Al Haqeeqa
By Muslim Mirror Staff
New Delhi: The organisers of the Elgar Parishad conclave on Sunday expressed their solidarity with Muslim activist Sharjeel Usmani after cases were registered against him in connection with his speech delivered at the program held in Pune on 30 January.
”Sangh Pariwar again provoked their casteist and communal hatred by targeting Sharjeel,” read a post by Bhima Koregaon Shaurya Din Prerna Abhiyaan, the group that organised the event.
The group issued a statement saying that the organizers of the Elgar Parishad, are firmly standing with Usmani.
The statement notes that ”great thinkers like Krantiba Jyotiba Phule, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar and social critics like Prabodhankar Thackeray and various other laureates, commentators and social-political analysts had also criticized the social structure of this country and especially Hindu religion.”
Quoting Ambedkar, it says: ”If Hindu Raj becomes a reality then it would be the greatest menace to this country. It is an enemy of democracy. We should make all our efforts to stop Hindu Raj from becoming a reality.
”Sharjeel Usmani is a sincere and scholarly activist engaged in the cause of Manavmukti (Liberation of all peoples). If one listens to Sharjeel’s speech carefully, it becomes clear that he is always talking in the context of the severe oppression faced by him and many other Muslims like him. The chamber of horror that Muslims have faced in our country because of their religion is devoid of any humanitarian values and morals. In spite of this, Sharjeel’s efforts lay not in spreading hatred and causing destruction but are rather focused on establishing peace and basic human rights.”
Speaking at the Elgar Parishad held here on January 30, Usmani had made certain remarks which the complainants said hurt the religious sentiments of the Hindu community.
Among other things, Usmani said: ”Aaj ka Hindu Samaja Hindustan mein Hindu Samaj buri tarike se sadd chukka hai (The Hindu community has badly degenerated in today’s India)”, sparking off a furore in political circles.
Besides Usmani, other notable speakers at the Parishad this year were author Arundhati Roy, former IAS officer Kannan Gopinathan, journalist Prashant Kanojia, Dalit activist Satyabhama Suryawanshi, student activist Aysha Renna, family members of Payal Tadvi, Sanjiv Bhatt and Rohit Vemula, retired High Court judge B.G. Kolse Patil and retired Indian Police Services officer S.M. Mushrif.
