Muslim-RSS dialogue: Why liberals should stop lecturing the minority community on how to run its affairs

The near-hysterical left-liberal campaign against the on-going Muslim-RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) dialogue is spreading even as, ironically, the Muslim support for the talks is growing. Senior CPI (M) leader and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has become the latest in a growing list of ‘liberal no-sayers’ to attack Muslims who have taken the bold decision to talk to the RSS to defuse Hindu-Muslim tensions. Intriguingly, Vijayan’s attack came completely out of the blue, nearly six months after the dialogue began, and more than a month after the most recent round of talks was held amid moves to hold a third. The immediate target of his ire was Jamaat-e-Islami, one of several leading Muslim religious organisations which have joined a group of prominent Muslim intellectuals in a bid to find a negotiated solution to Hindu-Muslim problems. In a strongly-worded statement, Vijayan questioned Jamaat-e-Islami’s “logic” in talking to the RSS and accused it of betraying Muslim interests. “At a time when the secular community in the country is fighting against the Hindutva agenda of the RSS, these steps would only help favour their agenda. This is a challenge to the secular society,’’ he claimed, demanding that the Jamaat “reveal the content of the discussion”. Clearly, he doesn’t know that the details of the discussions have already been widely covered by the media, and are in public domain. So much for the CPI (M)’s half-baked knowledge of the dialogue process. Jamaat-e-Islami general secretary T Arif Ali was quick to underline the positive aspect of the negotiations. “Nothing wrong with having meetings. When attacks against the Muslims are on the rise, we have asked the RSS to make an earnest effort to stop such incidents,” he said. And my own unscientific hunch is that the odd provocations notwithstanding things have indeed quietened down since the talks began last September. There was always a gulf between the ‘progressive’ establishment’s view of what is in Muslim interest and what the community’s own perception of its interests is. But this gulf has grown exponentially lately –and the differences over talking to the RSS are a stark illustration of how far apart they have become. Contrary to liberal sceptics, the idea of engaging with the RSS has found resonance with the Muslim community. Many new groups have come on board since the dialogue kicked off last autumn with a meeting between RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and a group of prominent Muslim intellectuals that apart from Shahid Siddiqui (leading journalist and politician) included former lieutenant-governor of Delhi Najeeb Jung; journalist and former election commissioner SY Quraishi. At the time, liberal critics were quick to write it off as an RSS stunt ahead of a string of regional elections. “Pigs don’t fly,” they sneered, criticising Muslim interlocutors of lending legitimacy to a divisive, extra-constitutional centre of power. Well, the initiative is still very much alive. The second meeting on January 14 not only lasted considerably longer (well over three hours) than the first one but also discussed at length specific issues, including hate speech and mandir-masjid mosque rows. The RSS was represented by three senior leaders –Indresh Kumar, Ram Lal and Krishna Gopal – authorised by Bhagwat while the expanded Muslim team significantly included credible Muslim voices from Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Jamiat-Ulama-i-Hind and the Darul Uloom Deoband. Discussions were held in a “cordial” and “congenial” atmosphere, according to participants. Niaz Ahmed Farooqui of Jamiat-Ulama-i-Hind called it an “ice-breaker”. The very fact that the dialogue remains in full swing despite a few controversies is a cause for optimism. I asked Najeeb Jung if he was hopeful. “If we were not hopeful we wouldn’t have continued,” Jang said. Indeed, the participants decided to meet again soon. “We want to keep the dialogue going. The meeting was held in a very congenial atmosphere. The attempt is to bring the communities together,” he said. When asked how he found the other side’s attitude towards Muslim concerns, he said : “Very positive”. Understandably, he refused to be drawn into speculation about the outcome arguing that the important thing was to keep the talks alive–and have a robust discussion on contentious issues. Much has been sought to be made of the RSS representatives’ remarks at the January meeting urging Muslims to give up their claim on Mathura and Kashi. When asked whether this would put an end to new disputes being raised in future they reportedly said they couldn’t “guarantee anything”, according to Malik Mohtasim Khan, National Secretary, Jamaat-e-Islami-Hind (JEIH) told the media. However, Shahid Siddique played down the issue saying that only “half-a-minute” was spent on it. There was no serious discussion, he said. Others confirmed that there was only a passing reference and then they moved on to other issues. “The media is making too much of it,” said one participant who wanted to remain anonymous. Sources said that, in any case, the meeting was not meant to magically resolve all issues in one go but to try and understand each other’s views and “focus on things we can agree on”. “We are here not expecting to solve all our problems at one go, but to lower the temperature and see where it goes from here,” said one. Siddiqui, meanwhile, clarified that he and his fellow interlocutors didn’t claim to represent the entire Muslim community. It was an individual initiative to “open windows” for a dialogue. Others were welcome to join it. Both Siddique and Jung are encouraged by the positive Muslim response. The willingness of representatives of influential Muslim organisations to join the talks is seen as a significant marker of where the Muslim opinion lies as opposed to where the liberals think it should be. The problem is that liberals have no credible solution of their own to offer beyond the usual secularism rhetoric. Undoubtedly, Muslims are losing patience with the armchair approach of the liberals to the problems of the community. They are no longer willing to be used as fodder in what is essentially an ideological proxy war between the liberal Left and the Hindu Right. Muslims wish to be left alone to fight their own battle. And, in the manner they wish to. Why can’t their liberal friends get it? The writer is an independent columnist and the author of “Unmasking Indian Secularism: Why We Need A New Hindu-Muslim Deal”. Views are personal.  Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram .