - the different faces of the mother, her attributes
- the great nation, the best in the world. And to all those glorious words
and images, he can add just three more words: amma tuje salaam.
Thackeray is not anti-Muslim
Did Mr. Bal Thackeray say anything
at the Dassera rally that was objectionable. Was his speech dangerous?
Could it have triggered a communal problem?
My answer to all these questions
is an emphatic no.
I can claim to know Thackeray well
- the personal, human side more than the political. I can most positively
say that he is a very big- hearted, tolerant, kind man who has absolutely
anything against Muslims. He does stick to Hindutva, but that does not
mean he is against Muslims.
Remember the pitch digging at Wankhede
stadium. That was an indication of his awareness even then about Pakistan's
undesirable mission in India. He is anti-Pakistan - that is certain.
He is unhappy that we we have taken
the Paki-bashing lying down. Pakistan conducts a proxy war in Kashmir.
It sends trained, armed terrorists to India to attack our parliament, our
temples. It drives out Hindus from Kashmir, it kills thousands of innocent
Kashmiris - most of them patriotic Muslims.
So he wants to send suicide squads
to Pakistan to do what it has done to us.
I myself am of the view that we
should start a proxy war in Pak- occupied-Kashmir (PoK). We don't have
to kill innocent people - like Pakistan has done, but we can hit at Pakistan's
war machinery and prepare the ground for the merger of PoK with the rest
of India. Our intelligence agency can direct the operation as Pakistan's
ISI is doing in Kashmir. Our suicide squads should be able to get at heinous
criminals who have killed hundreds in India and who one now enjoying the
luxurious hospitality of Pakistan. They can destroy terrorist camps inside
Pakistan and stop infiltration.
It is possible that Mr. Vajpayee's
government is also set on a realistic course. It is taking global coalition
help to destroy terrorists in Pakistan. But maybe the prime minister has
to change course.
That is an opinion - a strong opinion,
a sharp criticism of Mr. Vajpayee. But what has anyone got to do with it.
It is - at the most - a family quarrel
the Sena leader has with the prime minister. Question: When the Sena-BJP
ruled in Maharashtra, did any Muslim feel threatened? Did anybody's interest
affected.
Answer: No.
And if charges are filed against
the Sena chief and he is prosecuted, they will fail.
