THE NEED TO BECOME A GIVER GROUP
My advice to Muslims is, “Stop being only a ‘taker group’ and become, on the contrary, the ‘giver group’.
The daily newspaper ‘Urdu Samachar’ of Nagpur organized a convention on ‘National Unity and Secularism.’ Mr. S.Q. Zaman is the managing editor of this newspaper. This ‘Convention for National Unity, Harmony, and Secularism’ was held in Nagpur’s Ravindra Deshpande Hall (which is Nagpur’s largest hall) on November 10, 1992. The participants and writers were assigned the following three topics:
1. The role of the government in promoting secularism and national unity.
2. The role of religion in strengthening national unity and uniformity.
3. The role of Urdu in preserving national unity and secularism.
I presented my thoughts as a speech on the second topic.
The vast hall was full of people. Mostly, Marathi language programs are held here. This was probably the first occasion for such a large-scale Urdu program in this hall. The entire event was video-recorded. Representatives from Akashvani (All India Radio), Doordarshan (Indian Public Service Broadcaster), and various newspaper journalists were present in large numbers. Besides me, many distinguished individuals expressed their thoughts through speeches or articles. For example, Mr. Kuldeep Nair, Mr. Mohan Chiraghi, Justice Bhawohane, Mr. Shamim Tariq, Justice M. M. Qazi, and Mr. Tej Singh Rao Bhonsle MP, among others. The following day, all local newspapers prominently published reports on this convention.
In my speech, I mentioned that this was an opportunity for Muslims in India to guide the people. But there was a price to become a beacon to the countrymen, and that was patience. Even amidst unpleasant experiences from fellow countrymen, they had to endure steadfastly. Since they did not adopt the method of patience, they failed to attain leadership skills. The local Urdu newspaper “Urdu Samachar” made headlines in its issue dated November 11, reporting on the convention and highlighting its significance. It wrote, “Leadership is earned by those who endure.”
Mr. Kuldeep Nair, in his speech at the convention, said that after partition (1947), when he came from Sialkot to Delhi, he met Maulana Hasrat Mohani (d. 1951) and became close to him. He shared that, at that time, he used to read Urdu poetry a lot. Maulana Hasrat Mohani advised him that he should leave Urdu poetry and work hard in English journalism. He said that he benefited greatly from Maulana Mohani’s advice.
On the way, I read the English newspaper of Nagpur, Lokmat Times (November 11, 1992). It had a detailed report on the evening convention. Referring to my speech, the following news was given in the newspaper:
“The President of the Islamic Centre and editor, Al-Risala, New Delhi, Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, said there was a need for introspection as to why the India of our dreams could not be realized. Blaming both the Hindu as well as Muslim communities, Mr. Khan said that there was almost an obsessive attempt to create a uni-cultural India. He blamed the Muslim community for not having played a creative role in the post-independence period. He said that the feeling of insecurity that had crept into the minority community had prevented them from playing a creative role. He said that they should stop being only a ‘taker group’ and become, on the contrary, the ‘giver group.’”
