Dhanda nee vaat versus Mughal-hate in poll-bound Gujarat

December 12, 2017

“Congress leaders have yet again proved they are no different from Mughals when it comes to handing over power. We don’t want their Aurangzeb rule,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi told a Dharampur rally in South Gujarat’s Valsad on December 4th. Tearing into the Congress which he called a family-run party he said: “I congratulate the Congress for their Aurangzeb rule, but we don’t want it,” in his remarks which have now become the signature flavour of this Gujarat campaign.

But the BJP’s Islamophobic Mughal-hate was well established two years ago in September 2015 when it picked on Mughal emperor Aurangzeb to rewrite New Delhi’s history by renaming a road named after him. Like all things un-nuanced about the political right, Aurangzeb was made out to be the archetypal villain in the Hindu nationalist imagination — a cruel ruler who put a sword to people’s heads, offering them a choice between Islam and death, a tyrant who hated music and imposed jiziya (a religious tax on Hindus). The said road was renamed after late missile-man and President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, a Veena player who visited temples and someone the large Hindu majority could be brainwashed (given the Hindu supremacism = hyper-nationalism mood of the country) into contrasting with Aurangazeb as ‘a good Muslim.’

This Mughal-hate became further emphasised in October this year when Yogi Adityanath government removed Taj Mahal from Uttar Pradesh’s tourism list. Following outrage, his party MLA Sangeet Som, had said the monument was built by “traitors” and called it “a blot on Indian culture.” Wondering why people were worried that the Taj Mahal was removed from the list of historical places in the UP tourism booklet he had asked in a Meerut rally: “What history are we talking about? The man who built Taj Mahal imprisoned his father. He wanted to massacre Hindus. If this is history, then it is very unfortunate and we will change this history, I guarantee you.”

He was soon joined by BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao who chose to further add fuel to the fire by describing Mughal rule as “barbaric” and “a period of incomparable intolerance.” As if this were not enough, a BJP Upper House parliamentarian Vinay Katiyar went on to insist Shah Jahan destroyed a Hindu temple to build the monument. “The Taj Mahal is actually a Hindu temple that was known as Tejo Mahalaya. It was a Shiva temple demolished by Shah Jahan to build the Taj Mahal.”

While the BJP’s own not-so-bright track record can hardly hold up to the high standards of nuanced and enlightened tolerance and humanity its leaders espouse while holding the Mughals up to scrutiny, it is nobody’s case that the Mughal empire was not a feudal, aristocratic regime as was the case with several rulers of that contemporaneity. The selective picking up of Mughals to highlight for barbarism will not, for example, look further back into history to speak of Emperor Ashoka who is guilty of the largest genocide in the history of this subcontinent, if not the world.

But let’s get back to Gujarat which the Narendra Modi government wants us to believe is all that is there to India. Historically this state which enjoys a 1,200 km plus coastline has always thrived on trade and business. “The famed Gujarati love for pacifism is more practical than noble. They have truly been more worried about dhanda nee vaat than anything else making peace with whoever took over the region as rulers, even Mughals” laughs cultural historian Mukul Joshi.

After Emperor Akbar (1573-1605), captured Gujarat defeating Muzaffar Shah III of the Gujarat Sultanate in 1573 and was able to thwart an attempt by Muzaffar to regain the Sultanate in 1584, this subah (province) which generated a lot of revenue was governed by representatives appointed by the emperors in Delhi says, Joshi. “Akbar, for example, had appointed his foster brother Mirza Aziz Kokaltash as the viceroy who helped consolidate Mughal sway over the region. Kokaltash and his successors quelled revolts by nobles loyal to the former Sultanate during both Akbar’s and the reign of his successor Jehangir (1605-1627).”

Joshi points out how Jehangir’s permit to the British East India Company to establish factories in and around Surat saw the traders’ businesses boom. “When Shah Jahan (1627-1658) came to power his and his viceroys (Aurangzeb, Dara Shikoh and later Murad Bakhsh) took over the Kathiawar peninsula including Nawanagar. This region continued to prosper after Aurangzeb (1658-1707) ascended the Mughal throne. Traders from towns like Surat continued to support him in the hope that he would help maintain peace and trade did not suffer. Many of them were patrons to musicians, weavers and painters.”

He points out how the warrior king Shivaji decided to raise funds for his battles after a three-year siege by the Mughal governor of Deccan Shaista Khan, by raiding Surat. Joshi cites the accounts of captain in the British India Regiment James Grant Duff of January, 5th 1664, when Shivaji led the sack of Surat. “Remember that this was one of the wealthiest port cities in Mughal empire thanks to the sheer volumes of sea trade and apart from the few Muslim officials representing the Mughal empire Hindus formed the majority,” he says and adds, “The attack was both sudden and intense in both the violence and crushing injustices perpetrated. The locals had no chance or place to flee. For six days, the city was plundered of all its wealth, and most of its impressive mansions were burnt to cinder leaving a dense smoke cloud over Surat for nearly a week as the Marathas rode back with the loot to Shivaji’s capital, Raigad.”

In fact, Joshi points out how the petitions to Aurangazeb for exacting revenge and gathering back of the loot by the traders was led by a Hindu trader Virji Vora.

Despite some glaring exceptions (as was the case with most medieval empires across the world then) the Mughal empire too stood out for its tolerance, syncretism and cosmopolitanism. While singling out the Mughal era to demonise the reality of feudal and premodern India where Hindu rulers fought Hindu rulers; Muslim rulers fought Muslim rulers, often with help from Hindu lieutenants; and yes, Muslim rulers fought Hindu rulers too. “But this won’t play into the convenient bigoted narrative of a Hindu monolith standing up to a Muslim one. The British did it before. The BJP is doing it now,” says Joshi lamenting, “All it does is keep tearing up the syncretic core. One shudders to think what Frankenstein will unleash when all of it is gone.”

Only blinded by the idea of winning the Gujarat assembly elections, one is unsure either the PM Narendra Modi or his party even think of these things?

History Repeating Itself? Post-2014 India’s eerie resemblance with India of 1938-46

December 12, 2017

History rarely repeats itself. Nevertheless, if we are to understand what is happening in the Indian polity today, it is useful to look into its pasts, when its democracy appears to be liquidating itself.

Image Courtesy: .business-standard.com

Looking into the popular phase of our national movement, it clearly emerges that as the Muslims began to register their rising representation in the local bodies, Hindu-Muslim tussle in the domain of emerging power- structures started becoming prominent. This is what had happened more clearly in Bihar, post 1924. The tallest builders of the Congress-Muslims-began to be marginalised. Mazharul Haq, Shafi Daudi, etc., were systematically pushed out of the District Boards, in late 1920s, leaving them disillusioned. It was however only after 1938 that this trend started taking an ominous shape. The Muslim League accused the Congress ministries of various provinces in 1937-39 to have resorted to persecution of Muslims, and letting off the rioters. Not less than three catalogues were prepared by the Muslim League, in 1938, viz., Pirpur Report, Sharif Report, and Fazlul Haq Report. With this, the League progressed leaps and bounds during 1938-46.

