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Area dignitary Chowdhry Wali Mohammad embraces Sohrab in show of Islamic brotherhood
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By
Zafarul-Islam Khan, IOL South Asia correspondent
NUH,
MEWAT, India, September 13 (IslamOnline) - Two Harijan families,
consisting of 40 members embraced Islam last month in two villages of
Mewat - Beersika and Tarrakpur in Nuh Tehsil – both Muslim-dominated
villages.
Unlike
other recent publicized events of conversion of Harijans to
Christianity and Buddhism, the Mewat conversions took place in total
secrecy. Even the villagers did not know until it was all over.
The
would-be converts, perhaps realizing the impending storm, kept it a
closely guarded secret. They had been contemplating the move for the
last 20 years and when they finally decided it was time, they went in
total secrecy to Delhi’s Jama Masjid and embraced Islam at the hands
of the influential Shahi Imam Ahmad Bukhari who issued them conversion
certificates. These certificates are prized possessions of these new
converts - in fact their passport to a new, free and equal life.
The
Muslim community had no inkling of these events in Mewat area which is
cut off from the outside world although it is just a stones throw from
the national capital. Regardless of the roads and electricity, which
are a gift of Bansilal’s ambitious plans to modernize Haryana, these
villages are still in the Mediaeval age. Their womenfolk still fetch
water from far-away wells and go to the jungle to collect dry wood to
use as fuel for cooking.
People
here are subsisting on small tracts of farms which barely produce
their food. Small farmers have no surplus to sell. The lot of
Harijans, or the so-called "untouchables," is even worse.
They are shunned socially by both Hindus and Muslims.
The
Hindustan Times of August 24 broke the story of their
conversion only partially. It spoke only of one village, Tarrakpur and
quoted a VHP and BJP local unit ultimatum which announced: "We
have decided to give two days to the district administration to rescue
the converted Hindu families from Muslim villages. Otherwise, we will
have to enter these villages," Attar Singh Bhagat, chief of the
local BJP unit was quoted as saying.
The
language was seriously alarming. Before we – at IslamOnline –
could think of where to turn, we received an SOS email from
"People of Mewat" which read as follows:
"In
Nuh subdivision villages of Beersika and Tarrakpur, 40 Harijans have
embraced Islam of their own will in the presence of Shahi Imam Ahmad
Bukhari in Delhi. They are living in their villages as Muslims and the
administration is harassing these new Muslims and respectable people
of these villages. Din Mohammad Sarpanch of Beersika has been
perpetually harassed by DSP Nuh.
"The
people of Mewat are very much annoyed by the action of the
administration as the DSP is asking the new convert Muslims to go
along with the RSS and Bajrang Dal people so that they may be
converted into Harijans again. People of Mewat are preparing to make
representation to the Minority Commission as they are afraid of the
dangerous attitude of the DSP Nuh and Sangh Parivar who are using
every means to convert these people back."
The
situation was serious and the least we could do was to cover it
ourselves so that the community and the country at large were made
aware of the trials and tribulations of oppressed people who, using
their fundamental right, decided to throw away thousands of years of
oppression and exploitation by higher castes.
We
replied to the email and soon came in contact with Chaudhry Wali
Mohammad, an important personality and lawyer of Mewat and his lawyer
son Tahir Husain.
Chaudhry
saheb is a well-known lawyer of Mewat and practices at Gurgaon – now
a suburb of Delhi. His son practices at the civil court in Nuh. Both
are proud Meos and committed Muslims.
While
this controversy was still brewing, Tahir Husain came in contact with
the new converts who told him of their woes and the attempts of the
local administration to intimidate them and coerce them to
"return" to the Hindu fold. He went to the DSP Nuh and
warned him to keep off these people; otherwise, he would take legal
steps against him and report him to the Minority Commission.
Through
the dusty lanes of the impoverished town of Nuh, we were led to the
house of Tahir Husain Advocate where his father Chauhdhry Wali
Muhammad saheb was waiting for us.
Accompanied
by Chauhdhry saheb and his advocate son, we proceeded to Beersika
village. Situated off a metalled road at a distance of around ten
kms from Nuh, it is an abode of around 2000 people with two Hindu
families. The third, Prabhu's, is now Muslim.
We
had to leave our car at the village entrance and walk through the
muddy lanes of the village to the modest mud courtyard of Prabhu (now
Sohrab).
An
old man of 80, Sohrab was alone. The rest of his family had gone to
another village for dawat,
or feast, which is a sumptuous lunch or dinner to celebrate a
special occasion. Almost every day, these people are invited to some dawat in the nearby villages.
We
were led to a baithak,
an area to receive guests and important visitors. Soon, Prabhu arrived
armed with the certificates issued by Imam Bukhari. Behind him arrived
the only sign of western influence out there - Pepsi Cola.
“Was
there any immediate reason for your family's conversion to Islam?” I
asked him.
