Why Our Graveyards are Not Spacious

In 1985-86 I happened to be in England. Being a student of English literature I knew a few things about English culture and society. But when in England I really discovered my poor and pathetic knowledge of the country and its way of life. In fact, I did not even know that every city in that country had registered companies for burying the dead. I was told, then, that these were the requirements of the modern age. Who had time to bury his father or mother? The city of Leicester, where I had my temporary residence, had a Rose Funeral Ltd which served the clients who had no time for burying their loved ones. It would obtain a priest to perform the last rituals, buy coffin and do other needful to bury the dead honourably. It would even place fresh flowers on the grave every day if the client so desired. Finally he would send the bill to his client who will pay it without questioning and appreciate the services which he had neither bothered to perform nor to see. This was probably my first encounter with the mechanized life of the modern world.

There were more things to happen. One day a nice-looking and well-mannered man came to us and wanted to take us to the graveyard. He was employed with Leicester University and a Muslim colleague had expired whom he wanted to bury. The departed soul was from India’s Dehradun and was dead against the idea of Partition and Pakistan. He never interacted with the Muslims of the city thinking they all were Pakistanis which, in fact, was untrue. He was alone at home, his wife had gone to London accompanying his elder brother who had come from Pakistan and thus there was no one to look after him when he was breathing his last. He had a stroke, and despite being in immense pain, could manage to call the doctor. He was rushed to hospital where he died soon after.

No one knew him except Mr Abdur Rashid Siddiqi, the nice-looking, ever smiling handsome gentleman I have mentioned above. Barely he could manage some two dozen people who offered Salat-e-Janaja and buried him in his new abode, just a yard wide and six fit long.

We Indians die with some ‘fanfare’ by which I mean the religio-cultural rituals which are normally performed by sufficient numbers of people who make a reasonable crowd. I remembered the death and burial of some relatives/ acquaintances whose last rites were performed with the respect they had never commanded when alive. That moment I prayed in my heart not to die in England and a few months later I indeed returned to India.

But what I could not foresee was the fact that modernity was fast spreading in India as well. Our mega cities have especially become the islands where the modern world lives with all its fatal diseases. In England the graveyards, at least, were neat and clean but here in India most of them are in bad condition. The relatively small England has more space for its dead but a far more bigger India, especially in Delhi, seems to be quite miserly in this regard.

Recently a dear one breathed his last in Delhi. A man of knowledge with great literary sensibilities he has been buried in the graveyard located behind the Times of India building. While standing beside his very narrowly-dug grave I began to recount all that I have written above. Here, too, there were not enough people in the graveyard, though a large number had offered the Salat-e-Janaja in the mosque. Has modernity reached our doorsteps as well, I asked myself? I immediately answered in negative. Surely, some bad aspects of modernity have creeped into our lives but we are still the famous – not notorious – emotional Indians. At least I was there to recollect my childhood memories, remembering how hard he had struggled to study in adverse circumstances. He was our Badar Bhai, many years senior in age who would occasionally play with us, a poor player indeed he was. We would run fast and climb trees even faster which he would try and fail invariably. But he never got frustrated; he would crack jokes, laugh and make us laugh.

I recollect another thing from our childhood days. He had a photo, in black and white, but in a good frame.

The photo showed him as a weak, poor labourer with a bagful of load on his back. Beneath the photo he had got inscribed the following couplet:

Hai Shabab Apne Lahoo Ki Aag mein Jalne ka Nam

Sakht Koshi se Hai Talkhe Zindagani Angbeen.

A literal translation: “Youth is to burn oneself in one’s own blood/hard work makes even a sour life as sweet as grapes” would not do justice. The deeper meaning is that you need to put in hard work to enjoy and relish the sweet fruits of life. Badar Bhai practiced this philosophy all his life.

Despite being born and brought up in a village, where the atmosphere was not quite congenial to studies, he would read books for hours—books which became his life-long passion. He studied at Shibli College, Azamgarh, then joined AMU, Aligarh for postgraduation and finally became an IAS officer. Officers in our country are known to be quite rich but could never learn the art of becoming rich. He indeed remained a “rich poor” and could not manage to buy even a flat in Delhi with his salary. He was compelled to sell the land he had inherited from his ancestors for owning an abode in Delhi which, I am not sure, if he had managed to buy. Our media highlights the misdeeds of corrupt officers, but have no space to appreciate the honesty of officials like our late Badar Bhai.