Isn’t it puzzling that we do not hear of a similar list of grievances of Hindus in the Muslim ‘majority’ provinces, catalogued by the Hindu communal forces, accusing the ‘Muslim’ ministries of those provinces, such as Bengal’s Krishak Praja Party, Punjab’s Unionist Party, and Assam’s Saadullah’s ministry? This was unlike the Suhrawardy ministry of 1946 when his culpability for the orgy of violence and killing in Bengal was unambiguously there, creating lot of anger among the Hindus, so much so that it had its retaliatory implications in Bihar.

The question therefore is: Were those catalogues of 1938 actually as much unreal (or exaggerated) as we have thus far been given to believe, even by our liberal-leftist historians. Their dismissiveness, popularized much through their popular textbooks, is buttressed by the argument that the offer of an enquiry into those grievances by Justice Gwyer was rejected by the League, hence fictionality of those grievances stood testified? Or, is it a case like that of today when the ‘nationalist’ forces want us to believe that instances of frequent lynching, and other such persecutions are just isolated incidents; that they should not be exaggerated to discredit the incumbent BJP regime; and that the BJP should not be accused of being complicit in creating an atmosphere of fear among the minorities, even though it is controlled by profoundly undemocratic organizations like RSS, VHP, BD, HYV, etc.?

Let us recall that the Muslim League was routed in the 1937 elections, despite the fact that the seats were reserved for the Muslims under the arrangement of separate electorates. Yet, soon after the formation of the Congress ministries there emerged lot of fear among the minorities, and the barely existing Muslim League, could register a rise only after 1938. There are evidences that quite a lot of the Congress Hindus demonstrated that a ‘Hindu Raj’ had now been restored in 1937, seven centuries after Prithvi Raj Chauhan was unseated in 12th century.

Historians have paid less attention to the rapid growth and proliferation of the RSS-Hindu Mahasabha after 1938 in nooks and crannies of India. There have been relatively lesser studies on the Congress-Mahasabha overlap at the provincial and district levels. Joya Chatterjee’s Bengal Divided (1995), William Gould’s study (2005) of UP, and Papiya Ghosh’s study (2008) of Bihar, are among exceptions. India’s liberal-left historians received Venkat Dhulipala’s, Creating A New Medina (2015) on UP very warmly. It underlines Muslim separatism, just as Francis Robinson (Separatism Among Indian Muslims, 1974) had demonstrated four decades ago. Whereas, William Gould’s book, Hindu Nationalism and the Language of Politics in Late Colonial India, was largely ignored, for it exposed the majoritarian tilts of the tallest Congress leaders of UP, viz., P. D. Tandon (1882-1962), Sampurnand (1891-1969), and G. B. Pant (18871-961). Though, it is surprising that Jinnah did not harp as much on these UP leaders, while attempting to wean the Muslims away from the Congress and pushing up the League. Joya Chatterjee has demonstrated that in the 1930s, when Bengal’s share-cropper peasantry turned into middle and rich peasantry, they gained franchise, and this is how Muslim proportion began to increase in legislative and other arenas. This is what alarmed the bhadralok who in order to avert the ignominy of being politically dominated by the Muslim peasantry slipped towards partitioning Bengal during 1932-47. Similarly, T. C. A. Raghavan (EPW, April, 9, 1983) for western India, and Vinita Damodaran (Broken Promises, 1992) for Bihar, 1935-46, have demonstrated how Hindus, both within and outside the Congress, moved towards majoritarianism. The peasant discontent was sought to be channelized into religious strife by the landlords. Justice Reuben (1893-1976) was not allowed to conduct enquiries into the 1946 riots of Bihar.

Overall, both colonial and post-independent Indian states have been palpably soft on the rioters. There have been wilful failures of criminal justice system in this regard.

With this experience from history, let us now have a look on the developments immediately before 2014, when the BJP came to power with unprecedented mandate.

In 2012 too, the Muslim representation had gone up in the assembly and municipal bodies in Uttar Pradesh. Muslim representation in the legislative assembly was around 17%, close to the Muslim population (18.5%). At the district level, it was seen as a “Muslim upsurge”. In 13 out of 70 districts, the share of Muslim MLAs was 10-25%; in 21 districts, it was 25-50%; and in five districts (Moradabad, Rampur, Amroha, Balrampur and Shrawasti), there were 50-70% Muslim MLAs. In municipal bodies, there were 3,681 Muslims elected out of a total of 11,816 members, pushing their representation to 31.5%. In the urban local bodies of Ruhelkhand in UP, Muslim representation was as high as 55%, in 2012.

In Bihar too, Muslim representation among the Panchayat Chiefs was 16%,in 2001, and almost around that, in the subsequent elections for the local bodies. Muslims are around 16.5% of Bihar population.

In fact, the rise of the saffron forces, since 1980s, has much to do with rising Muslim affluence because of the Gulf remittances, and benefits going to the Pasmanda after the implementation of the Mandal reservations in public employment, and subsequently into the local bodies elections as well.

In West Bengal, the bhadraloks through the communist rule resisted their temptation to join the saffron forces by keeping most of the Muslim communities out of the OBC list, till 2011. Almost 25% of the population comprises of Muslims in this province.

An increasingly bigger segment of Hindu population is now easily persuaded to be scared of the “minority upsurge” by misleading them with the argument that after all, for centuries, the Muslims and then Christians (British) ruled over the Hindus despite numerically being minority. This oversimplification of a complex historical issue by the communal forces starts making sense to these segments. This is how hate-mongering politics thrives. Quite a lot of those, now vocal for the BJP on social media, belong to those segments who feel that because of the Mandal reservations they have not been able to hold on to their preeminent positions in education, trading and employment. Post-liberalization economy, rising youth unemployment and agrarian distress, have also affected them adversely. This discontent is sought to be channelled against a demonised Muslims.

There is a growing grudge, scorn and disdain against rising Muslim presence in all such spheres. This is now degenerating increasingly into hatred and violence against them. From urban confines, this has percolated down to rural hinterlands because in rural areas too, the trading rivalries are sharpening because of the kith and kin of the Gulf-based Muslim professionals have erected their trades in rural markets. The lower class Muslims too have acquired affluence and education. Their presence is increasingly becoming more prominent through lofty masjids and lavish public demonstrations of festivities. Even though, in most cases, such competitive public rituals and festivities are more to do with a statement of their coming of age, vis a vis the historically dominant groups, within their own community, and also to outdo the other/rival sub-sects (maslak; more specifically, the Barelvi vs the Deobandi/Tablighi Jamaat & Ahl-e-Hadis). These are often mistaken as Muslim assertion against Hindus.

This explains growing insecurity of the traditionally predominant groups of the religious majority, who are trying to counterpoise it through a communal mobilization around religious solidarities, by demonising and by othering the minority (second largest majority). This is how the harmonious social fabric has been coming under tatters, reflected in the rise of aggressive Hindutva. Its resurrection began in the 1980s, and its claws remained little less deadly in the 1990s and 2000s, in better parts of India, when the subordinated groups were coming of their age, dislodging the upper castes from power. The Congress kept compromising with its core principles resulting into losing its support-base and eventually getting discredited by almost every segment. It had given up on Muslims in 1946 to the extent that despite repeated requisitions, the Congress did not even field its candidates from the Muslim seats. Its lack of sincerity was evident even in its Muslim Mass Contact Campaign of 1938, which exacerbated the situation by alarming both the majority and minority communal forces—the Mahasabha and the League.

