A letter to Chetan Bhagat from Indian Muslim Youth Given below is the text of a letter that was initially written by a group of individuals and sent as a rejoinder to the article written by Chetan Bhagat titled, ‘Letter from an Indian Muslim Youth’ published in The Times of India on 30 June 2013. The letter was sent to The Times of India The signatories include non-Muslims, because a large number of the emails read, ‘I am not a Muslim but I am equally disgusted by Chetan Bhagat’s letter’. Given below is the text of letter followed by more than 200 signatures: A Letter to Mr. Chetan Bhagat from Indian Muslim Youth 3rd July 2013 Dear Mr. Bhagat, At the very outset, let us make it clear that we are not fans of your regressive fiction. Therefore, we write to you not as crazy fans but as Indian Muslim youth, who felt utterly patronized, insulted and hurt after reading your article, ‘Letter from an Indian Muslim Youth’ . You might have not realized this, but in pretending to render “a strong modern Indian Muslim voice’’ to the youth and the Muslim community at large, you have ripped them of their agency. You have reaffirmed stereotypes that many in the community have been fighting against. Heard of the Muslim god and his flock? Sir, one does not need a name like Ahmed or Saeed or Mirza, or even be a Muslim to show one’s genuine concern for the community. One just needs to see beyond one’s own prejudice and biases. Believe us, this disgusting piece of your writing made us more nauseous than any of your (or Madhu Kishwar’s) love-verses to Modi. Your article is nothing but an extension of the thought process that anything Muslim is backward and regressive. Since you have assigned to yourself the task of bearing the moral burden of the community, would you care to explain what a ‘Muslim cap’ is? We agree with you when you say political leaders make promises that go empty post elections. And that there are Muslims who have achieved much without any ‘’cap-wearing politician’’ helping them. But who is this leader that you are suggesting; one who would understand ‘’the desire’’ of the Muslim youth ‘’to come up in life’’ and ‘’inspire us to do better’’? Is it by any chance the mass murderer, Narendra Modi? You know what hurts? That people pretend to care for you when they don’t. When in fact they use you to grind their own axe. How cleverly you turn everything that the Muslim youth face today – “being frisked with greater attentiveness, denied renting an apartment” – into a product of the community’s inherent backwardness, as if it bears no relation to the increasing communalization of our polity and society. What makes you think that the ‘cap’ wallahs exercise a great deal of influence within the community? Interestingly, one particular party has been lately seeking a lot of photo-ops with precisely these kinds of community leaders. Make no mistake Mr. Writer. They don’t. “Because of you”, you write castigating an imagined Muslim leadership, “people feel we vote in a herd.” Now, isn’t that really clever, Mr. Bhagat. People feel we vote in a herd because certain parties never tire of screaming hoarse about ‘minority appeasement’ and ‘vote banks’, even though, any psephologist or political scientist, or even an ordinary Muslim youth at Chai dukaan will tell you that Muslims vote just like any other community does: according to a mix of factors: local, national but above all, keeping in mind who will preserve their interests best. And their interests do tend to include