Community under siege

Rakhi Chakrabarty Azamgarh / Delhi

Three-year-old Musab was playing barefooted in the dusty lanes of Sanjarpur, a non-descript village of Azamgarh in eastern UP. As soon as he heard the name of his elder brother, Saif, he stopped and gaped at the stranger in his mohalla, wide-eyed. He looked around as if expecting someone. A moment later, he ran to his father, Shadab Ahmed, and cried, "Take me to Saif bhai."

Once, his father did take Musab to Varanasi to meet his Saif bhai. That was the first time the 3-year-old saw that even people lived in 'cages'. Saif bhai was in a cage, that is, a lock-up for prisoners. Little Musab is too young to know, Saif bhai is a "dreaded terrorist" to the world. He was arrested after the Batla House encounter on September 19 last year. Saif is an accused in a series of blasts including those in Delhi and Ahmedabad.

A mention of his village, Sanjarpur, or neighbouring Sarai Meer or even district Azamgarh evokes only negative reactions - ranging from fear to suspicion to animosity. These places shot to infamy after it was alleged that youths from here were involved in blasts in Delhi, Jaipur and Ahmedabad.

At Sarai Meer, as soon as Razia Ameen heard that the visitor to her house is a reporter from a magazine in Delhi, she broke down. Not again. Ever since her son, Atif, was killed in the Batla House encounter, the family has been in the media spotlight. Razia has not been able to mourn the horrifying death of her 24-year-old son in solitude.

"Once you have labelled a boy terrorist, his mother can't shed tears even if her child has been killed. Nobody will come out to offer her consolation," said Dr Shahid Badar Falahi, former national president of SIMI (Students' Islamic Movement of India). The organisation was banned in 2001. In the media, SIMI is almost synonymous to an outfit peddling terror.

And, Shahid Badar, who was released after spending about two-and-a-half years in jail, "has been through the travails of being a Muslim". He had been charged with treason, spreading communal hatred and disaffection. Currently, there is one case against him. He runs Unani medicine clinics at Azamgarh and Mubarakpur in UP. According to security agencies, Badar is a moderate activist of the proscribed organisation which allegedly has links with Lashkar-e-Taiba.

An entire community is under siege. With elections looming in the horizon, it's time to retrospect and give vent to pent-up anger. And, the Muslim community is seething with rage.

As Arshad Alam, who teaches society and culture at Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi, put it, "The community is gripped by a sense of siege. More than anger, there is frustration at the way Islam is being equated with terror or the way Muslims are being portrayed as a group of people who are violent. It's a global phenomenon, but it's happening in India, too."

Across the country, the Muslims are angry with politicians of all colours for using the community as fodder for vote-bank politics. They feel politicians have done precious little for their employment, education, healthcare or housing.Stereotyping of Muslims, suspicion of the involvement of members of the community in terror activities or even sympathising with terrorists, have added grave insult to injury. More so, in Azamgarh.

Azamgarh, which was dubbed a 'nursery of terrorism' in the wake of the Batla House encounter, has paid a heavy price for the terrorist attacks. The place mirrors the pan-Indian angst of the Muslims.