It is said that, in times of crisis, the political parties tend to get back to its core ideologies, to resurge back. The Congress today appears to be disproving it vehemently. Rather than holding onto its core principles, it seeks to outsmart its enemy on their strongest wicket.

However, unlike the 1938-1946, now, in post-2014, no Jinnah can emerge with the promise of a separate homeland, as there is no limited franchise now, nor is there a colonial state. We now have universal adult franchise, with all its heterogeneities and stratifications. Jinnah could outsmart the then regional, peasant-based, political formations, such as Bengal’s Krishak Praja Party (KPP), Punjab’s Unionist, and other smaller anti-separatist formations such as Bihar’s Muslim Independent Party (MIP), etc., only because, less than 11% people of a particular class had franchise then. Managing and consolidating them may have been easier for Jinnah, exacerbated by the prodding and encouragement from the colonial power. Even though, one may not deny today the power-play of the native and global capitalism of imperial powers, in widening the rich-poor gap, which breed and perpetuate identity-based hatred and violence and polarizations.

Two historical moments may or may not find a close comparison. Yet, post-1938 colonial India, and post-2014 republican India, does have very disturbing resemblances. No Owaisi or Azam can really become Jinnah. But simultaneously, this is also an alarming question that India’s Muslims cannot remain “disenfranchised”, pitiably subdued and persecuted. So, the desperate question is: what would come out of this situation when Muslims are being pushed against the wall? Shall they remain electorally/politically invisibilised, irrelevant, silenced, subdued and subjugated, yet, demonised by the ruling party; and liability for the ‘secular’ parties, as they are in today’s Gujarat? Is it a case where only a silenced and subdued minority will satiate and please the communalised majority? Indian nationhood is indeed at the cusp of alarming redefinition: hate-filled, and exclusionary. It will validate all the ideas that were behind the vivisection of our country in 1947. Nations are not build this way, instead, these are the ways of liquidating nations. We must preempt it. Can we?

The author is Professor at the Centre of Advanced Study in History, Aligarh Muslim University.

Courtesy: Two Circles

Nigeria set to pass a law against mob lynching. Will it make a difference?

December 12, 2017

“Ole, ole!” (thief, thief!) is all that needs to be shouted in Nigeria before large crowds gather to beat, and often burn, the accused to death. Although there are no official statistics on the prevalence of mob lynching in Nigeria – referred to as jungle justice – media reports suggest it’s a regular occurrence. A 2014 survey revealed that 43% of Nigerians had personally witnessed a lynch mob attack.

Nigerians don’t trust the police and often resort to mob justice. Reuters/Afolabi Sotunde

Despite some Nigerian vigilante groups holding the potential for success, execution style jungle justice clearly poses a threat to the rule of law and due process. The brutality of the methods used, and the fact that victims may be innocent and merely in the wrong place at the wrong time, has led to widespread condemnation. But the perpetrators are rarely arrested and prosecuted. In fact, security officials themselves are sometimes implicated in extrajudicial killings.

A new bill being put through the Nigerian parliament aims to change this. The anti-mob lynching act recently passed its second reading in the Senate. It now needs to clear a third reading before being signed off and passed into law. This is expected to happen in the new year.

The extent of jungle justice

Alleged offences that draw mob lynching in Nigeria range from serious crimes such as murder, armed robbery, rape and kidnapping, to petty theft, homosexuality, blasphemy and even witchcraft.

A case that shocked the country involved the necklacing of four male students from the University of Port Harcourt – known as the Aluu four – in 2012. After being falsely accused of theft, the four had tyres doused in gasoline thrown around them and set on fire. The incident took place in Aluu, Rivers State in south Nigeria.

The brutal attack was filmed and circulated on social media, drawing widespread condemnation from the public. This led to the arrest of 12 people, and three, including a police officer, were subsequently sentenced to death.

More recently, in 2016, a homosexual was beaten to death in the south west Ondo State, and nine people were burnt alive in Zamfara State in the north west for insulting Prophet Muhammad. A man was lynched in Ebonyi State, south east Nigeria, over the theft of a motorcycle.

Mob lynchings have continued to appear in the news this year. Lagos has been featured regularly, with several incidents linked to alleged theft and kidnapping. Widespread fear over the Badoo cult saw numerous accusations of witchcraft resulting in deadly jungle justice.

Children are not excluded from the horrors of mob lynching. In 2015, a child said to be as young as 7 was necklaced, again in Lagos, for attempting to steal garri (cassava flour) from a trader. Young children accused of witchcraft are also often targeted, sometimes by their own families.

This is not a complete list; Nigerians often resort to mob lynching as they view the police and judicial system as corrupt and inefficient.

So what does the new bill aim to do?

The nature of mob violence can make it difficult to charge offenders under the laws that cover murder and assault. The new bill seeks to change that. It defines lynching as:

Three or more persons acting in concert for the purpose of depriving any person of his life without authority of law as a punishment for or to prevent the commission of some actual or supposed public offence.

Alongside lynching, the bill covers mob action that results in severe bodily harm, and riotous assembly causing destruction of property. A person found guilty of instigating any of these three criminal offences will be punished by imprisonment for life or not less than 25 years.

The bill stipulates that a security officer who fails to make reasonable efforts to prevent an attack, or to apprehend a perpetrator, will be punished by up to five years imprisonment or face a fine of up to N500,000 (USD$1400). A security officer who takes part in, or conspires to an extrajudicial attack, would be guilty of a capital offence. Those who have failed at prevention would be subject to dismissal and 15 years imprisonment.

These punishments could act as an excellent deterrent. However, the success of the bill will depend on police and judicial implementation. A legal system unable to deal with crime resulting in jungle justice may be unable or unwilling to prosecute the latter.

Nevertheless, the emphasis on security officer complicity is promising, and formal recognition will allow tracking and prevention.

A global problem

Mob lynching is not unique to Nigeria, nor to Africa. Nigeria is also not the first country to try and pass an anti-lynching bill.

Up until the mid-1900’s, African-Americans were commonly lynched in southern USA. Attempts were made to pass the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill, but it was always halted by Southern congressmen in the Senate. In 2005, the Senate formally apologised for this failure.

More recently, after a spate of vigilantism in India, the country has pushed for an a new Protection from Lynching Act, referred to as MaSuKa. This would make lynching a specific, non-bailable offence, punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment and a fine of 5 lakh (USD$7770).

The MaSuKa also compels security officers to preemptively identify attacks and to intervene without delay. Failure to do so would result in discharge and punishment for dereliction of duty. When a lynching does happen, a charge must be laid within three months or a review committee will investigate, and the respective state must compensate the victim’s family.

Although the proposed new law has support from 11 of India’s political parties, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has complicated its passing in parliament.

Conversely, there is little doubt that Nigeria’s anti-mob lynching bill will be passed. With police and judicial support, it could provide an important precedent for countries struggling with mob lynching and official indifference.

