19

Dec

Our Real But Unlisted Minority

image

Today's Edition

New Delhi, 19 December 2023

Pradeep Mathur

 The controversy generated by the new narrative in the past 10 years or so  has brought the minority issues on the centre-stage of national discourse to a point where we seem to have forgotten everything else. We already had in our country various minority groups like Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jains and Parsees, and now we also have non-Muslim oppressed minorities in neighbouring countries in the list. We know about these minorities. But besides these minority groups there is another small but very important minority group around us about which we do not know. This minority group is neglected and uncared for. If you want to know about this minority, I will have to take you down the memory lane.

 Those were the early months of 1993 and the atmosphere in the country was tense. Led by the Sangh Parivar leaders the zealot Ram Mandir crowds had demolished the Babri structure in Ayodhya throwing the country in the worst communal turmoil since the days of partition. The Kalyan Singh government of BJP had resigned in U.P., L.K. Advani had quit as the leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Congress government of Prime Minister P.V. Narsimha Rao was under extreme pressure. All of those who did not consider secularism to be a dirty word, and there were a lot of such people then, became very apprehensive about the future as reports of rioting and violence poured in from many places.

 To discuss the scenario six of us informally met at the South Delhi residence of Saeed Naqvi. Besides Saeed and his brother and myself there were John Dayal, late Dinanath Mishra and Dr. Satish Misra. The group was quite representative with Dinanath Mishra being a former RSS pracharak and Satish Mishra a comrade of JNU background. Saeed Naqvi and John Dayal were form religious minorities. I was a bit of an outsider in the group as having joined IIMC three years earlier I was considered more of an academician than a journalist.

 We had free and frank discussions for nearly three hours in which we touched almost all aspects of the prevailing situation. I returned in John’s car and we kept discussing the issue. At one point John in his typical style told me:” Look here Pradeep. It is simple. You are the majority. I am the minority. You give and I take. I looked at John and said: “We are professional colleagues and friends and have best of relations. Why should you insult me this way” John looked a little shocked.” Why do you say so Professor? Where have I insulted you, he asked”. You have, I said, by calling me a member of a majority whose members can vandalise a historical structure, take law in their own hands, indulge in rowdyism, hurt sentiments of people and are uneducated enough to have no vision and no understanding of history. If equating me with much a majority is not an insult what is an insult”? I asked.

 Before John could react I said I belong to a very small minority of highly sensitive people to whom hate and violence hurts deep inside and who value fair play and justice. Moreover I have moral standards and I practice professional ethics. John Said “You are right professor.” Since that evening John has never suspected me of intellectual dishonesty and I have always defended him even though he  became so controversial as to have his name in a list of 50 Hindu haters dead or alive in a blog written by Francois Gautier of Foundation Against Continuing Terrorism (FACT).

To me what is important about John is that he is for downtrodden and the disadvantaged sections of society and will never side with those vested interests who seek to exploit them. And this is the most important thing for me above all. The problem is that in the present atmosphere of confrontation we have forgotten basic human values and norms whatever our profession maybe. What to say of administrative services or police even Judiciary is losing its respect. For a media person the norm is to be on the side of what is right and never to be with the vested interest of politics or business whatever the amount of pressure.

 Unfortunately such people are now in a small and unlisted minority. This minority is neither vocal nor vulgar. It does not belong to any religious faith either. It believes in serving with dignity and grace. The members of this minority group can be found anywhere among Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians or among any other social or tribal group. It is time this real minority is recognized by us it.

…………..

  • Share:

About Us

We must explain to you how all seds this mistakens idea off denouncing pleasures and praising pain was born and I will give you a completed accounts..

Contact Us

Contact Info

  • 70, Gyan Khand- 4, Indirapuram, Ghaziabad. Uttar Pradesh.
  • +91-9810533682
  • info@mediamap.co.in
  • Week Days: 09.00 to 18.00 Sunday: Closed