References made to modernity should not mislead anyone. I detest the aspect of modernity that converts man into a soulless machine; the modernity that seeks the development and progress of man is my passion. Our civilization must grow but it must also maintain a balance between material and spiritual spheres. This balance is missing from life in mega cities.

As a result of the missing balance between spirituality and materialism people make big houses in this ephemeral world and forget to make even a small hut in the world hereafter. Tolstoy ends one of his beautiful stories that his protagonist – a greedy man– could get only two yard land as do all other men after they die. Our last Mughal King, Bahadur Shah Zafar has beautifully said:

Hai Kitna Badnaseeb Zafar Dafn Ke Liye

Do Gaz Zameen Bhi Na Mily kuy-e-yar mein

Zafar is unfortunate to have not even Two yards land in the alley of the beloved where he would be buried honourably.

Delhi has really become a cruel city where the dead do not get even two yards land. In our village our Badar Bhai would have got enough space; here in Delhi he could get even less than two yards. Why the Muslims cannot have spacious graveyards in Delhi, why their permanent resting place should be very crowded? We must ask ourselves or the government must answer it. Perhaps ultimately it is the Muslim community which has to do something for having cleaner and spacious graveyards.

I have heard some senior citizens narrating an anecdote. Once Maulana Azad, the first education Minister of India, complained to Nehru that the DDA was grabbing Muslim graveyards to develop our grand capital. Nehru’s reply was that large chunks of Delhi’s land were graveyards which were not in use. He gave the verdict that the portions of graveyards having no graves may be acquired by the DDA. Now the Muslim population in Delhi has increased many fold and the existing graveyards cannot provide ‘honourable’ space to all their dead. Can the DDA now pay back by allotting some land to the Muslims so that he honest people like Badar Bhai can get a spacious grave atleast.

[December, 2010]

A Minister is Not Expected to be Helpless

In an interview to a national daily Mr Salman Khursheed, Minister of Minority Affairs, has frankly accepted that his ministry is toothless and that his job was just to write letters to various ministeries requesting them to implement the minority-related schemes. The very idea of a ministry created specifically for looking after the interests and affairs of the country’s minorities was unappealing to Mr Khursheed in the beginning but having been in the saddle for a while he seems to be convinced of its utility as it highlights and focuses on issues facing the minority communities. He wants a debate on the subject.

There is no denying the fact that the Ministry of Minority Affairs (MMA) is toothless and has, by and large, failed to achieve the goals for which it was created. Several reasons can be ascribed to why the ministry has failed to deliver.

The first and foremost reason is that, unlike other ministries, the MMA does not have its own bureaucratic mechanism and structure in the states. The officers at the district level have specially not been constitutionally obliged to implement the minority-related schemes. As a result the ministry’s funds disbursed to states largely remain unutilized and are returned to the centre towards the end of every fiscal year.

Having said that, let us also admit that the Minister and his officers have also failed in applying their minds creatively. The ministry has never tried to make a frank assessment of its weaknesses with a view to removing them so that it may work effectively for the welfare of the minorities. They know, and tell us frankly, that they are powerless. Would they tell us if they have ever applied their mind to acquire the power necessary for performing their official duty. Have they ever taken up the matter with the Prime Minister or raised it in cabinet meetings seeking cooperation from fellow ministers? Is it not true that the other ministry that the minister holds consumes most of his time and therefore he finds little time to spend in the Ministry of Minority Affairs the idea of which has never enthused him.

Not just the minister, the UPA government also does not seem to be serious about the minority communities. During its first tenure the UPA government had a full-fledged minister to look after the MMA. Today there is just a Minister of State who also heads the ministry dealing with corporate affairs in which he seems to be more interested. It is, therefore, not surprising that the MMA has failed, almost miserably.

It is true that most state governments are not implementing the MMA’s schemes with the seriousness they deserve. However, what worries the most is the fact that the MMA has not tried to be creative in its approach and methodology. The ministry must explain why has it not tried to develop its own mechanism, specially when the related ministries are not cooperating with it. Was it not possible for it to launch centralized schemes under its own umbrella. Was it necessary, for example, to entrust UGC to hold tests for various scholarships it has launched? Was it legally not possible to hold the tests in collaboration with some universities like the AMU, DU or JMI? Even now they can explore the possibilities of such a venture as it would give it a better control over its matters and enable them to distribute the fellowships in a centralized manner from its premises in Delhi.

The ministry could have done well by creating a central body with the specific purpose of opening schools in minority-dominated districts. Why is it necessary that a school can be opened only by the HRD ministry and by the bodies it has constituted/created?

