Radicalization reduces common ground

This was written in February 2020 and originally posted as a thread on Twitter. It has, of course, been quoted out of context.

I have been wanting to write this for long, but have put if off fearing the backlash. But I am finally taking the courage to finally talk about how some Muslims are contributing to radicalization and removing scope for finding common ground.

I am not denying the fact that Independent India has not been the secular haven that Muslims hoped it would be. Yes, Muslims have been treated as a vote bank, and the so called “minority appeasement policies” never translated into any real benefits.

I am not denying that the patriotism of Muslims has often been questioned. Or that Muslims have been the victims of most of the ‘riots’ in Independent India.

Those are facts.

But what is also a fact is that there has been a systematic campaign against Muslims.

Over the last 20 years, mainstream Hindus have been quietly fed a diet of subtle anti-Muslims propaganda. To the point where people like my mother who were once religion-blind, now see nothing wrong in saying things like “let them go back”.

Otherization is now normalized to the extent that most Hindus will even deny it exists. When confronted with facts about everyday discrimination, most react with “what nonsense. They are making it up.”

In this situation, when Muslims ask, “What are Hindus doing to counter the radicalization?”, they miss an essential point.

Most Hindus don’t even realize it, and the ones who are vocal have already alienated themselves from their community, and cannot influence much

Do Hindus have the duty to speak up? Yes, absolutely.

Germans today still carry the guilt of the silence of the generations before them. And Hindus too will be held accountable in future.

But does that help today? No.

Today, Hindus are not doing what they must, and Muslims merely demanding that they should do “something” is not enough.

Winning over enough Hindus to vote out the the current government is something that needs to be a priority for everyone. Because there is no other choice.

The task of winning people over to the cause needs patience and empathy. False narratives and misinformation need to be countered. Hindus need to reconverted to secularism, and convinced that it is possible for people of different faiths can live together in harmony.

What certainly doesn’t help at this stage is for certain Muslims to contribute to the radicalization by making provocative statements on Hinduism.

Many practices of Hinduism need reform, but Hindus do not want outsiders to point it out to them.

Yes, it should be a two way street.

Hindus too should not question Islamic practices, and they do.

But the unfortunate reality today is that Hindus can get away with it, and Muslims cannot. Rather than get into a game of one-upmanship, Muslims must exercise restraint.

I am not asking Muslims not to assert their identity, all I am saying is that Muslims shouldn’t go out of their way to provoke Hindus, or attempt to shame them into denouncing the current radicalization.

Doing that is counter productive, and plays directly into RW hands.

The same advice also goes out to the Hindus who stand against radicalization.

In their attempt to be “fair” they/ we sometimes condone extreme ideologies expressed by some Muslims.

Muslims are not a homogeneous entity, and extreme ideologies should be called out regardless

We have a long, hard fight ahead, because eventual victory can only come through the ballot.

We need to win enough people to our side to vote out the Hindu RW. Anything that jeopardizes that goal needs to be stamped out immediately.

We are fighting for Justice, Liberty, Equality, Fraternity in every sense.

We are fighting for the right to say “We the People of India”.

We cannot allow the fight to be derailed.

We need to win people over, and anything that hurts that objective hurts us all.