*Kumar Rakesh
Time and again I ask myself this question: what holds more importance, the country or the religion? I asked this question with many people but never got a concrete, clear and encouraging answer. I feel that most of the people are still confused on the issues of Nationalism. The reasons for this confusion are quite clear. The Congress party ruled the country for nearly 60 years as part of its so-called convenient rules which made a large part of the population in the country a victim of their so-called SICKULAR policy. This is the main reason that a lot of people are still going through this confusion on the aforesaid issue. As we know it, Secularism & Appeasement should not go together, but that is still on. But on the contrary, out of many anomalies, today’s youth seem to be coming out of this confusion on Nationalism. Youth of Bharat are more nationalistic than past. Specially the mind set of Muslim youth seems to be different now.
Probably, India that is Bharat is the only country in the world where the Constitution was forcibly enveloped with secularism, but on the other hand, a rock-solid initiative was taken to enrich minorities with all kinds of facilities. However, the minority category included Sikhs, Christians, Parsis, Jains and other religions, besides Muslims, but all the packages of the government have only seen the dominance of the Muslim religion. This is also a matter of concern nowadays.
Even after the 2014, Modi Government, there has been no significant reduction in those packages, yet there is a limit to ungratefulness. Even today, a section of that Muslim community could be seen cursing the Modi government. Still, not all the Muslims are same.
If government data is analyzed today, the Modi government has done better to the Muslim community than ever before under its policy “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas”. Whether it is the issue of triple talaq, scholarship, Haj subsidy or the overall welfare of the youth. Consequently, awareness of love for nation is now more prominent in Muslim society than ever before. These are good signs for a developing India.
Recently, the Uttar Pradesh government has made Surya Namaskar series of exercises in yogasana mandatory for all students from the point of view of health in all schools. This has created enthusiasm and happiness among all in the state. All sections could be seen happy with the decision. Many institutions in the state and the country have welcomed this new order of the government, But the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), an organisation known as the alleged contractor of Muslims in India, has opposed it. The NGO has described Surya Namaskar as against Islam and said that it will harm Islam religion.
The organization wrote a lengthy letter to the state government regarding the objections. It said that it is a form of “Surya puja which is not allowed in Islam”. “In Islam, worshipping Sun as a deity is not allowed. Therefore, the government should withdraw the order while respecting the secular values of the Constitution. If the government is really concerned about the country, they should focus on real problems plaguing the country such as rising unemployment, inflation, devaluation of rupee, communal disharmony, security of country’s borders etc.,” the letter said.
However, the Uttar Pradesh government seems to be standing firm by its decision. Mohsin Raza, a minister in the Uttar Pradesh government told AIMPLB that this opposition is not justified at all and called the objection as unrestrained, absurd and baseless. Mr. Raza said that our Islam is very strong. Surya Namaskar Asana will give immense physical and mental energy to our new generation, which will also increase the self-strength of our youth.
Mr. Raza’s argument also supports those opinions and votes under which the United Nations unanimously passed a resolution in 2015 declaring June 21 as “International Day of Yoga”.
In the early days, some Muslim countries opposed it, but now there is no opposition. The whole world has accepted Yoga as a great culture. Yoga, Pranayama classes are being conducted on a large scale in Arab countries as well. Similarly, maulanas who know Islam know that their namaz style includes yoga asanas. Hence, it is said that those who pray five times Namaz receive the blessings of God with peace and satisfaction in life. The difference is clear, those who pray will be relatively calm and good for them & for society also.
If we talk about the AIMPLB opposing the Surya Namaskar decision, we can clearly say that it is the only job of such institutions to create negativity in society in the name of religion, not for integrated development of the nation. But nowadays, young Muslims have become more careful and educated than before, they will not be misled by such conservative institutions. Everyone knows that AIMPLB and institutions like them try to bring religion topics unnecessarily to interrupt the development work of the government. But this is not going to work anymore in the country, as we know it.
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