At least the MMA could have got it approved by the cabinet that related ministries would create a special bureau within their overall network and structure with a view to implementing its schemes. That they receive from time to time. This surely would have solved the problems that the MMA faces today.

Too much time has already been wasted. Mr Khursheed must realize that the public would not be forgiving if he fails to deliver which he is officially obliged to do. He is a minister not to express helplessness; he must acquire the power necessary to fulfil his duties.

What he should realize the most is the fact that the failure of the MMA would have a devastating effect on the minorities, especially the Muslims. Although the MMA has been created to improve the conditions of all minorities including the Hindus in Jammu & Kashmir and some North-Eastern states. About 30 of the 90 minority-dominated districts are the ones in which the Hindus and other communities outnumber the Muslim minority. But some how the impression has been created that in India the term minority means the Muslims. A lot many Muslims, too, have the wrong impression that the MMA has been created to look after the Muslim interests. It is possible, therefore, that the MMA’s failure would demoralize the already marginalized Muslim community in India.

It is not just an apprehension. This writer has met many Muslim research scholars who have qualified the UGC-conducted test and won the scholarships launched by the MMA first appeared in the list of successful candidates. But they are still waiting to receive the first installment of their scholarships. This is very frustrating and many have started asking that who else would help them if not the MMA. Therefore Mr Khursheed’s expression of helplessness is very disturbing to say the least. Our Muslim youth may start thinking that there is no one around who can help them. He must realize that emergence of such a trend among the Muslims would be very dangerous both for the Muslim community as well as the country. We expect Mr Khursheed to act and not to express helplessness.

[November, 2010]

Hajj: Purpose and Message

Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam. It is the holy pilgrimage to Makkah, where the House of Allah, Kaaba, is located. It is obligatory on Muslims to perform Hajj at least once in his/her life span, if he/she has the means to travel to Makkah. Hajj is not an easy worship; it requires the pilgrims to be sound and healthy, physically and financially.

Hajj is both, individual as well as collective Ibada, worship which purifies the souls of pilgrims of sins and make them better human beings. Travel, even globe-trotting, has become easy in our time. People travel for a variety of reasons. Some do so out of needs – business, meeting relatives, attending conferences etc—while others travel for fun and sight – seeing. There is always one or another worldly purpose behind the journeys people undertake. Hajj, on the other hand, is a journey which the people undertake for the pleasure of Allah only. Hajj is indeed a unique spiritual experience. From the moment a person plans/intends to perform the pilgrimage, he begins to feel attached with Allah. There is no compulsion on a Muslim as to when he/she should perform the holy pilgrimage. He/she has to decide the year of fulfilling this divine obligation. The urge to perform Hajj, therefore, comes from within the prospective pilgrim without any outside pressure. This urge is naturally spiritual in that it may spring up only when he/she feels the need to purify his/her soul. Such a spiritual experience or feeling naturally compels people to behave piously from the moment they decide to go on holy pilgrimage.

A sea change is seen in his personal conduct making him morally upright, honest in dealings and sincerely devoted in prayers. The decision to go on the holy pilgrimage, if it is indeed spiritual and sincere, shows its impact immediately and transforms the personality of the prospective pilgrims from within. Hajj is a demanding Ibadah. The pilgrim has to undertake either a short or long journey depending on his/her geographical location from Arabia. Understandably a good deal of physical and mental energy is spent in such adventures. It also requires to spend your hard-earned money for bearing the expenses of travel to and stay in Makkah. You do all these for no worldly gains but only to seek the pleasure of Allah. And you know how Allah is pleased with you. That you must obey and worship Him Alone and be good to fellow human beings. If this goal is not achieved, then all the sacrifices of time, energy and money would go in vain. A Hadith says that Hajj purifies a man of sins like a newly-born infant. Some people have unfortunately mistaken this Hadith to mean that the holy pilgrimage ensures one’s entry into paradise. The fact is that Haj purifies only those people of the previous sins who sincerely seek God’s pleasure and make a sincere pledge to lead a pious life thereafter. One must not backslide into wrong-doings after the Hajj. Hajj is Ibadah as well as sacrifice. Some of the sacrifices the pilgrims make have already been pointed out. There are other sacrifices which every pilgrim makes for his/her spiritual purification. He/she abandons many things during the Hajj which otherwise are Halal (permissible) for him/her.

