Why I Support AAP

It is surprising to note that peaceful dharnas, are being ridiculed and called drama by the mainstream media and other political parties. Satyagraha had been a rich legacy of our freedom struggle. Peaceful protests were instrumental in getting freedom from British rulers. Analysts say, it was Anna's dharnas that have brought down the Congress government from power in the recent national elections. These means of protests give hope to those who are victim of various unjust practices and who believe in non-violence.

Satyagraha theory also influenced many other movements of civil resistance world over. For example, Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote in his autobiography about Gandhi's influence on his developing ideas regarding the civil rights movement in the United States, he writes, 

"Like most people, I had heard of Gandhi, but I had never studied him seriously. As I read I became deeply fascinated by his campaigns of nonviolent resistance. I was particularly moved by his Salt March to the Sea and his numerous fasts. The whole concept of Satyagraha was profoundly significant to me. As I delved deeper into the philosophy of Gandhi, my skepticism concerning the power of love gradually diminished, and I came to see for the first time its potency in the area of social reform. It was in this Gandhian emphasis on love and nonviolence that I discovered the method for social reform that I had been seeking"

In a recent Obama visit, Obama confirmed that Gandhiji was an inspiration for Martin Luther King Jr. and for himself. It pains to note that our own people are ridiculing one of the most powerful means to fight the establishment through non-violent and peaceful means.

A couple of years ago, those in the government challenged the Anna's team to get into politics and solve the problems they are protesting for. As we know, this has resulted in few people deciding to take up the challenge. They came with a vision to cleanse the system. They started it by fielding candidates with no criminal or corruption cases against them. They came to give power in the hands of common man – Swaraj. They came to eradicate corruption, cleanse electoral system, stop the current practice of corporate helping political parties win elections and then these parties paying them back by doing undue favors.

It is a known fact that the current system is paralyzed, it does not serve the entire population in a just and unbiased way. In this system only the rich and mighty get the benefit. Rich is becoming richer and poor is becoming poorer. The common people are not able to live with dignity. Some of them got attracted towards naxalism, some who are non-violent are attracted towards those who are promising clean and corruption free government. 

Now let us ponder on the role of media that shapes the opinion in a democracy. As we know press is the 4th. pillar of democracy, I am sure here the reference to press is made to be as an independent one not the kind of media houses we have today. Most media organizations are owned by business houses, whose goals, as any other business is to maximize their profit. Ad revenue, paid news and PR are the most important sources for them to remain in business. Elections are the most important event for media companies. Congress and BJP has spent about 516 crores and 714 crores respectively. Almost all the traditional parties spend on advertisements except the AAP. It will be a heartbreaking event for the media companies if a party can win elections without paying them crores of rupees. It is just a common sense to understand, these media houses will never want a party to win an election without paying them. Now you can relate why there is a common stand by media to show AAP in a bad light. If AAP wins, all the traditional parties too will reduce paid advertisements and start doing the good work of serving people to get elected. Point to be noted is, when the same people were on dharna with Anna, the media covered them as rock-stars but when some of them got in to electoral politics, the media got threatened of loosing out on its plum revenue that comes from the political parties during election.

You and I know why media houses show AAP in bad light, I can understand when congress people ridicule the AAP, I can understand when BJP calls Arvind a Bhagoda. as if keep glued to the CMs chair and compromising on ideology is a good thing, I can also understand why rich and privileged people are against AAP, I can understand when those who want the country divided on the lines of religion or any other line or those who want India to be a theocratic state oppose AAP, remember in the human history it took centuries to get the governance out of the clutches of Priests, Pandits and Mullahs. I can understand why big businesses - who fund parties to win elections and then make them pay back from the tax payers money -, oppose AAP.

But I can't understand why an Aam aadmi would not support AAP who is standing for THEM not for its own self. Yes to Self Rule – Swaraj.

Khalid A Khan 

Act of Terror in the name of God, How Muslims should deal with it?

