New Delhi: The Delhi State branch of the All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat organized a major conference on Saturday evening to strengthen national harmony and social unity.
According to a press note, eminent leaders from the Muslim, Sikh, Christian, and Buddhist communities participated in the event. Together, they pledged to reinforce the fabric of national and social unity and exposed those forces that are attacking unity for their petty political gains.
The conference was attended by the national spokesperson of the Gurudwara Sangh and President of the All India Peace Mission, Daya Singh; former Delhi minister Rajendra Pal Gautam; Dr. M. D. Thomas, President of the Institute of Harmony and Peace Studies; renowned Islamic scholar Mufti Ataur Rahman Qasmi; Advocate Feroz Khan Ghazi, General Secretary of Samla; Prof Mohammad Suleman, Working President of the Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat and head of the Indian National League; former MP Ram Bakhsh Verma; and President of the Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat, Dr. Zafarul-Islam Khan. The event was conducted by the well-known journalist Suhail Anjum.
Dr. Zafarul-Islam Khan said that Islam makes no distinction among human beings. According to Allah Almighty, the best person is the one who is most pious and God-fearing—that is, the one who fears Allah and protects and honours the rights of others.
He highlighted the need for national and social unity and brotherhood in the country, stating that it is not only necessary according to the Indian Constitution and laws, but it is also essential to ensure the progress of our country and society.
He said that those who are engaging in the politics of hate are a small minority that can be defeated by a united majority of the country.
The President of the All India Peace Mission, Sardar Daya Singh, said that everyone together fought for the freedom of this country, while some forces have constantly worked to divide the people of this society.
They have deprived some communities of their rights and have greatly oppressed others—such as the massacre of Sikhs in 1984. At that time, members of the Muslim community saved Sikhs everywhere and gave them shelter in their homes and mosques. Sikhs owe this as a debt to the Muslims.
He said that immediately after independence, a decision was taken in 1950 by the President of the Republic, according to which if a Dalit converts to Islam or Christianity, his reservation is revoked—which is an injustice. He stated that a petition has been filed by the Sikh community in the Supreme Court against the law which has just been passed against Waqf.
Sardar Daya Singh said that it is commonly believed that historically Sikhs have had very bad relations with Muslims and that Muslims oppressed them. But no one tells you that Guru Nanak praised Babur, and that the only Bani (hymn) written by the founder of Sikhism for any individual was for Babur.
He said that the area of “Mata Sundari” in Delhi was given by the Mughals to Mata Sundari, the widow of Guru Gobind Singh. He stated that in Kartarpur, the Pakistani government has given 40 acres of land for the Gurudwara. This is our history. This country belongs to everyone. Everyone has sacrificed for it, and it is necessary to speak this truth today.
Former MP, Dr. Ram Bakhsh Verma, said that he began his life by going to the RSS shakhas and only later moved to secular politics. According to his experience, the people of the Sangh say one thing and do another. He stated that certain forces want to push this country backwards. Today’s dictator calls himself a superpower. He has taken control of all the media in the country, joined hands with the country’s wealthy, and is exploiting the public. Hitler did the same thing in Germany.
Money is driving many things, votes are being bought. 80–85 percent of the people have been pushed to the margins, and no one is talking about them. This is why some people felt the need to burn the Manusmriti. He said that only four days after the Constitution was passed, the RSS mouthpiece Organizer had written that they would never accept this Constitution. These were the same people who, along with the British, stood against those fighting for independence. In fact, their Sarsanghchalak had said at the time that they did not want such freedom and would rather accept British rule.
Dr. Ram Bakhsh Verma said that “we and our Muslim brothers” have the same ancestors. It was due to some of our shortcomings that some of our people separated from us. There was never any Hindu-Muslim conflict here. There were Hindus in Aurangzeb’s army and Muslims in Shivaji’s army. Subhash Chandra Bose gave the second-highest rank in the Azad Hind Fauj to a Muslim. For this country, Bahadur Shah Zafar and Begum Hazrat Mahal made great sacrifices. He said that Mohammad Firoz Khan was a commander in Rani Jhansi’s army who fought the British until his last breath, while some of Rani Jhansi’s relatives had betrayed her. He said that changing religion does not change one’s parentage — our DNA is the same.
Advocate Firoz Khan Ghazi, General Secretary of SAMLA, said that our Constitution and laws have strived to unite different communities and classes into one nation. This is written right in the preamble of the Constitution, All of this was for the promotion of national unity so that people from different communities could come together to form one nation. But for the last 30–35 years, some forces have been trying hard to tear this nation apart again.
Former Delhi minister Advocate Rajendra Pal Gautam, said that he has visited this area several times in the past few weeks. He said he wants the voice rising from here today to reach the grassroots, to the poor and Dalit settlements, because the real issue lies there. These people are not just targeting Muslims; Christians too are on target. The poor, Adivasis, and Dalits are on their target. After them, others will be targeted too.
It was also true that those who instigated the riots against Sikhs in 1984 are the same people who are instigating riots today. They were the ones who burned Pastor Staines. No matter what you do, in their eyes, you are impure. Recently, when the Dalit Leader of the Opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly went to a temple, the temple was washed with Ganga water after he left. Those who die, kill, or are looted in riots are all people from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and minorities. It is a fact that before 1993, there were no Hindu religious processions in this country—so why are they being held now?
Rajendra Pal Gautam strongly emphasized that the leadership needs to come out of closed rooms and go down to the poor and Dalit neighbourhoods, which are used during riots.
Prof Muhammad Suleiman, Working President of the Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat and head of the Indian National League, agreed that our message needs to reach the grassroots so that the public, the poor, Dalits, and Adivasis can understand these matters.
At the end of the conference, Dr. D. M. Thomas said in his presidential address that all religions contain good teachings, but some people use religion for their malicious purposes.