the safety of life and livelihood. We are sorry, Mr. Bhagat, but the ‘’democratic republic’’ you talk of is not so democratic. If it were so, Afzal Guru wouldn’t have been executed to ‘’satisfy the collective conscience of the nation’’. Muslim youth would not have fallen prey to minority witch-hunting, and their killers not decorated with gallantry awards. Adivasis in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa would not have been ripped of their fundamental rights to live with dignity. Dalit poets would not have been falsely charged under sedition laws. Loving one’s nation is well and good, but being blinded by patriotism is not. Why do Indian Muslims always have to prove their allegiance to India? Why can’t they also be critical of their country? The party whose path you are treading has had Indian Muslims pass through too many Sita-like ordeals of fire, Agni Pariksha. You may have the privilege to turn a blind eye to the post-Babri Masjid Demolition violence, the Gujarat pogrom, but many others don’t. How then do you think a leader who doesn’t even have the integrity to apologize for his complicity in the Gujarat pogrom represent Muslim youth’s aspirations for ‘’scientific way of thinking, entrepreneurship, empowerment, progress’’ and above all, ‘’personal freedoms’’? And just by the way, have you heard of the word, ‘Justice’? Sd/- Name Profession City (State) Rafiul Alom Rahman, Student, Delhi University, Delhi Mahtab Alam, Civil Rights Activist and Journalist, Delhi Javid Parsa, Student, Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad Zulaikha Jabeen, Researcher and Activist, Raipur, Chhattisgarh Shahnawaz Malik, Journalist, Delhi Abdullah A Rahman, Student, TISS Tuljapur Abu Zafar, Journalist, Delhi Sadika Saiyed, Law Student, Surat Omar Rashid, Journalist, Allahabad Imran Ali, Filmmaker, Delhi Rashid Hussain, Software Engineer, Jaipur Mahtab Azad, Development Consultant, Araria (Bihar) Ali Amir, Student, TISS Mumbai Gauhar Iqbal, Entrepreneur, Delhi Bilal Kagzi, Advocate, Surat Imran Khan, Journalist, Bangalore Nesar Ahmad, Researcher, Jaipur Aasiya Aslam, Architect, Chennai Saif Khan, Student, IIT Kharagpur Ejaz Ahmad, Student IIT Delhi Mohd Tanveer Iqbal, Civil Rights Activist, Chennai Mohammad Noor Alam, Medical Student, Bagalkot Khan Rashid Ayyub, Legal Translator, Azamgarh Tariq Shabibi, Software Engineer, Hyderabad Naim Siddiqui, Marketing Professional, Gurgaon Shahid Parwez Saiyyad, Entrepreneur, Mumbai Yuman Hussain, Social Activist, Kishanganj (Bihar) Mansoor Ali, Network Administrator, Vellor, Tamilnadu Mohammad Altamash, Operation Manager, Gurgaon Naveed Hasan, Software Engineer, Bangalore Syed Hassan Kazim, Journalist, New Delhi Shehla Rashid, Policy Analyst, J & K Abul Kalam Azad, Student, TISS Guwahati Tasneem Khan, Assistant Professor, Galgotias University, Noida Najmul Huda, Research Scholar, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi Dayam Anwar, Accountant, New Delhi Shahrukh Hameed, Asst Bank Manager, Lucknow Mohammad Rafiq Mulla, Web Developer, New Delhi Ershad Ahmad, Development Consultant, New Delhi Shoaib Mohammad, Student, Bangalore University Faraz Ahmad, Business Executive, Mumbai Sikandar Azam, Journalist, Delhi Tarique Shafeeq, Activist, Azamgarh Rabab Iman, Social Worker, Delhi Najid Hussain, Scientist, Indian based in USA Sana Maryam, Writer, New Delhi Sadiq Naqvi, Journalist, New Delhi Md. Zaurez Danish, Mechanical Engineer, Manipal Ovais Sultan Khan, Social Worker, Delhi Saleha