Every time there is breaking news of a terrorist attack aired on TV, the thought process of the vast majority of Muslims takes the following route. The first of their wishes would be - common for any human being - a wish for no or minimum casualties. The immediate next wish would be, "Dear God, this time at least the perpetrators are not from my religion". And their last and final wish would be, "the act is not committed in the name of religion”. If we notice most of the acts of terror happening in the past few years, rarely any of these wishes were fulfilled.

 After every act of terror many from the Muslim community come forward to denounce and condemn these acts in the strongest terms and tell everyone that the perpetrators do not represent the true spirit of Islam. But is just condemnation good enough? Can we just wish away these acts of terror committed in the name of Islam without making any concrete effort to address the main issue?

 We all have learnt quite well that if we do not define and understand the problem accurately we will not be able to solve it quickly and effectively. The question is, what a law abiding normal Muslim can do to make sure such acts of terror are not committed, at least not in the name of their religion. Here are my thoughts:

1. Introspect: Muslims need to face this problem head on. If a person commits an act of terror and then quite nonchalantly points out to a verse in their religious scripture, there should be introspection from the side of the Muslims as to what that verse really means. Just rejecting it and saying that it is not Islam means we are not comfortable to discuss the particular verse. All such verses should be discussed and the actual meaning is clearly communicated to everyone including non-Muslims.

2. Be Vigilant: Someone has to be radicalized and brainwashed to carry out the act of terror. Here, individuals can contribute more than the state. Since the state has a policy of religious freedom, they can't do anything beyond a certain limit. Since radicalization happens mostly in public places including mosques and madrasas, we need to be vigilant of such activities happening around us to ensure that none of these are allowed to happen. A database of all religious institutions along with the profiles of those who teach or lead the prayers there should be maintained. This process will not allow someone from a different country and different school of thought gaining entry in to our institutions and corrupt the innocent minds. We also need to be aware that internet is widely used these days to propagate the hateful content.

 3. Responsible Parenting: Family is an institution where thoughts of young and tender minds take shape. It has been observed that children carry the thoughts of their parents or at least get influenced by it greatly. Parents might have had undergone circumstances which had been hateful, bitter and unpleasant. It is not wise to pass it on to their young ones to carry those in the future. Give your children the best and most modern education you can afford. They themselves will be able to separate good from evil if they are educated in the real sense.

4. Respect the law of the land: Be a law abiding citizen at all times. It is not obligatory to fight with the state even if something prevalent in that country contradicts with your religious or cultural values. One can only protest as per the law of the land.

5. Get out of Victim-hood mentality: A victim, by definition, is powerless, helpless, and ruled by circumstances and forces beyond his or her control. The opposite of a victim is a sovereign or one who is free. The opposite is also a person who insists on taking “Full responsibility for everything that happens” in his or her life. I believe those with victimhood attitude are mentally ill to some degree. Most victims are angry people, and usually quite unforgiving. Many victims would also lie and exaggerate, to some degree. Shrewd leaders had always exploited victim mentality of the people and led them to believe there is a danger to everything that is important to them. For example, slogans such as, Islam is in danger, or Hinduism is in danger is a best bet for such leaders to rally crowd around them. One needs to watch out; else unknowingly one would slip into a victim hood mentality and start acting as one.

6. Seek help from experts and those in authority: Terrorism is everyone's problem. It is as big a problem for a state as it is for an individual. Collaborate with those in authority, share material evidence and information so that the acts of violence are nipped in the bud before they are  actually executed.

7. Keep away from hate mongers: This one pledge that I took about ten years ago has brought a drastic change in me and the way I perceive things. It was simple. I just decided that I will not listen to anyone suggesting me to hate someone just because that person belongs to a particular religion, nationality, color, cast etc. If we stop listening to these people and such leaders, we will become a society full of mutual respect, love, tolerance and understanding.

Khalid A Khan