Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah penned down a moving piece for a National Daily talking about the condition of Indian Muslims and how their patriotism was frequently being questioned by the members of the right-wing group.
“The hatred spawned by partition taking seventy years to unleash itself is probably evidence that the longer the pot brewed the more potent the venom got. I cannot, from my lifetime, recall a period when Muslims were suspected en masse of being unpatriotic and required to explain themselves. The sins of the few have been visited on us all” Shah wrote in a column for Hindustan Times.
However, the actor added that the finest way for the minority was not to fall in the trap of ‘feeling of victimisation’ and assert their ‘claim on our country.’
“It seems essential for Muslims in India to get over the feeling of victimisation they are in now; it is a trap all too easy to stumble into – we must determine to stop feeling persecuted, all evidence to the contrary notwithstanding; we must stop hoping for salvation from somewhere and take matters into our own hands- not least of all to take pride in our Indian-ness and assert our claim on our country,” Shah added.
Shah also advised Muslims that Islam was in the need for reform.
He said that it was “time for Muslims to throw the caretakers of religion out and form their own beliefs based on an understanding of what their holy book actually says.”
A special series by Hindustan Times takes a deep look at the churn within the Muslim community. Today is the finale of the series.
