For the different nations and communities of the world to live together in peace, co-operation, affection, goodwill and in a state of peaceful co-existence; it is important that they not only obtain an adequate understanding of each other’s ideology, traditions, cultural heritage and the great things they have done in the past, but also learn to appreciate them and to hold them as precious and worthy of encouragement and preservation.
Efforts to Understand other Peoples & Communities
It is considered necessary by all the nations of the world to acquire a proper knowledge of the language, literature, culture, civilization, history and even fine arts of people of other countries to have better relationships with them.
Many countries send their missions comprising men of culture and learning to other countries to study their psychological, literary and cultural patterns.
Organizations and institutions are set up universally with the object of promoting cultural ties and understanding with the rest of the world and funds are made available to them with commendable generosity.
In pursuance of the same objective, the Government of India has established a big organization called the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, and several other private and semi-official organizations are also in operation such as the Indo-Arab and the Indo-Iranian Societies, which strive through various means to foster and strengthen cultural ties with the peoples of other lands.
Thus it can be easily seen that a general desire is found all over the world to establish close relations with different peoples and communities at personal, intellectual and cultural levels and even a country’s self-interest calls for it and so also the issue of world peace.
Strange Condition of Non-Muslims in India
It is necessary that within a country such as India, one section of the population should not remain ignorant of the past intellectual and cultural achievements, propensities, urges and aspirations of another section that has been living side by side with it in millions of numbers for several centuries and had played a decisive role in the shaping of the country’s destiny.
- It is one of the curious contradictions of Indian national existence that generally Hindus of India are almost totally in dark about the ancient heritage and background of the Indian Muslims and has no appreciation of the basic facts about them.
- A typical Hindu does not know what role Muslims have played in the progress and development of India and in struggle for its freedom.
- In general a Hindu has no idea about the contributions Muslims have made in the country’s many-sided evolution up to the present day.
- A common Hindu does not know what are the desires, ambitions, needs and difficulties of a Muslim in the existing national set-up.
This strangeness and ignorance of Hindus about Islam & Muslims in spite of the fact that the two communities have been living with each other for hundreds of years and participating unitedly in the various tasks of life is a drawback which should be removed without further delay.
Unity, trust and harmony are among the essential elements which are a prerequisite for national integration and progress, but these elements cannot be produced till we remained unaware of each other’s spiritual and emotional make-up, history and social background.
Efforts to Malign and Discredit Muslim History
India’s tragedy however, is not confined only to ignorance about each other. What is worse and more disappointing is that there is a powerful tendency to black-out and reject the history and the cultural stock of the whole Muslim community, its past achievements and the glorious contribution it has made to the national fight for independence.
- There is a continuous campaign to present the history of India in such a manner as if the Muslim era in India was an era of foreign, imperialistic domination.
- The Muslim era of India is projected as if it was devoid of all virtue and greatness and failed miserably to produce a single noteworthy personality, a single remarkable achievement in the domains of thought and culture.
- A lie is being promoted that there is not a single act of unpolluted, selfless service to the country’s welfare and development by Muslims of which the nation could be proud of.
- One of the greatest injustices to Muslims of India is that in the long-drawn battle for freedom against the British, the role of the Muslims was nothing more than that of a disinterested spectator, and even if they did accidentally took part in it, it was not worthy of attention.
This attitude not only perpetrates cruel injustice on hundreds of millions Indian Muslims but is also unfair and dishonest to India’s past and to the future generations that are going to need badly those lives of the illustrious persons belonging to that period of their history as role models for their conduct.
Further, India can present itself advantageously and in a more effective manner to the Islamic countries, whose friendship it wishes to cultivate, by highlighting the memorable achievements of the Muslim Period, and win recognition for it of its glory from their educated and enlightened circles.
As the people of those lands are already familiar with the main personalities and land-marks of that span of Indian history, such an endeavor is not likely to present any great difficulty.
Need to Highlight Contributions of Muslims in India
Due to one reason or another, it is not possible these days both for Muslim and non-Muslim friends to read voluminous works in Persian and even in Urdu of the old style to appreciate the manifold cultural, literary, material and political achievements of Muslim Period of India’s history.
Therefore what is needed is that brief and easy-to-read articles are created which can present glimpses of the story of those days and a picture of that way of life, and thus serve as a medium of introduction.
It is hoped that writings on this blog will be read with interest among the educated circles of the various communities that go to make our people and prove of some value in reducing the ignorance and the attitude of indifference which exist in the sister-communities towards the Muslims. It may, further, be helpful in promoting the growth of a broad, realistic, national perspective the world so badly needs today.
Perhaps it is not too much to expect that; apart from non-Muslim friends, many educated Muslims too will find in these writings something which will be new to them and add to their knowledge and in some way, however little it may be, go towards ridding them of the inferiority complex they have developed lately, but for which there is no justification.
Muslims are Chief Builders of India
The Muslims are not only citizens of an equal status with anybody in India; they are also among its chief builders and architects, and hold position second to none among the peoples of the world for selfless service to the motherland.
They gave to India and the Indian civilization a new life and a new dimension and awakened its people to a new set of moral and spiritual values.
Every patch of this land and every particle of this soil bears the imprint of their greatness and is a monument to their industry, earnestness and creative genius. In every aspect of Indian life and civilization can be seen evidences of their noble aestheticism and cultural richness.