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The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC -www.iamc.com ), an
advocacy group dedicated to safeguarding India's pluralist and tolerant
ethos has expressed its unequivocal condemnation of the inflammatory
and provocative language used by Mr. Akbaruddin Owaisi, a member of the
Andhra Pradesh legislative assembly, at a public rally on December 24,
2012. IAMC has also called upon the state and central governments to
apply the law uniformly to all such cases of speech that seeks to denigrate
or ridicule any group of people, their religion or culture.
The right of free speech, guaranteed under article 19(1) of the
Constitution of India, is subject to "reasonable restriction"
under article 19(2). Such restrictions can be imposed in the interest of
public order, decency or morality. Mr. Owaisi's apparent ridiculing of
Hindu deities not only threatens public order and breeches the norms of
civil behavior, it also represents a violation of the Qur'anic injunction
to desist from denigrating other religions.
Unfortunately, a culture of hate speech has been perpetuated for many
years, due to the unwillingness of successive governments to confront
this malaise in our public discourse. Mr. Praveen Togadia (VHP), Sadhvi
Rithambara (RSS, Durga Vahini), Mr. L.K. Advani and Mr. Narendra Modi
(BJP) and the late Mr. Bal Thackeray (Shiv Sena) are only a few among
many that have persistently engaged in precisely the same kind of
rabble-rousing rhetoric that Mr. Owaisi is being rightly pulled up for.
Their words and actions have resulted in sectarian riots leading to the
loss of thousands of lives, and the blighting of relations between
communities, with no consequences to them on account of their actions.
"If hate speech had been consistently punished according to law, Mr.
Owaisi would not have dared to engage in the kind of incendiary rhetoric
that pits one community against another," said Mr. Ahsan Khan,
President of IAMC. "Absence of any prosecution against other
hate-mongers will only reinforce the perception that the administration
is active in invoking laws selectively, based on sectarian and political
considerations," added Mr. Khan.
IAMC has also called upon liberal activists to introspect on the
implications of defending insults against religion heaped by individuals
like Tasleema Nasreen and Salman Rushdie under the guise of free speech,
while condemning sectarian zealots for similar provocations. Ridiculing
that which is held sacred by any group of people can only lead to
alienation, acrimony and the tearing apart of the nation's social fabric.
The sectarian hate espoused by Pravin Togadia, Narendra Modi, Varun
Gandhi and Akbaruddin is not representative of the majority of India's
Hindus and Muslims, who share a long and rich tradition of peaceful
coexistence. IAMC appeals to the public to reject the divisive agenda of
hate-mongers, and to strengthen grassroots efforts that promote communal
amity.
Indian-American Muslim Council (formerly Indian Muslim Council-USA) is
the largest advocacy organization of Indian Muslims in the United States
with 13 chapters across the nation.
For more information please visit our new website at: http://www.iamc.com
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CONTACT:
Indian
American Muslim Council
Ishaq
Syed
Phone:
(800) 839-7270
Address:
6321 W Dempster St. Suite 295
Morton Grove, IL 60053
phone/fax: 1-800-839-7270
email: info@iamc.com
The onus of contents of the article rest on its author, not necessarily of Amity Indias.
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