10th Anniversary Issue
August - September 2003 

Year 10    No.90-91
GRASSROOTS


 


‘A mission for justice and peace’

Abdul Kader Mukadam

It was sometime in 1992 that I was introduced to Javed Anand by a friend of mine. Ever since my first encounter with him, I had the feeling that we had something in common. I subsequently realised that it was his commitment to progressive and secular values, which not only drew us closer but also developed into a lasting friendship.

Those were the days after the Babri Masjid demolition and the holocaust that followed. The genocidal riots that erupted in many parts of the country had shaken the very basis of our multi-layered society. There had been occasional outbursts of communal violence in the post-Independence era. But there was a qualitative difference in the riots that erupted after the demolition of the Babri Masjid. There was large-scale polarisation of the two communities. The violence of those riots seriously threatened Mumbai. People were massacred and burnt alive and property worth crores of rupees was mercilessly destroyed.

The very existence of the Muslim minority was at stake. Worse still was the fact that the so-called educated Maharashtrian middle class had been totally communalised. Women were no exception. I have heard many of them justifying this violence on the ground that "they should be taught the lesson of their life."

The genesis of Communalism Combat, I think, lies in this highly explosive situation. For a sensitive person with a journalistic instinct like Javed Anand, it was impossible to remain untouched or unmoved by such horrendous happenings all around him. Fortunately, in Teesta he has found a supportive companion and a partner equally committed to the secular, progressive and anti-communal ideology. It was this commitment to secular values that probably motivated them to do something concrete to stop the wave of communalism that had shattered the hopes of a peaceful life for many in the country. This gave birth to Communalism Combat. Its first issue was published in August 1993.

Communalism Combat could not have come out at a more appropriate time. From the beginning, both Javed and Teesta had a clear idea of what they were going to do and the basic ideological approach to the problem of communalism, which they had decided to fight. The first essential of this fight was to be clear and unambiguous about the meaning and description of secularism and communalism. Secularism has been either wrongly defined or misused and misinterpreted, particularly by political leaders and parties, according to their need of the time. This has resulted in the loss of their credibility, enabling communal outfits such as the sangh parivar to call them pseudo-secularist, allowing them to indoctrinate the Hindu masses with the communal ideology of hatred and hostility towards the religious minorities.

True secularism calls for fighting bigots on both sides, saffron as well as green. A fatal error committed by the so-called political class as well as the liberals was that they condemned one but embraced the other. Communalism Combat and its editors, Javed and Teesta, have always refrained from following this attitude, wherein lies the effectiveness and impact of their policy and writings.

Fighting communalism has always remained Communalism Combat’s singular focus. It has been so since the first issue and has continued till today. There is no doubt that it will remain the same for the years to come. It is not an easy job. But the editors and their team’s uncompromising commitment to the cause will fulfil their mission.

In its policy and practice, Communalism Combat has accepted secularism to mean a clear separation between religion and politics, i.e., matters of faith and affairs of state. Communalism, on the other hand, is an ideology that infuses hate and hostility in the minds of people of one community against people of a different faith. As a secular and democratic organ, Communalism Combat has carried out a sustained ideological fight against communalism of all hues, irrespective of the religion in whose name efforts are made to legitimise anti-democratic and intolerant politics.

Even while criticising Hindu communalists it has never hesitated to condemn fundamentalist and communal forces in the Muslim community. It has also not spared communal politics in Pakistan or Bangladesh. The secret of its strength and credibility lies in its non-discriminatory approach to the communal problem in India as well as the inhuman and discriminatory treatment given to the minorities in those countries.

Commercially, it may be a tiny little magazine but its impact is tremendous. The case of Kutubuddin Ansari, a victim of last year’s Gujarat carnage, serves to bring home this point. The moment his plight was published in Communalism Combat, the government of West Bengal responded with the offer to take full responsibility and resettle Ansari and his family in Kolkata.

The Gujarat carnage was the climax of communal violence in the post-Independence era. It was probably the first and hopefully the last communal riot that was openly and unabashedly instigated and supported by the state government. It is an open secret that the entire government machinery, particularly the police force, was totally communalised. If recent happenings are anything to go by, even sections of the lower judiciary seem to have been affected by the communal virus.

The print media did publicise these inhuman happenings in Gujarat. However, next to the electronic media, it was Communalism Combat that put in focus the real magnitude of the genocide. When Gujarat was burning, the magazine’s co-editor, Teesta Setalvad, was camped in that state, moving from place to place at the risk of her life to gather first-hand information and to report every incident in its proper perspective. She deserves praise of the highest order for her missionary zeal and courage. This uncompromising commitment, dedication and honesty have always remained a tradition of the Communalism Combat family.

The magazine completes ten years of publication this month. It was not an easy job. Despite constraints and against all odds, it has continued its journey. Its valuable contribution to the welfare of the people of this multi-religious, multi-lingual and multi-cultural country will be remembered by generations to come.

I am proud and happy to say that I have been its reader since its very first issue. It has not only added to my knowledge but has given me a more mature outlook, to appreciate better the multi-layered and complex issue of communalism in its proper perspective. I wish Javed Anand, Teesta Setalvad and their team still greater success.


[ Subscribe | Contact Us | Archives | Khoj | Aman ]
[ Letter to editor  ]

Copyrights © 2003, Sabrang Communications & Publishing Pvt. Ltd.