- Muslims are a minority community in India, already browbeaten and besieged due to the acts and utterances of this new India that seems to have woken up from what we thought was dead in the recent time (since perhaps the 1990s).
- A Muslim man*, Naseeruddin Shah, raises an issue about Muslims as a society being foolish to celebrate the Taliban victory(?). He asks them (his community) whether they want to progress into the future with reform and modernity, or regress into tribal, barbaric, bestial customs followed by Taliban and their ilk. He says that his relationship with his God is shorn of politics or political statements. He cautions them that they must choose wisely or else the faith would change to a point where we wouldn’t be able to recognise ourselves.
- It is a powerful statement from a privileged and influential person regarding his community.
- However, as the Alphas in India (in this context), Hindus, of whatever stripe, red, blue, or saffron, should refrain from amplifying and commenting on it, because regardless of how we share it and what we say, we come across as patronising, condescending dicks who are punching down on a community using the statement of one of their own as a ‘Gotcha’.
- We may agree with him or disagree. That is immaterial. I am simply saying we have no right to talk to or at the Muslim community about what Naseer saheb is telling or has told them. We should not be judging it, or commenting on it, and least of all, mocking it. Or him. We should not be amplifying it, because by that, we are falling for the narrative of the ‘Good Muslim, Bad Muslim’, when the truth is that every Indian has as much right over this country as every other Indian, never mind their faith or silly superstitions. The right wing picks up things like this and uses it to mock and bash Muslims. The left wing holds this up as an example of someone who has sold out. Both are wrong. He is who he is and he is saying as he sees it. It is for his community to share, comment, amplify, engage, and if possible heed or ignore his advice. We cannot be arbiters here.