This self discipline comes from within and helps the pilgrims in becoming better human beings, people who love God and all His creatures and desist from harming any of them, physically, spiritually or mentally. This is the way a pilgrim is indeed made free of sin.Thus a pilgrim’s intention and actions are important. His/her intention to go on pilgrimage has to be well-intended and must be performed to seek the pleasure of Allah. Good intention must lead to good actions and deeds during and after the Hajj. It is not enough that a pilgrim prays regularly, pays the poor due, fasts and does Zikr (remembrance of God) in many other ways while performing the Hajj. He/she is also required to keep on fulfilling the divine obligations after the Hajj as well to remain free of sin. This is the purpose for which the Hajj ought to be performed and this the way life should continue after it. Hajj, being a worship, provides an opportunity to please Allah and as sacrifice – of time, energy and money – it disciplines the pilgrim’s worldly life. One must keep in mind that only life lived piously pleases Allah and opens the gateway to paradise. And this exactly is the purpose and message of Hajj.

Iran’s Atomic Plant

In recent weeks two announcements from Tehran have jolted the West. First came the news that the Bushire atomic plant has started working. The plant has been set up with Russian help and will generate electricity which Iran needs to depend on to save and sell more oil which remains the major source of its revenue. The US-led West initially opposed the Iranian effort and put a lot of pressure on Moscow to scrap the deal. Now the US has said that the Bushire atomic plant does not pose any security threat to the world.

The second news emanating from Tehran has disturbed the West in the true sense of the word. Tehran has declared and displayed a pilot-less fighter plane which it claims its scientists and engineers have developed indigenously. This has especially alarmed Israel and the West. They feel frustrated that Iran is marching ahead in the field of science and technology despite their opposition and sanctions.

Iran has witnessed a lot of upheavals in the last three decades. Ever since its Islamic Revolution of 1979, it has faced all kinds of problems. In the first place several attempts were made to sabotage the revolution from within and without. Its president, prime minister, chief justice and several members of parliament were killed in one incidence of bombing. Then Iraq imposed on it the murderous eight-year war which killed over a million people on both sides and severely damaged their economies. Equally devastating was Iran’s international isolation brought about by the US efforts. The international isolation coupled with economic sanctions and arms embargo was intended to cripple Tehran economically and militarily. The choice before Iran was either to surrender before the West or stand up and be counted. Tehran bravely opted for defiance of the West and has been working hard to be self sufficient economically and militarily. They have faced all kinds of difficulties in achieving what they are proudly displaying today. A heightened sense of purpose, perseverance and hard work are the qualities which have helped Iran in its scientific endeavours. Others desiring to be self-reliant would be well-advised to follow the Iranian example.

Today Iran is one of the top 20 economies of the world and has made remarkable progress in science, technology and weapons development. It is amazing to note how Iran has achieved all these against tough sanction and embargo regimes? The answer lies in the fact that a proud and self respecting nation rediscovers its latent capabilities when it feels under threat from all over. Tehran has exactly done the same to emerge as a regional power in the middle east. Earlier they were dependent on the US but after 1979 they began to exercise and apply their own mind, and the results are here for everyone to see.

Obviously the US-led West would not take the Iranian achievements lying down. They would surely double their efforts to create problems for Tehran. In the days to come Tehran’s leadership qualities will be severely tested. One hopes that they pass the lest.

The neighbouring Arab nations are also on trial now. In the past the West has successfully played them against one another and there exists a strong possibility that it might adopt the same strategy again. Both Iran and the Arab countries must behave as mature nations and must talk to one another continuously, so that the US-led West would not be able to get them involved in a devastating, fruitless war.

The Arabs continue to be dependent upon the West for everything. The West exploits the Arab dependence on it to generate tension in the region which ultimately paves the way for its intervention. The possibility is that Iran would be projected as a threat to both Israel as well as the Arab nations. That would be time for the Arabs to exhibit maturity and leadership quality. If the Arabs genuinely feel that Tehran has become a threat to them, their option should be to rely more on themselves than the US or the West.

What prevents the Arabs from going the Iranian way? Even now they can make plans to achieve excellence in science and technology which may enable them to launch their own weapons development programmes. They ought to realize that they are as much gifted with mental wealth as the Iranians or Americans are. If they want to ward off threats, perceived or real, they must abandon their reliance on others including the Americans and try to stand on their own feet. And to begin the journey towards this magnificent goal, they must invest in scientific and technological education. This will bring about inner strength which is the best defence against external threats.