Leighann Spencer, PhD Candidate in Criminology, Charles Sturt University

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Students Hit Back with Flash Mobs after Fundamentalists Abuse Muslim Girls Dancing in Public

December 12, 2017

The SFI extended their solidarity to the girls raising the slogan, “Humanity is the answer to the fatwa of religious fundamentalists”.

Do flash mobs provoke religious fundamentalists? The row over the flash mob which occurred in Malappuram on December 1, as the part of AIDS awareness campaign organized by district health department gives us a clarification to this question. Though the flash mob which was performed by three Muslim girls from Malappuram has got the widespread attention of the public, a group of religious fundamentalists has lost their temper and resorted to a series of verbal abuse on social media platforms against the girls.

The video of the performance in which three girls with Hijab danced to Jimmikki Kammal, has gone viral on social media platforms for all the wrong reasons on December 3. The self-appointed guardians of the religion, worrying about the current society, declared that such people are a “curse to the religion”.

Voicing against the malicious verbal attacks and campaigns against the three girls, Students Federation of India (SFI) stepped into the new form of protest and extended the solidarity to the girls. SFI has organized flash mobs in all the district centres on Friday, raising the slogan “Humanity is the answer to the fatwa of religious fundamentalists”.

The Malappuram leg of the flash mob was conducted at Kottakkunu in Malappuram, the same venue where the three girls had performed on December 1. The flash mob was followed by a gathering which was attended by hundreds of students.

Speaking to Newsclick, SFI Malappuram district President Shafeeq NM said: “Personal freedom cannot be subdued to religious forces”.

Recollecting some of the previous incidents, Shafeeq told “Earlier also some girls who are into social and cultural activities were targeted by religious fundamentalists. In the initial phase, Manisiya and Rubiya had faced the social boycott from her community because they are into “Hindu dance forms”.

Mansiya VP and Rubiya, the duo from a Muslim family in Malappuram who excel in classical dance forms, had faced social exclusion from their own community for learning and performing “Hindu dance forms”.

“Education and social movements have changed the picture of the district. Some religious and repressive groups who have their own vested interests in politics are not happy with the social upliftment of the Muslim community in the District”, Shafeeq added.

The flash mobs which have attracted thousands of viewers were conducted under the leadership of respective district committees of SFI.

Questioning the self-appointed apostles of the religion, writer and activist MN Karassery asked : “would there be a similar outcry if boys in prayer caps danced”.

“I am totally with the girls who performed the flash mob. What some of these men on social media have displayed is pure male chauvinism. Will they do the same if three Muslim boys with beard and prayer cap dance on the same road?” he added.

However, the Women’s Commission of Kerala registered a suo motu case against the online abusers on Wednesday. “It is an insult to Kerala’s culture to engage in propaganda that insults the dignity of women,” the Commission said in a statement. Strict action would be taken against those who engaged in such activities, the statement added.

Courtesy: Newsclick.in

Crime Against Women Up 83%, Conviction Rate Hits Decadal Low

December 12, 2017

As many as 39 crimes against women were reported every hour in India, up from 21 in 2007, according to Crime in India 2016 report by National Crime Records Bureau.

The rate of crime against women–crimes per 100,000 female population–was 55.2 in 2016, up from 41.7 in 2012.

“Cruelty by husband or his relatives” was the most reported crime against women, accounting for 33% of all crimes in 2016. Rape accounted for 11% of all crimes against women with 38,947 cases reported in 2016, or four every hour.

The year 2016 saw the lowest conviction rate (18.9%)–percentage of cases convicted to cases in which trials were completed by the courts–for crimes against women in a decade.

As many as 2.5 million crimes against women have been reported in India over the last decade. Reported cases of crime against women increased 83% from 185,312 in 2007 to 338,954 in 2016.

“More than the increase in crime rate, it is increase in reporting,” Flavia Agnes, women’s rights lawyer and co-founder of Majlis, a non-profit that provides legal services to women and children, told IndiaSpend.

“There are no mechanisms to analyse such events,” said Agnes. “I feel that due to media pressure on certain brutally violent incidents, there is greater awareness, and women are coming forward to report crimes.”

Source: National Crime Records Bureau 2016; Previous Publications

Note: Prior to 2012, the crime rate was calculated on the basis of the population of India and state/union territory. From 2012, it is calculated based on the female population (incidences of crimes against women/female population x 100,000 female population).

Delhi reported highest crime rate against women

The union territory of Delhi reported the highest crime rate–160.4 against the national average of 55.2. Delhi was followed by Assam (131.3), Odisha (84.5), Telangana (83.7) and Rajasthan (78.3).

Uttar Pradesh–India’s most populous state–reported the most (15%) crimes against women in 2016–49,262, or six every hour. UP was followed by West Bengal (32,513), Maharashtra (31,388), Rajasthan (27,422) and Madhya Pradesh (26,604).

As many as 13,803 crimes against women were reported in Delhi city, or 38 every day, topping the list among 19 cities with populations more than 2 million in 2016, IndiaSpend reported on December 1, 2017.

Delhi city had the worst crime rate, 182.1 crimes per 100,000 women, against the national average of 77.2.

Cruelty by husband/relatives most reported crime against women in 2016

“Cruelty by husband or his relatives” was the most reported crime against women, accounting for 33% of all crimes in 2016–110,378 cases or 13 crimes every hour. Cases reported under this crime head increased 45% from 75,930 in 2007.

Cruelty by husband/relatives was followed by cases reported under “assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty” (25%), “kidnaping & abduction of women” (19%) and “rape” (11%).

West Bengal reported the most cases of “cruelty by husband or his relatives” in 2016–19,302, or two every hour. Assam had the highest crime rate (58.7) in 2016 compared to the national average of 18.

As many as 84,746 cases of “assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty” were reported in 2016, or 10 cases every hour. Maharashtra reported the most cases in 2016–11,396, or one every hour. Delhi UT was the worst in crime rate (43.6), against the national average of 13.8.

Crimes covered under “assault on woman with intent to outrage her modesty” include relatively more serious crimes such as ‘sexual harassment’, ‘assault or use of criminal force to women with intent to disrobe,’ ‘voyeurism’ and ‘stalking.’

The most cases under “kidnaping & abduction of women” were registered in Uttar Pradesh (12,994) with 65,519 cases nationwide, Delhi reported the highest crime rate (40.7) in 2016.

Four rape cases reported every hour in 2016, from 2 nine years ago

Four rape cases were reported every hour in the country in 2016, up from two every hour in 2007. Madhya Pradesh registered the most cases (4,882), while Sikkim reported the highest crime rate for rape (30.3). The nationwide crime rate was 6.3.

Reported rape cases have increased 88% from 20,737 in 2007 to 38,947 in 2016.

Of 39,068 rape victims in 2016, 43% were girls below 18 years. Offenders were known to the victim in 95% reported cases. Of these, 29% were “neighbours”, “known persons on promise to marry the victim” (27%) and “other known persons” (30%).

Delhi topped the list for most rapes reported among 19 cities with populations more than two million in 2016–1,996, or five every day, IndiaSpend reported on December 1, 2017. The city also ranked first in terms of crime rate (26.3 cases per 100,000 women) for rape, against the national average of 9.1.