“No,”
he answered. “We were contemplating this for the last 20 years. We
were not praying to any idol all these years. In fact, my wife was
secretly praying like Muslims for the last ten years. We were shabbily
treated by Hindus. We could not sit with them or fetch water from
their wells. We were in fact living like vermins of gutters. Living in
this very house was painful earlier but now it is paradise.
“It
was about six months back when we decided to become Muslims openly. We
discussed the matter between ourselves and on August 7 of this month
we went to Delhi's Jama Masjid where we all became Muslims and were
given Muslim names and these certificates.”
“Are
you facing any problems?”
“No
problems from the villagers here,” he answered. “They are treating
us like their brothers as you can see here. I am sitting with them as
you can see - something I could not even dream with Hindus. The only
problem we are facing is from the authorities. They want us to go back
to the Hindu fold. But why should we?
“DSP
[police chief] Nuh [Kuldeep Singh] and SDM [civil administrator]
Nuh [SP Sharma] threatened us to reconvert, but none of us will do it.
We are ready to face the worst punishment if we have done anything
wrong. Even in our dreams we cannot think of reconverting. I have only
one dream now: to die as a Muslim.
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Women of the convert family in trolley back from a celebration |
“The
officers in Nuh ask us to come to them to investigate and record our
statements. I have refused to go to them. I have not committed any
crime, then why should I go? If they want to record my statement let
them come here. They, in fact, came here twice and I told them that we
have become Muslims out of our own free will. No one has influenced
us.
“The
villagers here did not even know when we went to Delhi to convert.
What the RSS and VHP people are saying about Muslim pressure to
convert us is rubbish.
“We
have embraced Islam only after understanding fully this religion and
what we know about it is that it is the simplest and purest of
religions which teaches us tolerance and humanity.”
“How
do you feel now?”
“Thank
God. He has given us the courage and wisdom to convert to Islam –
the simplest and purest religion. It treats us equally. Now I sit,
drink and eat with other Muslims. This was not possible with upper
caste Hindus. Higher caste Hindus do not allow us to mix with them.
Eating and drinking with them was unthinkable. Even animals are
treated better than us by upper caste Hindus.”
Village
headman (sarpanch) Shahabuddin chips in.
“The
authorities are pressuring me to bring these people to them to record
their statements, but I am helpless as they refuse to go. We would
like to do more for this family, but due to the official pressure we
are hesitant,” says Shahabuddin.
“Former
village headman, Deen Mohammad, is more forthcoming. He has been
trying to help these people, but he finds the attitude of Meo elders
unhelpful. He was aghast when an important Meo politician told him,
‘What was the need for you to buy this trouble? Don't take interest
in such matters.’ But Deen Mohammad is adamant not to let the new
Muslims down in their hour of trouble with influential high caste
Hindus who are threatening them in many ways and are using the
official machinery to intimidate the converts.”
On
our way back, we came across a tractor crammed with people, mostly
women. Villagers accompanying us recognized them. These are the family
members of Sohrab who had gone for dawat, they told us. They had
stopped at the entrance of the village when people told them that some
strangers have come to see them. They thought we were government
people out to make trouble for them.
Sohrab's
son Hakeemuddin (previously Omkar) approached us in confidence. He is
a 50-year-old man in good health and full of youthful determination.
He repeated what his father had just told us in the village.
“Our
dreams have been fulfilled,” said Hakeemuddin with traces of paan
[beetel leaf] still in his mouth after the dawat. He repeated that
they had been thinking of converting to Islam for the last 20 years.
“Thank Allah that good sense prevailed and we were able to take a
decision finally to convert. We are ready to face the consequences to
any extent, but we will never go back to Hinduism which did not allow
us to do pooja (worship) together with others.”
“The
upper caste Hindus treated us worse than animals,” Hakeemuddin adds.
“By the grace of Allah we are now enjoying equal status with others.
Muslims are with us. They are giving us everything and most important
of all they are giving us love and affection. They are also helping us
to understand this religion better.”
But
life has not been easy for this family since their conversion and one
victim has been Hakeemuddin's son Tasleem (previously Sunil) who was
not allowed to enroll for class IX in a nearby school although he
had paid the fees. Teachers in his school say they do not want any
trouble with the administration and the RSS and VHP people who, they
claimed, were threatening them not to take Tasleem. The young boy is
now studying in a madrasah [Muslim religious school] in nearby Malab,
but he is determined to enroll in another school next year.
As
we talked, Hakeemuddin's 70-year old mother Sajeda (previously
Bharpani) approached us. She was among the women sitting in the
trolley. “I have been performing namaz [Muslim prayer] for the last
ten years,” she said. “I am glad to have become a Muslim. My only
prayer to Allah is to protect my religion and the Muslims,”
Other
male members of the family are now with the Tablighi Jamaat learning
the new religion. Hakeemuddin too will go out shortly into a Jamaat
when other males return to protect the family, which is determined to
stay on the course it has chosen for itself.
There
is a similar family in the nearby Tarrakpur village. They are related
to the Beersika family and their story and determination to stay on
course is every bit
