India is a secular country. Secularism does not mean atheism. It means that there is freedom for every religion. With various civilizations and traditions, it forms a bouquet of flowers in which every flower retains its freshness and fragrance. This is a phenomenon which is not found anywhere except in India. Because of this composite culture, India is called paradise but some people want to shatter this bouquet. It is the best example of unity in diversity.
Mr. Zahid Ali Khan, Editor Siasat expressed these thoughts while addressing a gathering which was organized to express solidarity to the innocent Muslim youths who were arrested throughout the country.
If a person helps his community, he can’t be called communal. The real communal person is he who harms the other community. Mr. Zahid Ali Khan told that Makkah Masjid incident is very tragic. Police created a feeling of insecurity by its cruel actions. The notion that people should be police friendly is absurd. The police should be people friendly but the hostile attitude of police created distance between people and police. Referring to his speech made in National Integration Council, he said that the innocent Muslim youths who were victimized by the police after Makkah Masjid incident should be given jobs. The compensation given to the legal heirs of the deceased persons should be deducted from the salaries of the police officials.
The amount given by Govt. as compensation from the Govt. treasury is the money collected from public in the form of taxes. Mr. Zahid Ali Khan proposed that there should be a secular force to maintain peace in Hyderabad. This force should have the spirit of service and imparting justice.
Mr. Zahid Ali Khan pointed out that in Hyderabad there were no communal riots in the past. For the past few years, some miscreants are resorting to communal violence and they are defaming this city. Communal riots are being engineered by which the Muslims are incurring losses and the Muslims are being penalized. He told that Govt. and police leave no opportunity to blame the Muslims for violence. Giving an example of the communal mindedness of the Govt. he said that immediately after the Makkah Masjid incident, the then Home Minister declared that there is a foreign conspiracy in it. He told that no Muslim can damage the sanctity of the mosque and no one can blast a bomb in the mosque.
He said that every possible effort will be made to maintain communal harmony but before it, the conspiracies of the communal elements have to be foiled. He warned the communal elements and told that very soon, an anti-communal force will be constituted in which people from all religions will be included. He congratulated the persons who took up the tour from Batla House (New Delhi) to Makkah Masjid Hyderabad.
Speaking on this occasion, Mr. Amjadullah Khan Khalid MBT Corporator, Azampura that the blast of Makkah Masjid has exposed the fascist mentality of the people of India. He narrated the stories of cruelties of the police meted out to the Muslims of Hyderabad after Makkah Masjid bomb blast. He lamented that there are movements for corruption, Narmada Bachao and other issues but there is no movement to raise voice in support of the Muslims. In Makkah Masjid incident and Batla House encounter, only the Muslims were targeted and their properties were damaged and they were killed. He pointed out that all the fascist forces are concentrating on Hyderabad. Mr. Khalid applauded the efforts made by Siasat and said that Siasat was the first organization which raised its voice.
The meeting was addressed by Mr. Faisal Khan (Delhi) of Khundayi Khidmatgar movement and Mr. Bilal Kazgi (Gujarat). They said that the Muslims should change their strategy. Alongwith acquiring education, they should also adopt the policy of fighting as well which should only be on secular lines. It should be fought on our own without depending on others.
We should extend our efforts beyond meetings, seminars and processions. We should come to the roads. The meeting was addressed by Mr. Mujahid Hashmi & Ajmal Farooqui. The meeting was conducted by Mr. Sikandar Ali Mirza. The delegation consisted of Mr. Balwant Singh Yadav (Himachal Pradesh) Mr. Inamul Hasan (Pondicherry) Mr. Mohammed Fayaz (UP), Shabbir Hussain (Kashmir) and Mr. Raheel Iqbal (Delhi) and others.
——Siasat News