Conviction rate for crime against women lowest in decade

At 18.9%, the conviction rate for crimes against women in 2016, as we said, was the lowest in since 2007.

Source: National Crime Records Bureau 2016; Previous Publications

West Bengal, which registered the second most number of crimes in 2016, reported the lowest conviction rate (3.3%).

Mizoram reported the highest conviction rate (88.8%) in 2016, followed by Meghalaya (67.7%), Puducherry (62.5%), Uttar Pradesh (52.6%) and Uttarakhand (46.2%).

In 2016, one in four rape cases in India ended in conviction–the lowest since 2012, IndiaSpend reported on August 28, 2017.

“Greater reporting and a dismal conviction rate spells disaster for women,” Agnes said.

“This means that with great faith in the system, victims and/or their relatives come forward to report crimes. After a rigorous criminal trial, if the accused is convicted, the victim gets a closure that she has secured justice. But when she has to withdraw or the verdict is adverse, the victim experiences a sense of failure and she is stigmatised.”

Agnes said the conviction rate is low in cases of “cruelty by husband or relatives” because if the couple decide to file for divorce under mutual consent, the demand is usually that the wife should withdraw the case she has filed under section 498A (section that deals with cruelty by husband or relatives).

“This does not mean that the case was false but she withdrew it only to bring in closure and move ahead with her life. Despite this, what we read in the media is that women file false cases despite the fact that women experience high degree of domestic violence in marriages,” she added.

What is needed, Agnes said, is victim-support programmes so that once a case is filed, the survivor gets support to face the daunting criminal legal system. “If this is done, it will not be such a lonely battle for the victim. We need a provision in law so that victim support is built into the statute. Only then can we see change as more cases get registered.”

(Mallapur is an analyst with IndiaSpend.)

Courtesy: India Spend

Five inspirational feminists you should know and honour today

December 11, 2017

Documenting the lives of departed feminists, and sharing their stories, honours their memories and inspires future generations.

Credit: Illustration by Carol Rossetti / courtesy of AWID.

Every year, too many women’s rights activists are murdered or disappeared under suspicious circumstances. Some activists live long and full lives, and die of natural causes. Others, exhausted by often thankless work, die of preventable illnesses.

For the last five years, the organisation I work for, the Association for Women’s Rights in Development, (AWID) has honoured the memories of activists who have fought for women, girls, and communities that have been denied their human rights for far too long.

Documenting the lives of departed feminists is important work. They are the giants on whose shoulders we stand. Here are five inspirational feminist activists, from South Africa to the Philippines, that you should know, and honour in this period and beyond:

Prudence Nobantu Mabele, South Africa

Prudence burst into the limelight as the first Black woman in South Africa to publicly disclose her HIV status. She founded the Positive Women’s Network, criticised the government for failing to support people living with HIV, and demanded the provision of antiretroviral medicines. She also organised for the rights of LGBT people including lesbians living with HIV.

She was the kind of leader who stood shoulder to shoulder with people who faced and challenged the tyranny of the powerful. She supported Fezekile ‘Khwezi’ Kuzwayo, who bravely named South African President Jacob Zuma as her rapist. She spoke out against the systematic rape and murder of Black lesbians. She was a fighter, and also a Sangoma, a healer who brought her spirituality into her activism.

Edith ‘Edie’ Wilson, United States

Credit: Illustration by Carol Rossetti / courtesy of AWID.

Four years ago, Edith Wilson successfully sued the United States federal government, arguing that the 1966 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was a contributing factor to ongoing discrimination faced by gay Americans. Her case helped lead to the 2015 legalisation of same-sex marriage across the country.

Emilsen Manyoma, Colombia

Credit: Illustration by Carol Rossetti / courtesy of AWID.

Afro-Colombian activists have struggled for decades to reclaim ancestral land as communal property. Too many have been attacked or threatened by organised armed groups hired by wealthy landowners and corporations opposed to land reform.

Emilsen Manyoma was an Afro-Colombian leader of the Comunidades Construyendo Paz en los Territorios (CONPAZ) group which supports peaceful protection strategies and communities’ access justice including via international humanitarian law. Emilsen documented killings and forced disappearances in her community. In January, she and her partner were brutally murdered. They were decapitated, and their bodies showed evidence of torture.

Miriam Rodríguez Martínez, Mexico

Credit: Illustration by Carol Rossetti / courtesy of AWID.

In 2012, Miriam’s 14-year-old daughter Karen disappeared. Amid official inaction, Miriam launched her own investigation, found the remains of her daughter’s body, and uncovered evidence that implicated members of the violent drug cartel Los Zetas in her murder. Subsequently, the principal suspect in Karen’s murder was arrested and imprisoned.

Miriam became an activist leader, founding ‘The Movement for Our Disappeared’ which brought hundreds of families together to search for loved ones who went missing under suspicious circumstances in a region where rival drug cartels frequently clash. Miriam was shot 12 times and murdered on 10 May, Mother’s Day in Mexico, when people take to the streets to protest disappearances.

Mia Manuelita Mascariñas-Green, the Philippines

Credit: Illustration by Carol Rossetti / courtesy of AWID.

Environmentalist and lawyer Mia Manuelita Mascariñas-Green took on legal cases challenging the destruction of land and natural resources in the Philippines. She was also a volunteer lawyer for the Environmental Legal Assistance Center network, often working pro bono.

In February, Mia’s van was attacked by armed men on motorcycles. Her three children and their nanny witnessed the attack. The Philippines is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for environmental defenders, according to Global Witness, an environmental monitoring group.

Deaths of activists like these represent huge losses to communities around the world. Intimidation, harassment and killings are often deliberately designed to end the resistance movements these activists lead.

Some activists have organised to share strategies on peaceful protection methods. Every year, AWID honours departed activists by publishing tributes to them during the 16 Days of Activism to End Gender Based Violence campaign.

It is crucial that we hold the memories of these activists in our collective consciousness. They are the giants on whose shoulders we stand, and the foundation on which we build the future of our movements and struggles.

Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah is a feminist activist, writer and blogger. She is the co-founder of the Adventures from the Bedrooms of African Women award-winning blog that focuses on African women, sex and sexualities. She works with the Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID) as a Communications Manager.

Courtesy: Open Democracy

Toilet marketing campaigns in developing countries erode people’s dignity – this is not acceptable

December 11, 2017

About 4.5 billion people – more than half of us on our crowded planet – do not have safe sanitation. By this we mean a toilet, at home, one which separates us from our excreta, after which the excreta are treated or buried and do not contaminate the environment. One of the United Nations’ recently-adopted Sustainable Development Goals is for everyone to have safe sanitation by 2030, which is expected to improve physical and psychosocial well-being worldwide. But how do we achieve this? The answer is not as simple as building more toilets.

Toilet
D P L Simon/Shutterstock.com

For people to invest in sanitation, they need to access the kinds of toilets and services that they want to use. One of the benefits of safe sanitation – and one that motivates many to invest in it – is better physical well-being. But messages about preventing disease are often insufficient to change behaviours.
One approach that combines behavioural change with improved access to sanitation products and services is sanitation marketing programmes, defined as:

The application of the best social and commercial marketing practices to change behaviour and to scale up the demand and supply for improved sanitation, particularly among the poor.

