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Editorial: A look at Indian Muslims through the lens of Taliban

The oddity is that a segment of Indian Muslims seem to have forgotten the painful experiences of the last seven years and have adopted an ambivalent attitude toward the Taliban taking over Kabul, only barely concealing their glee in social media posts. Muslim anxiety and fear were stoked by Hindutva’s demonizing methods during these seven years. Outraged at the threat of losing their citizenship, they marched to the streets and held public readings of the Preamble to demonstrate their allegiance to the ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity.

In response to the Taliban amassing outside Kabul, Indian Muslims should have expressed empathy for the terror stalking the Afghan people, particularly women. From 1996 to 2001, they enforced a rigid version of Islamic law, meted out brutal public punishments and barred women from public life, including prohibiting them from attending school.

However, Indian Muslims did not show empathy to Afghans. The Taliban, they claimed, had reformed – so a second chance to govern had to be given. Before offering this gratuitous advice, they should remember their own foreboding at Narendra Modi becoming Prime Minister in 2014. In 2002, they had feared that the Gujarat riots would become a model for polarizing the whole country.

Taliban are said by some to represent the majority opinion. According to statistics, this claim is questionable. Pashtuns make up a small percentage of Afghanistan’s population, which consists of a rich mosaic of ethnic groups. The remaining 60 percent are mostly from 13 of the 14 ethnic groups mentioned in Afghanistan’s national anthem. Pashtuns make up the majority of the Taliban, who have taken control of Afghanistan through battlefield victories, not through democracy. The mistake of assuming the will of the victors is hypocritical.

Many Indian Muslims believe that a constitutional majority cannot be used to enact laws that violate democratic ideals, which, in their view, are therefore unconstitutional. Protection of minorities is a yardstick for judging the health of any democracy, or any society, for that matter. It is no secret that Afghanistan suffers from a double whammy of Taliban rule out of democracy and permanent Pashtun dominance that, judging from history, has been horrible for ethnic minorities. Aside from their rhetoric, there is no indication that the Taliban have undergone a metamorphosis.

It’s true that every country is free to decide what mode of government best is suitable. As Indians, we can only hope that a country’s choices are equal to the privileges and rights we enjoy. In recent years, the Indian Constitution has come under stress, but for Indian Muslims to invoke the majority will in order to justify or equivocate about the Taliban is to subliminally accept the Hindu will, as articulated by Hindutva, as being imposed on India. Muslims in India tremble at the thought of living in a Hindu Rashtra!

Muslim Indians are in a tearing hurry to welcome the Taliban since they have promised inclusive governance and that they will not pursue vendetta against their opponents. Taliban assurances that women would not be discriminated against were likewise taken at face value. The Taliban spokesperson ignored the codicil in his press conference: ‘Our women are Muslim. They will also be happy to be living within our framework of Sharia’.

Taliban’s assumption that Afghan women will live within a Sharia framework is presumptuous. In the end, will women be involved in defining the ‘framework of Sharia’? Are the Taliban prepared to respond to those who refuse to wear the burqa or head-scarf? First, Indian Muslims must ask: Will they accept a law prohibiting them from wearing hijab, as it is in France?

Back in the 7th century, Islam granted women property and inheritance rights, as well as autonomy over whether to enter into a marriage contract. According to videos showing Afghan women demanding the right to work, be educated, and participate in politics, the Talibani version of Islam does not inspire confidence in Afghan women. From their safe vantage point in India, some Indian Muslims assert that Islam will save Afghan women. All religions are anchored in patriarchy, they forget.

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Muslims in India have been rightly skeptical of slogans such as Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas. Therefore, it is surprising that they should take at face value the Taliban’s promise to build a safer, more secure future. Afghans, who have been protesting and taking down the Taliban flag, do not share their confidence. Unlike from 1996 to 2001, the Tajik-dominated region of Panjshir seems poised to challenge the Taliban regime.

The perturbing reactions of certain Indian Muslims are in response to taunts from the Hindu Right, suggesting that they condemn the Taliban. Muslim citizens of India are not required to take a patriotism test. As part of the democratic struggle for equality, their task is to strengthen the moral foundation.

 

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