NAGPUR: “We are known in this world not by the religion we profess, nor by caste or creed but by our motherland”, said emphatically Shri Indresh Kumar, Member of the Akhil Bharatiya Karyakari Mandal (ABKM) of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) at Nagpur.
Shri Kumar was addressing a meeting of eminent Muslims in Nagpur organised jointly by Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM) and National Muslim Council at Jamiat-ul-Muslemeen Hall located in Muslim-dominated Jafar Nagar area of the city. Haji Salam Akbani presided over the meeting while Dr Arti Moitra, Hifz-ur-Rahman, Advocate Habibuddin, Mobin Ahamad and others were the special guests on the occasion.
Addressing the gathering of elite Muslims on ‘Secularism in present Indian Context’, Shri Indresh Kumar said that people professing various religious sects and speaking different languages live in India peacefully. There is no conflict because we all belong to India and this is our true identity. We are known all over the world as Indians and not as Muslims or Hindus or Dalits or Jains, etc.
He said that the general perception among the Muslim community was that there existed a huge divide between the RSS and the Muslims and that the two cannot share a common platform. “My presence in this very meeting has cleared all such doubts and paved the way for ushering in a new understanding and relationship that would strengthen true secularism in this country”, Shri Kumar emphasised to the thunderous applause from the audience. “It is a small beginning but it will create a new, positive wind of change in the days to come and be instrumental in removing the misgivings between the two communities”, he said.
Shri Kumar who is credited with initiating a successful dialogue with the Muslims in India in the recent past, reminded the gathering of the teachings of Prophet Mohammed. “Men in the world are not known by their caste, creed, colour, region, profession, or party, but by their Motherland, and when everyone in this country is an Indian, there is no question of asking any one to leave this land”, he said.
Shri Indresh Kumar said that Muslims and Christians in India belonged to this land as majority of them were converted to these faiths at certain point of time in the history due to many reasons. But that does not mean that they ceased to be the nationals of this land. They share the same ancestors, culture and motherland with their Hindu, Buddhists, Sikh, Jain and other counterparts.
Dr Arti Moitra appealed to the people to forget all the petty differences and stand as a united nation to thwart all the evil designs and plans of the divisive forces. Shri Hifz-ur-Rahman spoke on the issue of linguistic chauvinism and emphasised the need to know and use the language of the state as it would eliminate the differences.
Advocate Habibuddin said that there was a need to understand the true meaning of secularism. We have accepted a Constitution that provides equal rights to all the people of India irrespective of their caste, religion or colour. Elaborating he said in the olden days there used to be kings and clergymen who controlled the actions of the kings and the society.
Besides, Arif Quazi and Shakeel Ayyub a number of people spoke on the occasion. The programme was conducted by Mirza Javed Baig while Sayyad Ehteshan Quazi proposed the vote of thanks. The programme was largely attended by the elite Muslims and Hindus of the locality.
Frustrate threats to India’a security
THERE is no need to become panicky because of the various threats to our security. On the contrary we must identify, understand these threats and frame a strategy to frustrate them permanently, observed Shri Indresh Kumar, Member of Akhil Bharatiya Karyakari Mandal (ABKM) of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). He was delivering the first lecture on February 6 in the two-day series organised in memory of late Manoramabai Mundle by Dharampeth Education Society. Chairman of the Society Dr Sudhir Sahasrabhojani presided over the lecture series.
Shri Indresh Kumar said that terrorism, extremism and separatism were the main threats to our national security and we must recognise and understand these dangers in their correct perspective and proportion to nullify their impact on our security. He said that the internal violence by these divisive forces have taken a toll of 75,000 to 80,000 innocent lives while the Naxalites have murdered around 25,000 people in the country so far.
He said that we fought the freedom struggle from 1857 to 1947 and lost 50 lakh sq. km of our area. In 1857 India had a geographical area admeasuring 83 lakh sq km and when we became independent we were left with just 33 lakh sq. km area.
Shri Indresh Kumar said that Pakistan was a fundamentalist state; China was an imperialist and expansionist state while India is following the policy of appeasement in the name of secularism. Nationalism can’t live with these qualities and we will have to be true nationalist to tide over all these threats to our security and social unity. About 86 countries of the world want India to lead them. We must grab this opportunity to create a India-centric political, economic, social world order if we want India to become a world leader in true sense.