Toolkits and guides to develop and implement sanitation marketing have been published recently, as have region- and country-specific manuals produced by NGOs and government agencies. There is a growing community working in this area, evidenced by reports and discussions of projects across the globe.

An unsafe toilet next to an informal settlement in Fiji. Author’s own, Author provided

Reviewing past outcomes

In most such programmes, an external support agency conducts market research and then assists local entrepreneurs in developing a market in which to sell products and services. These might be toilet slabs and superstructures, pay-per-use toilets or pit emptying for latrine owners. The programmes normally include advertising campaigns to encourage uptake of safe sanitation.

This may seem like a sensible approach, but we and our colleagues suspected that some of these programmes use practices that adversely affect some people. In a new paper, we review 33 sanitation marketing programmes to understand what practices are used and the outcomes reported. Four of the 33 programmes reviewed reported the following adverse effects:

The death or injury of someone falling into a badly constructed latrine pit;
Social unrest where entrepreneurs were viewed as being subsidised and not passing on the benefits;
Negative impacts on social cohesion due to conspicuous consumption, where customers are encouraged to purchase items so as to enhance their social status;
The shock, shame and disgust of intended beneficiaries when practices criticised their personal sanitation behaviours.

We were particularly interested in conspicuous consumption and the criticism of personal sanitation behaviours, because these were common in the 33 cases we reviewed. Sixteen included practices which promoted conspicuous consumption and ten included practices which criticised individuals who did not use a safe toilet.

Use of status and shame

Conspicuous consumption occurs when improving status is emphasised in promoting products and services. In this case, that means attempting to convince potential buyers that investing in sanitation will enhance their standing compared to those around them. This is achieved, for example, through promoting toilets as a status symbol, and invoking peer pressure to increase sales. The idea of “Keeping up with the Joneses”, a worldwide phenomenon whereby people purchase goods and services so as to socially and financially keep up with, or outdo, their neighbours, is very much at work here.

Some sanitation marketing programmes set out to make people feel disgusted by their sanitation behaviour to encourage them to invest in the product or service on offer. One example in Indonesia portrayed a character who defecates in the open, Lik Telek (“Uncle Shit”), as a threat to his community. One of the programme’s posters portrayed Lik Telek being driven out of his village for not investing in sanitation, reading:

My village is clean and healthy. No stench, no flies, and no more Lik Telek. The whole village is more dignified.

Although many of the programmes we looked at which employed such tactics evaluated their impact in terms of whether toilets were purchased or used, few evaluated their impacts on well-being. But personal dignity is a human right that can be or is eroded by these practices. Reduced dignity is associated with poor physical and psychosocial well-being in the form of depression, social anxiety and alienation.

A banner in a Nepali village promoting safe sanitation, as open defecation is ‘only for cows’. Author’s own

Adverse effects

Safe sanitation protects and improves physical well-being for those who acquire and use it, and for those around them. One person using a toilet reduces the amount of excreta entering the environment, with benefits community-wide for those who use toilets and those who do not. It has been argued that temporary loss of dignity leading to the adoption of behaviours that are beneficial to both the individual and community is tolerable.

This argument is only sound so long as the remedy – safe sanitation – is universally achievable. But there are often disadvantaged people who are unable to invest in safe sanitation (for financial reasons, perhaps, or because they are physically unable to contribute to construction). Many sanitation marketing programmes do not provide subsidies or other pro-poor strategies which may assist because such practices are considered to “distort the market”. Individuals who do not acquire safe sanitation are particularly susceptible to reduced well-being, and they will be unable to remedy this.

During the design and implementation phases of sanitation marketing programmes, external support agencies need to understand sanitation marketing’s potential to reduce well-being. If practices that erode dignity are used, then such agencies must consider how the programme will eventually restore it.

Dani J Barrington, Lecturer in Water, Sanitation and Health, University of Leeds and Jamie Bartram, Director of the Water Institute, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Similarities in Beliefs and Practices between Hinduism and Islam

December 11, 2017

The general perception of the Muslims is that Hinduism and Islam are poles apart. The basis of this perception is the external differences in the way of worship in both the religions. Islam believes in unity of God and rejects idol worship while image or idol worship is the main tenet of Hinduism.

Image: India Times

But the fact that both Islam and Hinduism are based on divine revelation and in essence both worship the Supreme Being is generally ignored. The foundation of Hinduism is the Vedas comprising of different scriptures revealed to Rishis (prophets) over a long period of time. Islam is also based on the Quran which is a reminder of the messages and commandments revealed to prophet before Muhammad pbuh. The Vedas and the Upanishads sing the glory of the Supreme Being (Nirgun Brahman), the Formless God, the Creator of all. The Mundakya Upanishad VI says:
“He is the lord of all. He is the knower of al. He is the inner Controller. He is the source of everything from Him all beings originate and in the end disappear into Him.”

Vedanta is the theoretical and philosophical part of the Vedas which deals with the Creation and knowledge of the Supreme Being (Brahman). Different parts of the Vedas are ascribed to different Rishis or prophets to whom that part was revealed. About the revelation of the Vedas, Swami Vivekananda has said:
“When you hear that the Rishi (sage) of such and such portion of the Vedas is such and such, do not think that he has written that portion or has created that portion through his own imagination. He is merely a discoverer of the knowledge already existent. That knowledge was latent in this universe since infinity. The Rishi only discovered that knowledge.” 1

From the extract above, it is evident that Hindus do not use the word revelation for the Vedas but believe that the Vedas are not authored by human beings and are divine knowledge revealed to prophets (Rishis) by the Supreme Being, the Brahman.

God in Hinduism and Islam
Hinduism has two concepts of the Supreme Being: Sagun Brahman (Personal God) and Nirgun Brahman (Formless God). Since the ultimate realization of the Supreme Being can be achieved through meditation, the spiritual adept needs to meditate on God by concentrating on Him. To achieve this concentration he needs to conjure the image of a personal God (Sagun Brahman). This concentration on Sagun Brahman leads him to the realization of Nirgun Brahman or the Supreme Being. This concept of Sagun Brahman or personal God represented by an image or idol gave way to idol worship. Initially, this concept of Sagun Brahman was only used by spiritual adepts to acquire concentration but gradually it became common practice and people began to worship idols and idol worship became central to Hinduism. The same can be said about Islam. Many un-Islamic practices have crept in among Muslims which are called Bid’at (innovation) due to wrong or erroneous interpretations of Islamic principles or Quranic verses.

The concept of Sagun Brahman and Nirgun Brahman can also be found in the Quran. The Quran at one point says:
“Nature of God is that upon which He is created man”. (Al Rum: 30)

Here the Quran gives an idea of a personal God (Sagun Brahman). In another verse the Quran says:
“No vision can grasp Him, but His grasp is over all vision: He is above all comprehension, yet is acquainted with all things “(Al An’am:103)

Here the Quran gives an idea of Nirgun Brahman who is subtle and formless. However, Islam did not permit the creation of the image of Sagun Brahman. That’s why idol worship did not originate in Islam.