Tahseen, Corporate Trainer, Bangalore Syed Zameer Hasan, Software Engineer, Mumbai Mohd. Jalauddin, Executive with Coal India, Maharashtra Malik Abid Rasool, Student, Amar Singh College, Sri Nagar Mohd. Imran, Real Estate Appraiser, Indian based in New Jersey Sahil Rafiq, Student, Kashmir University Younis Altaf, Student, Hyderabad Javed Iqbal, Corporate Employee, Hyderabad Zoha Khan, Student, Dehradun Irfan Hashmee, Student, Hyderabad Md. Ali, Journalist, Delhi Saira Manzoor, Homemaker, Kolkata Shafaque alam, Journalist, Delhi Afreen Khan, Student, Dehradun Afroz Alam, Journalist, Delhi Mazin Khan, Publisher, New Delhi Mohd. Reyaz, Journalist, Delhi S M Fasihullah, Freelance Journalist, Hyderabad Zoha Abdul, Student, DU Tarique Anwar, Journalist, Delhi Mohammad Muneeb, Private Employee, Kohir, AP Areeb Rizvi, Student, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi Ufaq Paiker, Research Scholar, JNU Sania Mariam, Student, Kolkata Ayesha Farooq, Student, DU Falak Khan, Student, Bangalore Sarah Jameel, Student, Doon University, Uttarakhand Talha Hussain, Software Engineer , Gulbarga Karnataka Maheboob Shahana , Student ,Jamia Millia Islamia Delhi Abdul Haadi, MA Sociology , Kottayam Kerala Waseem Ahmed , Circulation Executive, Hapur (U.P) Atiya Firdaus, Student Activist, Kota Rajasthan. Abdul Raheem, Procurement Manager, Bangalore Karnataka. Imran Ahmed, Real-Estate Developer, Kota Rajasthan Inam ur Rehman , student ,Delhi University ,Delhi Md Khalid , Ph.D Scholar Jamia Milliya Islamia, Delhi Ubaidurrehman, Ph.D Student ,JNU Delhi Shuaib PV , Student activist ,Kerala Ts Amanullah , Engineering Student Chennai Tamilnadu Riaz Ahmed, Law Student Chennai TamilNadu Aminulislam , Political Activist Murshidabad West Bengal Danish Raza, Journalist, Delhi Sharib Zeya, Research Fellow, Delhi School of Economics Nizamuddin Ajmeri , Social Worker , Bundi Rajasthan Jeelani Basha, Software Engineer Poona. Kosar Jahan , Student Activist , Kota Rajasthan Lukhmanul Hakeem , Student Activist , Edappal Kerala Abdul Raheem Mulla, Corporator GCC, Gulbarga Karnataka. P.Abdulnazar , Student activist , Vengara Kerala P Niyaz , Photo Journalist , Chennai TamilNadu Naveed Parsa, Engineering Student, Chandigarh Haseena Khatoon , Teacher Chennai Tamil Nadu Anjumand Ara, Teacher, Delhi University Ziyaullah , Political Activist Chennai Tamil Nadu Umer Farooq, Engineer, Punjab Saquib Ahmed, Advocate, Ahmadabad Mohammad Syeduddin, Student, Patna Parvez Bari, Journalist, Bhopal Shayed Sayeed, Software Engineer, Ahmadabad Zafar Mohammed, Business Executive, Mumbai Mohammad Saif, Journalist, Cuttack, Orissa Tauseef Ahmad, Technocrat, Delhi Mohd. Zakaria Siddiqui, Researcher, Indian currently in Australia Haseeb Mustafa Alvi, Engineer, Delhi Mohd Aarif Khan, Systems Engineer, Mumbai Fazal Ahmad, Advocate, New Delhi Qazi Sadaff Rehan, Student, Bhadrak, Orissa Aarif Khan, Assistant Professor, Indian currently in Riyadh Faisal Iqbal, Electronics Engineer, New Delhi Pervez Chaudhary, Student, AMU, Aligarh Fehmeena Ahmad, Activist, Delhi Mohd. Yousuf, Student, Chennai Mohd Abdul Rasheed, IT Manager, Hyderabad Moosa Azmi, Activist, Varanasi Saman Roohi, Phd Candidate, Indian currently at Amsterdam Dr. Uzma, Medical Practitioner, Mysore Dr. Zaheer Ahmed, Neurologist, Chennai Adnan Farooqui, Academic, Delhi Farhatullah Khan, Research Scholar, University of Madras Munawwar Kavungal, Trichur, Kerala Muneebuudin, Advocate, Hyderabad Samiullah Khan, Quality Control Manager, Bangalore Mohd Saif, IT