Recently some Arab nations, especially the Saudi Kingdom, have shown remarkable interest in education. The Kingdom is investing greatly in scientific and technological education. However, it is not clear if they are paying equally vital attention to primary and secondary education, for these are the nurseries which will produce the talents for the high-profile universities the Kingdom is setting up. Anyway, the Kingdom’s approach is right and if it continues with such judicious and independent policies, it would ultimately become a great nation in the real sense of the world.

The Saudi Kingdom’s political importance in the region has never been in doubt. The days ahead are going to test its ledership qualities as well. Its relations with Iran have been both hostile and cordial. At the moment the two nations understand each other and have direct contacts. In the larger interest of the Ummah, the two regional powers must increase and heighten their mutual relationship and communication. Here Iran needs to take the initiative to visit Arab capitals to remove their apprehensions and assure that its weapons development programme is not directed against them. On their parts, the Arabs need to take steps to be self reliant and make rapid advancements in science and technology education.

{August, 2010}

Text, context and culture

Well-crafted and meaningfully written texts have often caused problems for common intelligence. They defy a universally acceptable understanding and are interpreted variously in different contexts and cultures. Contexts and cultures thus play a role in determining meanings of texts.

It is universally acknowledged that knowing the context of a text is always extremely helpful in understanding its real implications. Our commentators of the Holy Quran have developed a whole ‘science’ of Shan-e-Nuzul, that is, the context in which a Surah or a verse was revealed. Shan-e-Nuzul has always played a vital role in interpreting the Holy Quran. It has helped the modern commentators as well, though some have preferred to rely more on the text than the context.

Cultures and the customs of the society are equally helpful in explaining texts, religious or secular. Language is closely related with culture and custom and therefore the two often provide a background for understanding a text. The Quranic injunction to men, “Live with them (wives/women) in accordance with Maaruf”, clearly indicates the importance of cultural customs. Maaruf is what is regarded as good or fair by the society. It may also be what the human nature considers to be fair. Either way, it means the good aspects of culture and custom of a given society.

The Quran has given clear instructions as to how a woman should behave, live or lead her life. The Quran has also prescribed a dress code for Muslim woman which is known as Hijab. There is no detailed description of what Hijab is or ought to be. The Quran has spoken about Khimar and Jilbab. Khimar, in the Arabia of the Prophet’s time was a piece of cloth used by women to cover their bosoms/ chests. Jilbab was a gown worn by women over their normal clothes. It is not clear if Jilbab included the covering of head or not. But it was a normal practice even in pre- Islamic Arabia that women used to cover their heads with a cloth. With the passage of time it perhaps took the shape of what is called Burqa or Niqab. When Islam spread out of Arabia to Iran, India, Egypt and North Africa, the Muslims living in these regions understood and observed Hijab according to the customs of their societies and time. They did not necessarily follow the Arabian Jilbab or Khimar.

Iranian women, Muslims since the earliest time of Islam, do not veil their face but cover their bodies with a loose cloak over their normal/routine dresses. The Sudanese women have their own Hijab but they shake their hands with men whether relatives or otherwise. Similarly the Burqa used mainly in Northern India including Pakistan was never the standard Hijab for Muslim women in Kerala, Bengal and Assam. The people in Kerala believe that Islam crossed the Arabian sea and reached their shore during the time of the Prophet (pbuh) and some companions are believed to have preached in the area. Should they believe that their understanding of Hijab is inferior to that of Northern India where Islam reached quite late?

It is obvious that cultural customs have played a role in shaping people’s understanding of Hijab in various parts of the world. The diversity in the shapes of Hijab is not against Islam. It is natural. One must understand the fact that a universal religion like Islam cannot afford to be rigid; it has to be flexible and liable to slight changes provided they do not defy the basic tenets of Islam.

Take the example of a lady living in a remote place in Europe or America which has no Muslim at all. She, however, finds the Holy Quran, reads it and is so impressed that she embraces Islam. She reads the verse urging believers to talk to the wives of the Prophet from behind a curtain and abandons her habit of freely meeting and mixing with men. She reads about Jilbab and begins to wear a cloak that covers her body from the shoulder to the feet. She reads about Khimar and puts a cloth on her chest. She has not come across any verse in the Holy Quran which enjoins her to cover her head and therefore, she does not wear a scarf. Can we say that her understanding of the Quran or of the Hijab is incomplete because she does not wear the Burqa of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and India? Obviously we can not insist that only our understanding of the Holy text was perfect.

The point to be made is that the soul and spirit of a text are more important and should never be imprisoned in narrow regional understandings. Islam is a universal religion and can afford diversity in the shapes and designs of Hijab. The point is that it has to be observed but we should not insist on one universal understanding of Hijab.