This idea of Fitratallah (Nature of God) helps Sufis to concentrate on God. The Vedanta has three stages of meditation according to degree of concentration and duration of meditation; Dhaaran, Dhyan and Samadhi. The Quran also mentions three stages of realization of truth which comes with deep meditations: Aynal Yaqin, Ilmul Yaqin and Haqqul Yaqin. Indian Sufis took some practices from Vedanta and Hindu scriptures to develop physical and mental faculties that helped them attain greater concentration during meditation. Especially Shattari order introduced Hindu meditation practices into Sufi order. The practices of the Nath Panth, the founder of the Yoga influenced Indian Sufi practices.

Sufism has borrowed a lot from the Advaita philosophy of Vedanta. Non-Dualist philosophy of Vedanta (Advaita Vedanta) gave birth to the philosophy of Wahdat ul Wajood among Muslims. The greatest exponent of this philosophy was Ibn-e-Arabi who had read Bahrul Hayat, an Arabic translation of the Vedantic treatise in Sanskrit called Amrul Kund. The philosophy of Wahdat ul Wujud also preached that only God was real (Wajib ul Wajud) and all the universe including man was only a reflection of the Supreme Being. All creation emanated from him and was a part of God. For example, the waves of an ocean do not have any independent existence out of the ocean. In the same way, man or the universe did not have any independent existence out of God. God is imminent in the universe or is all encompassing.

Though Iqbal was against the philosophy of Wahdat ul Wajud since he considered this philosophy against the principles of Islam, he did not criticize Ibn-e-Arabi because Ibn-e-Arabi brought his arguments in favour of the philosophy from the Quran. The attributional names of God —– Zahir, Batin, Awwal, Akhir, and so on describe the all pervasive nature of God. Whatever is manifest is God and whatever is hidden or within the creations is God. This concept is in line with the concept of Advaita Vedanta which is summed up in the four Mahavakyas (great statements) of the Upanishad.

1)    Aham Brahmasmi (I am God). This can be translated as Anal Haque.
2)    Tat twam asi . Thou art That.
3)    Ayam Atma Brahma. This indwelling self is Brahman.
4)    Praganam Brahma —— Supreme Knowledge is Brahman.

Thus, Brahman (the Supreme Being) dwells within man and he can attain His knowledge through devotion and meditation.
In Sufism too, Marfat (divine knowledge of the Supreme Being) is attained through meditation and devotion.

God Is Light
God, the Supreme Being, is described as light in the Upanishads. His light shines everywhere and lights up the universe as well as the inner soul of man. K.P. Aleaz writes:

“The Supreme Lord (Parameshvara) is the self-effulgent self (Svayamjyotiratmaiva) and self-effulgent means ‘being’ – Pure Consciousness. The manifestation noticed in the case of all these names, forms, actions and results is caused by the existence of the Light of Brahman. The light of Brahman is implied by the light seen in things born from it. Through the various kinds of effulgence in the effects, it is known that luminosity is intrinsic to Brahman. Whatever, things shine —- the sun, moon, stars, lightning fore etc — shine because the Supreme Lord shines.” 2 Now, let’s find out similar concept about God in the Quran. The Quran says, “Allahu Noorus Samawate Wal Arz’. God is the light of the earth and heavens. (Al Nur: 35) It is a long verse and echoes the views present in Vedanta about God as light and His reflection in man and the universe. Another sentence in the same verse says:

Noor un ala Nur (Light upon Light).
The exegetes of the holy Quran have not been able to give satisfactory or acceptable explanations of this beautiful verse in figurative and symbolic language. But when we study the verse in the light of the Bhagavad Gita, the meaning of the Quranic verse becomes crystal clear. ‘Light upon Light’ is ‘Light united to Light’ in Shrimad Bhagavad Gita. When the spiritual adept or Sufi attains union with the Supreme Being, Light present within man is united with Light of Brahman. Swami Mumukshananda in his article “Vedanta Concepts and Application through ‘light united to light’ in the light of Advaita philosophy in the following words:

“ That meditation on God (Sagun Brahman)gradually leads to the realization of Absolute (Nirgun Brahman) is supported in both the Srimad Bhagvatam and the Bhagavad Gita. In the former Shri Krishna tells Uddhav how by starting his meditation on God with form a devotee can realize God as Pure Consciousness simultaneously present within him and all pervading — as “Light united to light.” In the Bhagavad Gita (XVIII.55) Sri Krishna says to Arjun,, “Through devotion (the devotee) knows Me in reality as to what and who I am. Then having known Me in truth, he enters (Me).3

In Islamic Sufism governed by the philosophy of Wahdat ul Wajud as in Advaita Vedanta, the spiritual adept unites with God through devotion and meditation. Thus Light is united to Light.

The divine light within the Sufi unites with the Supreme Light. The light present inside the devotee is engulfed by the Light of the Supreme self effulgent; all pervasive Being like a candle is guarded by the Fanoos.

Harut and Marut
The Quran mentions the names of two angels called Harut and Marut who possessed the knowledge of sorcery and magic and taught knowledge to those who wanted to learn sorcery and magic only as a test of their faith. In Hinduism, spiritual adepts invoke Marut, one of the angels to attain supernatural powers to work out miracles and do superhuman deeds. The disciples of Shiva, the re-incarnation of Brahma taught Matsyendranath, the founder of Nath Panth the knowledge of attaining supernatural powers. The Yogis of the Nath Pantha had supernatural powers through the practice of Raja Yoga. A Shloka in Matsyendra Samhita is as follows:

Agni Marut Sanyogad Varuna Karmayogatah
Sansiddhi Yogino Dehe Chidme Tat Pradrishyate 4

The sixth Patal (part) of Matsyendra Samhita says that the concentration of mind is of three kinds. One kind of concentration is achieved through concentration on Agni (fire) in association with Marut which leads to achievement of perfect body free from diseases and feeling of hunger, thirst etc. In Upanishads also, a number of hymns are addressed to Maruts. On hymn addressed to Maruts in Rig Veda is as follows:
HYMN XIX. Agni, Maruts.

To this fair sacrifice to drink the milky draught thou art invoked:
O Agni, with the Maruts come.

No mortal man, no God exceeds thy mental power, O Mighty one –
O Agni, with the Maruts come

All Gods devoid of guile, who know the mighty region of mid-air:
O Agni, with those Maruts come.

The terrible, who sing their song, not to be overcome by might:
O Agni, with those Maruts come.

Brilliant, and awful in their form, mighty, devourers of their foes’:
O Agni, with those Maruts come.

Who sit as Deities in heaven, above the sky-vault’s luminous sphere:
O Agni, with those Maruts come.

Who scatter clouds about the sky, away over the billowy sea:
O Agni, with those Maruts come.

Who with their bright beams spread them forth over the ocean in their might
O Agni, with those Maruts come.

For thee, to be thine early draught, I pour the Soma-mingled meath:
O Agni, with the Maruts com
(Rig-Veda)

However, in the Vedas, the Maruts are presented as powerful deities that bring storm and rains and are very aggressive. In the Quran, Harut and Marut are mentioned in Surah Baqarah verse no. 102 as angels who were sent down on earth with the knowledge of sorcery and magic.