Engineer, Kareem Nagar, AP K T Hafis, Student, Jamia Millia Islamia Fawaz Shaeen, Law Student, AMU, Aligarh Shihab Khan, Civil Engineer, Bhopal Abdul Raheem Kaiser, Student, BITS Hyderabad Salima Aarif, Blogger, New Delhi Abdullah, Teacher, West Bengal Azhar Khan, Advocate, Jalgaon, Maharashtra Syed Salman Ali, Law Student, AMU Waseem Siddiqi, Entrepreneur, Delhi Parvin Sultana, Research Scholar, JNU Kashif Ilyas, Student, Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Riad Azam, Student, Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Imran Kichloo, Student, Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Ameen Ahmed, Student, Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Roshan U. Alam, Civil Services aspirant, Delhi Shaheen Ahmed, Performance Artist, Delhi Mohd Arif Dagia, LIC Agent, Raipu, CG S M Zaki Ahmad, Development Professional, Delhi Ahmar Afaq, Law Student, Saharanpur, UP Muhammed Imtiyaz Ahmed, IT Consultant, Delhi Memon Junaid, Dentist, Ahmedabad Omair Anas, Researcher, JNU Mukkaram Niyaz, Web Developer, Hyderabad Imran Khan, Journalist, Noida Zaheer Hussain, Journalist, Bangalore S. Mohd Saim, Advocate, Rampur, UP Md Iqbal, Engineer, Ranchi Mohd Sajjad Hussain, Student, Delhi School of Economics Syed Humayoun Shabir, Research Scholar, AMU Fairoz Ahmed, Software Engineer, Bangalore Moinuddin Ahmad, Journalist, Delhi Yasir Iqbal, Engineering Student, AMU Faheem Ahmad, Planning Engineer, Vellore Abbas Hasan, Marketing Professional, Delhi Sadiq Umar, Young Scientist, Delhi Sarfaraz Nawaz, Consultant, Bangalore Shahnawaz Akhtar, Journalist, Delhi Rabia Khan, Marketing Consultant, Lucknow Rasshad Khan, Technology Entrepreneur, Noida Abdullah Azzam, Law Student, Faculty of Law, AMU Meher Jahan, Law Student, Faculty of Law, AMU Sarah Hashim, Law Student, Faculty of Law, AMU Anam Khan, Law Student, Faculty of Law, A M U Sheeba Aslam Fehmi, Writer-Activist, Delhi John Dayal, Member, National Integration Council, GoI Anuradha Bhasin, Journalist, Jammu Preeti Sampat, Researcher, Delhi Sukla Sen, Activist, Mumbai Brijesh Kalappa, Advocate, Delhi Archana VB, Software Professional Smita Charbarty, Phd Scholar, Kolkata Himanshu Kumar, Activist, Delhi Faisal Ahmed Khan, Assistant Professor, Kerala Brinda Bose, Teacher, Delhi University Neha Misra, Student, IMT Ghaziabad Shehba George, Activist, Ahmadabad Imran Khan, Educator, Aligarh Faisal Khan, Advocate, Meerut Clifton D’ Rozario, Advocate, Banglore Masihuddin, Pharmacist, Betiah, Bihar Aftab Fazil, Educationist, Delhi Nandini Rao, Activist, Delhi Dr. Aurobindo Ghose, Advocate, Delhi Asgar Hussain, Bank PO, Delhi Dr. Aslam Rizvi, Medical Practitioner, Delhi Naaz Khair, development consultant, Delhi Garga Chatarjee, Columnist, Kolkata Menu Seshu, Activist, Shangli Nitya Vasudevan, Research Scholar, Bangalore Rukmini Sen, Journalist, Mumbai Vimochana, Women Rights Activist, Bangalore Shraddha Chickerur, Delhi Girish Pannikkar, Accounts Manager, Kerala Aruna Ganadason, Christian Feminist, Kerala Ms Jarjum Ete, activist, Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh Navneet Shrivastava, Mumbai Dr. Shelly Dahiya, New Delhi Amalendhu Upadhyay, Journalist, Ghaziabad Himadri Sekhar Mistri, Research Scholar, Delhi School of Economics Soma Marik, Visiting Professor, School of Women’s Studies, Jadavpur University Sudipto Muhri, Assistant Professor, Pune University Kalyani Menon, Feminist, Gurgaon
Posted on: Wed, 06 Nov 2013 14:53:21 +0000
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