In a disconcerting video that emerged on Saturday, one of the co-organisers of the Shaheen Bagh protest, Sharjeel Imam, was seen instigating Muslims to flare up riots across the country. Addressing an audience, Sharjeel admitted that the protests happening across the country has communal undertones while exhorting Muslims to be a force to reckon with and shun secularism, that is responsible for the plight of Muslims for the last 70 years. Sharjeel also claimed that the Father of Nation- Mahatma Gandhi was the biggest fascist of the 20th century and the earliest enabler of the Hindu Rashtra.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkoiaxnbXcw]
Lashing out at the left and the CPI (M), Imam affirmed that these parties have always been against the Muslims and the wretched condition of Muslims in West Bengal and Kerala is testimony to it. He criticised CPI(M) as one of the most violent parties and claimed that the CPI(M) members who engage in violence absconded the JNU when the law enforcement agencies came in the University, leaving the innocent students to suffer the beatings.
“Left had never been with Muslims. Look at West Bengal and Kerala. They have staunchly fought against implementing Mandal commission. They were against reservations for Muslims. Backward Muslims were counted as Generals. For the last 70 years, they have stifled the growth of Muslims,” Imam said.
Sharjeel Imam said that Muslims should not fear that their movement will be called communal. He said Muslims should try to get non-Muslims to join the movement, but they should do so on the conditions of Muslims. ‘Now it is time to say to non-Muslims that if you sympathise with us, stand with us on our conditions. If you don’t agree with our condition, you are not sympathiser of Muslims,’ he asserted.
In addition, Imam laid bare the elaborate plan of the Islamists to severe Assam and the North East from the rest of India. He stated that Muslims should take control of Chicken Neck, a narrow stretch of land of about 22 kilometres located in the Indian state of West Bengal, that connects India’s northeastern states to the rest of India, so that Armed Forces cannot reach the North-East and the passage to Assam can be blocked.
“If 5 lakhs Muslims are organised then we can cut the North-east from rest of India. If we cannot do permanently, at least we can cut North-east from India for months. Our responsibility is to cut the Assam from India then Govt will hear our voice. If we have to help the Assam then we will have to cut the Assam from rest of India,” Imam said.
Making a shocking revelation, Sharjeel Imam said that the Muslims have gathered at Shaheen Bagh not for CAA, not to save the constitution. Many of the crowd don’t even know what is CAA and NRC. But now as Muslims have come onto the streets, they are charged, they must be incited further, he said. This is not about CAA, it is about long term injustice done against Muslims, he added.
In an oblique reference to ruinous riots, Imam said that if Muslims do not organise and respond in an unorganised way against this long term injustice, then nobody will save them. Calling upon the Muslims to stage an organised protest, Imam stated that since the people are out on streets against the citizenship law, Muslims should exploit this opportunity and not only educate the protestors on the controversial provisions of CAA, NRC but also about Nelli massacre and Enemy Property Act etc.
Alleging that both judiciary and executive have been prejudiced against Muslims, Imam contended that the judiciary and executive both were more impartial during the British rule than in independent India. “Muslims never got independence. After Independence, an Enemy community was foisted upon the Muslims,” he said.
Imam also alleged that the successive Indian governments after 1950 were much more colonial and biased against Muslims than the last 50 years of the British rule. “Compared to what came after 1950 has been clearly more colonial than the last 50 years of British colonial rule. We (Muslims) should say this without hesitation that we were put through a severe colonial rule after 1950,” Imam said.
Talking about the plan going forward, Imam exhorted the Muslims to create an “Intellectual cell” in which there should be no attachment towards Gandhi, Nation and such similar things and there should be clarity among the Muslims that these are their “enemies”. Imam also stated that the founder of the Pakistan, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, was a moderate as opposed to extremist, as he is fancied in the historical context.
“We (Muslims) should all know that Gandhi was the biggest fascist of the 20th century. Who brought the concept of ‘Ram Rajya’ to the fore? Who converted the Congress party into a Hindu Party? Who floated the concept of moderate nationalism and extremist nationalism? Jinnah was a moderate nationalist,” Imam said.
The former JNU student excoriated past Muslim leaders, especially the Deobandi Muslim section for supporting Congress on the issue of Cow Protection. “The support of prominent Muslim leaders and Deobandi Muslim section for cow protection during the time of independence has proven to be a bane for the Muslims today. Unlike Deobandi, Barelvi Muslim section, which was often dismissed as British agents, firmly stood against the cow protection which was brought by Gandhi and Congress,” Imam said.
Imam also spoke against the “Nation of India”, calling it a “fascist project”. According to him, no intellectual can support the fascist idea of supporting the nation of India. He continued stating that an illusion has been created about this concept by the historians and Muslims should not buy into this notion. “The history of Indian Muslims has never been written. It won’t be written until we take the initiative of writing it. So far, our history has been distorted and it will continue to remain distorted till the history is written by these lackeys of Gandhi,” Imam said.
Criticising the month-long protests in Jamia, Imam said that students of Jamia are indulging in a futile exercise by protesting inside the university. Alluding students to foment anarchy in Delhi, he urged the students to hit the streets and canvass support for the cause from the residents of Delhi and bring the city to a “stop” instead of proceeding with this mindless protests inside the university.
