Mahmood A Madani , Jamiat-Ulama-e- Hind, reiterating that the Founder of Pakistan, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, committed a grave ‘crime’ and is responsible for the irreparable damage done to the Indian subcontinent through his two-nation theory. Madani was speaking as a special guest at the TV 9 pre-election conclave organized at a hotel in Gomtinagar in Lucknow. The discussion was on the M (Muslim )factor in the coming elections in the state in a few months’ time.
Madani said that the patriotism of the Indian Muslim should never be doubted or challenged as the decision to stay back in India was their own choice and it was not by chance or any external force. He said that his ancestors chose not to pay heed to Jinnah’s call to divide India and not support Pakistan and stayed put in their homeland- India. He condemned any Indian Muslim who chose to glorify Jinnah, Madani said as for him, far from considering Jinnah a hero he refuses to even acknowledge him as a good leader. Jinnah he said was an opportunist who jeopardized the lives of the entire Muslim community for his ambition and personal dream.
Madani was equally critical of AIMIM Asaduddin Owaisi and said religion should never be equated with the nation.
But surprisingly Madani who has even just a month back highly blasted the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh and termed Yogi Aditynath as the worst (ghatiya) and unsuccessful (nakaam)chief Minister Uttar Pradesh has ever had tried to play soft on saffron and gave evasive replies when the interviewer asked him what the Muslims of Uttar Pardesh feel about Yogi rule and what all the Yogi government has done for the minorities in the state..
Agreeing that there was a dire crisis of Muslim leadership Madani said this is because the Indian Muslims never wanted to be considered a separate identity and believed in Gandhian ideology of nationalism. That is why no second line of leadership emerged.
When asked what he felt about the good works done by Yogi’s government like his work towards modernizing madrasas, Madani said that the government should leave madrasas to the community and work towards providing better formal education to children of minorities. He did not like other minority leaders saying that the government was trying to dilute Islamic teaching through its modernization agenda.
Journalists who have seen the same person spew venom on BJP rule, express concern and anger because the Indian Muslims feel alienated, suppressed, and helpless in the saffron rule were taken aback at the soft stand that the Maulana chose to take on the UP government’s treatment of its minority. Google baba will also get confused if we are talking about the same person.
Views expressed in the article is personal