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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Educated Muslims being hounded: Owaisi

Mumbai: AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi has flayed what he termed as a ‘media trial’ in the alleged TCS Nashik conversion case and claimed that educated Muslims youth are being deliberately targeted as part of planned ‘hate campaign’, here on Saturday. Reiterating full faith in the judicial process, Owaisi said that justice cannot be handed out through media narratives or television debates and the law must be allowed to take its own course. “We are seeing a very dangerous trend… Now,...

Educated Muslims being hounded: Owaisi

Mumbai: AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi has flayed what he termed as a ‘media trial’ in the alleged TCS Nashik conversion case and claimed that educated Muslims youth are being deliberately targeted as part of planned ‘hate campaign’, here on Saturday. Reiterating full faith in the judicial process, Owaisi said that justice cannot be handed out through media narratives or television debates and the law must be allowed to take its own course. “We are seeing a very dangerous trend… Now, educated Muslims are being picked out for orchestrated allegations and media campaigns. This doesn’t augur well for society and justice itself with the media playing the role of the judge and jury,” said Owaisi sharply. Flanked by the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen state President Imtiaz Jaleel, Owaisi also emphatically said that it was wrong to link his party with the TCS case prime accused Nida Khan, “who will be ultimately proven innocent in the courts”. He expressed concerns over the slur campaign driven by malice and political motives against his party as well as Nida Khan in some sections of the media even before the investigations were completed or a judicial scrutiny. “Merely because some allegations have been hurled at a young woman professional, attempts are being made to paint her ‘guilty’ through media trials, even before judicial scrutiny. But, we have complete faith in the judiciary and are confident that the court will eventually exonerate her,” asserted Owaisi. Public Discourse Raising questions on the probe and accompanying public discourse with stress on the alleged recovery of certain ‘evidence’ from Nida Khan’s home, he sharply questioned: “Since when have a burqa, a niqab or religious literature become objectionable… Is wearing a hijab now regarded as evidence of a crime?” He said that these details along with baseless allegations are sensationalism in the media to create further prejudice against the minority community and reflected a deep-rooted hostility aimed at harassing educated Muslim men and women. Owaisi pointed out that a complaint in the TCS Nashik case was filed by a leader linked with the ruling party, and as per the software giant’s statement, Nida Khan was not with its HR Department and transferred even before the controversy erupted, contradicting several media reports. Of the nine cases lodged in the matter till date, in one case, she was accused of hurting religious sentiments, but nobody can comment on it before the court pronounces its verdict, he pointed out. Court Fight Dismissing attempts to drag and link the AIMIM into the row, he referred to a party Municipal Corporator Matin Patel who was booked merely on the basis of certain allegations and vowed to contest the matter in the court. Here Owaisi cited multiple examples of educated Muslims being scrutinised – including in Delhi when some educated youths were arrested for possessing a book by the legendary Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib and they were later released. There was another one from Allahabad where some Muslim boys were targeted for writing an Urdu ‘sher’ (couplet) prompting judicial intervention, and predicted that even in the Nashik TCS case, the truth will ultimately prevail as no criminal charges against Nida Khan may stand. AIMIM to set up voter help-desks AIMIM President and Hyderabad MP, Asaduddin Owaisi said his party is developing a digital application containing electoral records of all 288 Assembly constituencies in Maharashtra for 2002-2024, to help voters in the SIR process. For this, the AIMIM will set up help desk centers in its strongholds to facilitate the process and ensure proper utilisation of voter data. Alleging discrepancies in electoral records, he said such errors create huge problems for the voters, especially the poor or illiterates. Owaisi mentioned how of the nearly 27 lakh names placed in the adjudication list in West Bengal, “90 pc were poor Muslims.” These centers would be open for all Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Dalits, Adivasis and the general public needing assistance with the electoral records.

Bhagwan Mahavira’s Timeless Message

In a world threatened by war and violence, Bhagwan Mahavira’s principle of Ahimsa Parmo Dharma is more relevant than ever. 

In his volume Our Oriental Heritage, Will Durant points out that the 6th century BC witnessed a protest against prevailing evils.


