New Delhi, November 01: From L.K. Advani and N.D. Tiwari to Lalu Prasad and Mulayam Singh Yadav, they all swear by him. Now yoga guru Baba Ramdev, whose influence stretches across virtually the whole spectrum of Indian politics, will add another feather to his cap.
Come November 3, he will address half a million moulvis together at Darul Uloom Deoband along with Shri Shri Ravi Shankar, the duo becoming the first non-Muslim religious leaders ever to speak at perhaps India’s most influential Islamic seminary.
The occasion is the annual conclave of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind, the parent body of the seminary and one of the country’s largest Muslim organisations. Sources said 5 lakh moulvis were expected at the general session, to be held on a huge ground in Deoband, Uttar Pradesh.
“Baba Ramdev has kindly agreed to address our convention. We wanted him to be part of our programme as he is an important personality in today’s India. He wields a lot of positive impact on a number of people. Moreover, he has great respect for Deoband and the Jamiat,’’ said N.A. Farooquie of the Jamiat.
The Ramdev-Deoband connection began apparently when the seminary issued a fatwa in favour of yoga after Malaysian clerics last year banned Muslims from practising the discipline.
The Darul Uloom said it did not find anything objectionable in Muslims practising yoga, preventing the controversy from spilling over into India.
“Yoga is a good form of exercise. If some words that are supposed to be chanted while performing it have religious connotations, then Muslims need not utter those. They can instead recite verses from the Quran or praise Allah or remain silent,” the Darul Uloom had said.
Ramdev too had declared that one could do yoga without pronouncing “Om”, substituting for it a prolonged utterance of “Allah” or “God”.
The yoga guru and the Jamiat have agreed on other issues too. Both had backed Advani’s demand earlier this year that the government try to bring back tainted Indian money stashed in Swiss banks.
At the conclave, Ramdev is expected to speak on yoga as well as on issues that the Jamiat considers important to Indian Muslims. At the session, the Jamiat is expected to firm up its stand on the proposed Central Madrasa Board, communal rights bill, women’s reservation bill and the Liberhan Commission report.
Three central ministers P. Chidambaram, Sachin Pilot and Farooq Abdullah are expected at the convention and the Jamiat is trying to get Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
“Since the Congress is desperately trying to get back its hold over Muslims, we hope the Congress president will come,’’ a Jamiat official said.
-Agencies