Al Jazeera’s motivated questions aimed at BJP spokesperson Shazia Ilmi took no one by surprise and have instead only confirmed the Qatar-based channel’s hatred for Hindu-majority India. What has become the talking point instead is Shazia’s to-the-point and gracefully delivered answers to Al Jazeera’s motivated questions.
Speaking about the Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha, the news anchor asked if the ceremony is part of temple politics. Shazia rubbished the same and said that Lord Ram cannot be relegated as merely a religious figure.
Enjoy, how Al Jazeera researchers miss the ball so completely while trying to corner Shazia Ilmi, an erudite soldier of the BJP, the world’s largest political party
— Rohit Bansal 🇮🇳 (@theRohitBansal) January 28, 2024
Unsurprising, how the anchorman’s questions betray prejudice, ignorance AND beyond
Sample:
1. Pran pratishthan… pic.twitter.com/cAkdWGKP8j
“It’s a very important day for India. And it ends all the rancour and contention there has been around this issue. If you want to understand Lord Ram, I must tell you that you can’t relegate Lord Ram as just a religious figure. That would indeed diminish His contribution and he understanding of Lord Ram in the entire civilisational ethos of this country,” she said.
Shazia also said that Al Jazeera had cherry-picked facts and quoted such members of the Muslim society and others who see the Ram Mandir as a threat. She said that all Indians who grew up in the syncretic Indian culture look up to Lord Ram.
Interrupting her, the anchor asked, “What message do you think it sends to build a temple on the site of a former mosque?” to which Shazia had just the answer.
“On the contrary in fact, the temple was broken by Mir Abi Bir (Mir Baqui), who was the commander-in-chief of Babur, the first Mughal emperor invader of India. And a mosque was made and this temple was razed. This is why this has been a part of the national consciousness of India and all its people. There are Muslim writers who see Lord Rama has a saint of Muslims too. A historical wrong has been corrected. And not just that, this has only come after the orders of a Supreme Court verdict. This fight has gone on since the 16th century when a mosque was erected atop a mandir,” she said.
The third motivated question from Al Jazeera was if the Ram Mandir was a “vote-getter” for the BJP and Narendra Modi in the election year.
Shazia said, “To be honest, yes you can’t undermine the fact that this will yield electoral dividends to the BJP but this has been part of BJP’s manifesto since 1990, ever since the entire movement on Ram Temple has begun.”
She also mentioned that Muslims too were given 5 acres of land by the SC and that Babri is not even a revered place like Mecca, Medina or Al Aqsa whereas Ayodhya itself is the birthplace of Lord Ram.
The Al Jazeera anchor then played up the Muslim victim card saying that the place for Muslims has been shrinking.
Shazia denied the insinuation and said that all is done in accordance of law. She reiterated that the Ram Mandir was built in accordance with the Supreme Court judgment.
The anchor interrupted and said that he is asking a political question about the “balance in the country between the communities”.
“The Muslim side accepted the SC verdict. This does not undermine secularism and the rule of law,” Shazia said. “We adhere to the Constitution of this country,” she said.
The anchor insisted that Shazia answer the question on whether this hinders the balance between communities.
She said, “There is complete balance between communities. Under PM Modi’s leadership, Muslims have benefitted the most. Muslims are only 14% of Indian population but 30% beneficiaries of central schemes are Muslims.”
“There is no discrimination whatsoever. This is a sacred place. It is the birthplace of Lord Rama. The Archaeological Survey of India has found the remains of Hindu temple. I think this is a moment of jubilation and end of hostilities,” Shazia concluded.
Al Jazeera and the Western media’s coverage of the Pran Pratistha has been heavily hateful, anti-India and anti-Hindu. They have historically never minced their words in downplaying India’s Hindu identity, in demonising it and even terming it as fringe.