In that backdrop, Mahavira travelled throughout the country and preached in Ardhamagadi, the people’s language. His pravachanas truly manifest his ideas, and they were popular in Indian languages, enriching the Prakrit language, particularly in Maharashtra, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan, as well as in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.


It was in this same spirit of reform that, in India, Bhagwan Mahaveer and Bhagwan Gautam Buddha protested the established orders of Vaidik religion, which was losing grace as several defects had crept into the system. A contemporary of Lord Buddha, Mahavira belonged to the great age of spiritual reform in ancient India. The yagya system had become violent, and animal sacrifices had begun.


After the criticism of these new prophets, all these defects in the Indian religious system were slowly minimised.


Both the new religions were based on the principles of truth and nonviolence. Protest against evils, while remaining rooted in the original, was an important feature of these reform movements.


In today’s world, when the United Nations appears redundant and the threat of war and violence looms large, the relevance of Mahavira’s ideas grows stronger.


The Russia-Ukraine war and the Hamas-Israel conflict are pushing humanity towards the danger of a third world war. Against this backdrop, Mahavira’s ideas acquire renewed meaning.


The Path of Enlightenment

Mahavira’s entire life was dedicated to philosophical enlightenment, based mainly on the two principles of truth and non-violence.


In his autobiography My Experiments with Truth, Mahatma Gandhi rightly accepted that he was deeply influenced by the life and vision of Lord Mahavira.


Born in 599 BC to King Siddharth and Queen Trishala, Mahavira left home at the age of 30 for meditation. After 13 years of severe penance, he attained Keval Dhyan and revitalised Jainism, founded by Rishabhdev.


Among the 24 Tirthankaras, Mahavira holds a supreme place and is often described as the real founder of Jainism, responsible for socialising its philosophy.


Truth and Non-Violence

Mahavira attained Keval Gyan, or final truth, after 13 years of hard penance. That marked the beginning of his enlightenment.


After this, Mahavira toured India extensively and propagated his ideas in a dynamic and robust manner, receiving a tremendous response across the country.


The philosophy of Mahavira was mainly based on the three jewels, or Ratnatraya — Samyak Gyan (right knowledge), Samyak Darshan (right vision) and Samyak Charitra (right conduct).


He also believed in the principles of Panchsheel, especially Satya (truth) and Ahimsa (non-violence). He proclaimed, 'Ahimsa Parmo Dharma' – non-violence is the supreme principle of religion.


He developed the theory of Anekantvad, or many-sided reality, and stressed balance between man and nature, the animal cycle and the life cycle, with non-violence as the fundamental principle of the cosmos.


Legacy of Mahavira

Mahavira consolidated Jain philosophy and, through his samavasaran, crystallised Jain doctrine on humanitarian values. Though Jainism later developed into Digambara and Shwetambara traditions, Mahavira remained the central spiritual force for both. He believed Jain religion and culture formed a fully developed religious system.


The three basic objectives of Jain art were vivek, soundarya and utkarsh. During his travels, he is also believed to have met Lord Buddha. Both had common aims, and thus Jainism and Buddhism grew side by side in ancient India, widening the tradition of truth and non-violence.


Centres of Jain art and culture developed across India. It is interesting that Chandragupta Maurya, the first great empire builder of India, is said to have embraced Jainism at the end of his life. After a drought in Magadha, he travelled to Karnataka. Dr V. A. Smith said this royal ascetic migration was not a myth but based on solid facts.


The study of Mahavira’s life, philosophy and iconography reveals the enduring power of his ideas and helps us understand his contribution in a more systematic and scientific manner. In ancient India, Jainism developed an independent lifestyle, and its values shaped agriculture, industry, education, medicine, yoga and even aesthetics.


The study of Mahavira’s life and work was first undertaken by the German scholar Hermann Jacobi, whose writings helped secure worldwide recognition for Mahavira’s greatness.


Mahavira was a great spiritual communicator whose ideas remain immortal and relevant even today. His message of truth and non-violence gave a new direction to society. In a world threatened by war and violence, his principle of Ahimsa Parmo Dharma is more relevant than ever. His message of peace and non-violence will continue to inspire India and the world.


 (The writer is a researcher and expert in foreign affairs.  Views personal.)

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