I am a Muslim and I am an Indian

You may recall the nuclear deal that the Bush administration negotiated with India recently.  That deal was in considerable jeopardy because of opposition within India.  The Indian government is run by a coalition of parties, and a bloc within the ruling coalition (the leftists) were strongly opposed to the deal.  They pulled out of the coalition on the same day that the Indian PM decided to go ahead with plans to "operationalize" the deal.

As a consequence, the Indian government was reduced to a minority, and the India President asked the PM to prove his majority in the relevant Parliamentary house on July 22.  The government managed to scrape through (275 for, 256 against).. so the nuclear deal survives for another day.

During the debate, there was one speech that impressed me.  It was by Omar Abdullah, who is a Member of Parliament from Srinagar.. the capital of Kashmir.

He began by proudly declaring: I am a Muslim and I am an Indian... and I see no distinction between the two.  

These are the types of words that can lift a people up.  These are the types of words that can win the war on terror.

I have excerpted parts of his speech (along with some commentary) below the fold.

I am a Muslim and I am an Indian....And I see no distinction between the two.  

I don't know why should I fear the nuclear deal. It is a deal between two countries which, I hope, will become two equals in the future.  The enemies of Indian Muslims are not America or deals like these. The enemies are the same as the enemies of all those who are poor -- poverty, hunger, lack of development and the absence of a voice.

This is said in the context of the opposition claiming that Indian Muslims (who are, on average, worse off than the average Indian) were opposed to the deal.

 Today, the Left is telling me that all secular parties should stand with the BJP to bring down this government. The same Left treated me like a political untouchable when I was with the NDA.
I am not a member of the UPA and don't aspire to be one. I made a mistake to be with the NDA, especially after Gujarat riots happened. My conscience had asked me to quit NDA but I didn't. My conscience has still not forgiven me.  

The UPA is the secular ruling combine, the NDA is the Hindu nationalist opposition block.  The "Left" used to be part of the UPA, and used to be bitterly opposed to the NDA (The Left is secular, the NDA is not).  Omar Abdullah used to be a Minister in a previous NDA government, and continued on as Minister even after several thousand Muslims were killed in mass rioting in the state of Gujrat.

Until the day there is even a single Muslim in Kashmir, from Srinagar to Amarnath, the Amarnath yatra will not be allowed to stop

The "Amarnath yatra" is one of the holiest pilgrimages in Hinduism... it is on par with a Muslim's pilgrimage to Mecca (or, at least to Medina).  The Amarnath shrine also happens to be in Kashmir, which (as, I am sure you all know) is a Muslim majority state.  There was some controversy over this yatra (trip) recently, and Mr Abdullah is standing up for it here.

WOW !!

I have waited for a long time... to hear words like these !!



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Re: I am a Muslim and I am an Indian (none / 0)

It's too bad Omar Abdullah's dad, Farooq, blew away a lot of credibility with his governing when he has the chance to govern Kashmir. I am not sure how much leverage that political dynasty has in their home state.

I think the locals in Kashmir will be looking at his statement in the context of the fact that the Abdullah family has more power with a Kashmir under India versus an independent Kashmir.


by Pravin on Wed Jul 23, 2008 at 01:39:55 PM EST

That's an interesting speech (none / 0)

People tend to either forget about, or don't know about, the huge Muslim population in India. Behind Indonesia and Pakistan, it has the third-largest Muslim population in the world. This reminds me of people having to explain how the can be both Muslim and American at the same time.
Proud member of the Wikipedia Generation of American politics
by BishopRook on Wed Jul 23, 2008 at 01:40:27 PM EST

that's just mindblowing. (none / 0)

of course you can be muslim and american!?! one is  religion, one is a nationality.


yo mir kennen
by RisingTide on Wed Jul 23, 2008 at 02:01:36 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: that's just mindblowing. (none / 0)

I think BRook was lamenting the fact that Muslim Americans feel the need to hide one, or the other part of that hyphenated identity...


If you follow history with a long enough arc, things always get better, and the truth always prevails...Gandhi
by SevenStrings on Wed Jul 23, 2008 at 02:51:23 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: that's just mindblowing. (none / 0)

That is correct. You can be a true-blue Muslim-American, and indeed there are millions of them, but at the same time the knuckle-draggers in the right wing would have you believe it is impossible to be both.
Proud member of the Wikipedia Generation of American politics
by BishopRook on Wed Jul 23, 2008 at 02:57:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: That's an interesting speech (none / 0)

Yes, I would like to hear someone proclaim that with pride... I am a Muslim, and I am an American, and I see no distinction between the two !!


If you follow history with a long enough arc, things always get better, and the truth always prevails...Gandhi
by SevenStrings on Wed Jul 23, 2008 at 02:50:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]


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