Zikr or Jap
Zikr or Jap of the Supreme Being or God is an important part of the spiritual practices of followers of both Hinduism and Islam. Without Zikr or jap one cannot move towards union with God. The Quran enjoins on man to engage in Zikr continuously to attain God’s blessings. There are a number of verses in the Quran to this effect. Some are quoted below:

1) “Bring thy Lord to remembrance in thy (very) soul, with humility and in reverence, without loudness in words, in the mornings and evenings; “ ( Al A’raf: 205)
2) “and for men and women who engage much in Allah’s praise,- for them has Allah prepared forgiveness and great reward.”(Al Ahzab: 35)
3) ” The remembrance of Allah (swt) is the greatest (deed)”. Quran (Al Ankabut : Verse 45)

According to the verses of the Quran, Zikr is of two kinds: One which is done aloud and the other which is done in a low voice. In Sufism, there is another category of Zikr which is called Sultan ul Azkar. In this Zikr, the Sufi does not chant the names of God aloud or in a low voice but the heart continuously and automatically does the chanting. This Zikr is achieved through strict spiritual discipline and devotion. In Hinduism also, the Jap or Zikr is of three kinds. Bhaskaranand explains the three kinds of Japa in the following words:
“Chanting the holy name or Japa is done in several ways. When it is done audibly by pronouncing the holy name correctly it is called Vachika Japa. When the chanting is done by moving the lips in such a manner that it can be heard only by the chanter and no one else, it is called Apamshu Japa. In the third type of chanting the holy name is repeated mentally without moving the tongue or the lips. This type of silent chanting is called Manasa Jap. Among these, the third one is considered superior to the second and the second is superior to the first.”5

In Hinduism, the devotees or spiritual adepts are also described in different ways according to their attitude to God. The following attitudes are found in Hindu devotees.

1)    Shanta attitude – In this attitude, the devotee does not show an intense love for God but he is steady in his devotion to God doing whatever is prescribed to achieve God’s pleasure.
2)    Dasya or serving attitude —- In this attitude, the devote considers himself a servant and God as the Master and obeys what God enjoins him to do. In this relation, a distance is maintained between the servant and the Master.
3)    Sakhya or friendly attitude — In this attitude, the devotee considers God as his friend and expects reciprocation of his love and affection showered on God.
4)    Vatsalya or motherly attitude – In this attitude, the devotees’ looks upon God as his child and showers love and affection like a mother.
5)    Madhura attitude – In this attitude the devotee looks upon God as his husband and considers himself as his wife. The Bhakti poets come under this category as they celebrate the love of Radha and Krishna in their love for God. They consider God Krishna and himself as Radha.

In Islamic spirituality too, Sufis adopt similar attitude towards God. But more common are serving and friendly attitudes. Generally devotees have Master-servant relationship with God and maintain a distance. Great Sufis attain the relationship of friendship with God. The Quran recognizes them as Auliya or the friends of God.

Prophets and Divine Incarnations
Islam believes in prophets who were raised from among human kind for the social and religious reforms. They spoke the language of the community to which they were raised. Islam believes that one Lakh 24 thousand prophets were sent down on earth. But Hinduism believes that God incarnates Himself on earth to revitalize religion. He is called an Avatara or a divine incarnation. The Srimad Bhagavad speaks of innumerable divine incarnations. Here, Srimada Bhagvatam corroborates Islamic view of many prophets. But Islam does not consider the prophets as incarnations of God but consider them human beings and servants of God. The Vedas also call the prophets Rishis or sages. The Vedas did not call them divine incarnations. However, in later ages, the Rishis were called Adhikari Purusha, men endowed with superhuman powers. The theory of divine incarnation has been explained by Swami Bhaskaranand in the following words:

“God incarnates on earth to fulfill two purposes: (1) to inspire (2) to liberate. He inspires mankind through examples. He willingly takes upon Himself human limitations. Then through intense spiritual practice, He goes beyond them and manifests his spiritual perfections. It should be understood here that as He is perfect from his very birth, the divine incarnation does not really need any spiritual practice to attain perfection. Nevertheless, to inspire others, He goes through various spiritual disciplines and thereby manifests His perfection to set an example for man king.” 6

The above extract explains the phenomenon of the birth of Jesus Christ without father and his subsequent ascent to the Heavens instead of his meeting with natural or unnatural death on earth like a human being. This also explains why a section of Muslims consider Prophet Muhammad pbuh a divine (Nuri) being and not a human being (basher).

Idea of Mental and Physical Purification
Islam lays stress on physical and mental purification. Physical purification can be achieved through bath with water in a prescribed manner. In the absence of water, Tayammum can also be used for purification. In this process one can rub his hands on a lump of soil and then rubbing the hands on the body in the prescribed way. For ablutions also, water or soil can be used in a prescribed manner. Uttering prescribed prayers while doing Wazu wins greater rewards.

But centuries before Islam’s advent, Hinduism laid stress on physical purification by bathing the body with water. In absence of water, the body could be purified by smearing ashes over the body. Matsyendra Samhita describes the process of purification of body in following words:

“The purification of body can be achieved by taking bath in water or with smearing of ashes on body. Detailed description of the actual mode of taking bath has been given. Lord Shiva tells her (Parvati) that bath should be taken in prescribed manner. Different kind of mantras have been suggested which are requested to be uttered at the time of pouring water on the different limbs of the body.” 7

Suicide
Killing oneself is declared Haram (a great sin) in Islam and those committing suicide will be made to go through severe punishment in the Hereafter. They will be made to commit the suicide in the same way again and again suffering the same pain which they went through while committing suicide. The unnatural death hounds the man in other world and inflicts more pain and suffering. On this count, Hinduism and Islam have almost the same view on suicide.

Beej Akshar and Haroof-E-Muqatta’at
The Quran has many Haroof-e-Muqatta’at in the beginning of 29 Surahs. These letters are said to be possessing great powers. Hinduism also has many Beej Akshars (seed words) that have great powers. One seed word is ‘AUM’. Other seed words are Shreem, Hreem, Kreem, Aim, Dum, Hum and Om Namah Shivaya.

These were some of the similarities in belief and practices in Hinduism and Islam. Since Vedas are the basis of Hinduism which are revealed scriptures, it has many tenets in common with Islam. Since the Quran enjoins on us to stress on the common tenets of different religions to promote multi-religious harmony in the world, a more in-depth study of the similarities between Hinduism and Islam may reveal more striking facts. This brief study is only a small step towards promoting interfaith dialogue.

References:
1.    Vedanta by Swami Vivekananda
2.    (Vedanta concepts and Application, Ramakrishna Mission Institute, Kolkata)
3.    (Vedanta; Concepts and Application)
4.    Matsyendra Samhita
5.    (Essentials of Hinduism, Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai)
6.    (Essentials of Hinduism, Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai)
7.    (Matsyendra Samhita. Page 47)

Courtesy: New Age Islam

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Edith ‘Edie’ Wilson, United States

Emilsen Manyoma, Colombia

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Reviewing past outcomes

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Adverse effects

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