The Nupur Sharma affair vis-à-vis her comments on Prophet is getting murkier. A right-wing lawmaker from the Netherlands, Geert Wilders, advised India not to buckle under the pressure of the Gulf nations. Many Muslim countries, Afghanistan, Turkiye, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Bahrain, Maldives, Libya, the U.A.E., Indonesia, and Malaysia have denounced India. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation has condemned the remarks on the Prophet and demanded that the government offers an apology and the guilty punished.
Unfortunately, what warranted Nupur Sharma to retort was when a panellist had derided Shiva. As a tolerant religious community, we have been swallowing insults not only from non-Hindus but also from Hindus, who call themselves secular. Secularism is feeling ashamed of our gods and religious practices in public and criticizing at every given opportunity at the Union government run by the right-wing BJP.
Disbelieving God is as much a fundamental right as a right to believe and pursue any form of religious practice. The historical religious battles between the Abrahamic religions are not unknown. The Scandinavian and Nordic countries are paying a heavy price for their liberal asylum policies. Those who settle down have changed the liberal structure of those countries irreversibly. Therefore, the angst and advisory of Geert Wilders does not seem to be surprising.
If the statement by Nupur Sharma has galvanized all Arab nations and a few South-East Asian countries as well against India, the same statement by other Muslim preachers has been accepted without a murmur. If it means that only Muslims are entitled to discuss their Prophet, they must be living in a bygone Millenia. By accepting the apology of Sharma, the matter could have been buried gracefully. But that was not to be so, as more noise is being created now. The hypocrisy of theGulf Countries is evident in their silence on China’s persecution of Uighur Muslims. The Uighur Muslim men cannot sport beards nor wear skull caps. Mosques have been converted into malls and bazaars. Public prayers are proscribed. India’s Muslims are Indians first, and their population could become the highest in any single country soon, which needs to be respected.
The gulf reaction, further distancing the Indian Muslims from the mainstream, is a classic example of the confused Arab mindset, who have been killing each other over the last many centuries. However, they could be merely puppets, acting on the behest of some Western powers, peeved at India’s support to Russia at the U.N. and other international fora. Despite India’s participation in Quad, it has steadfastly refused to disengage from its long-time tested friend in Russia, which has caused severe heartburn and displeasure of the U.S. and many European nations. Nupur’s utterance was a divine opportunity for the Gulf, much like the Ukraine war resurrected NATO.
India must not apologize after the apology already and unequivocally rendered by Nupur Sharma. We must dismiss the ganging up of the Gulf with the contempt it deserves. A few of our opposition leaders and media, who have grabbed the chance to ridicule our status, must hang their heads in shame. They are the ones who eulogize and dance in ecstasy when our Goddesses are painted nude in the name of artistic freedom and secularism.
Sampath Kumar
Intrépide Voix
