In this book, I sensed a vision for the future of the Muslims in India that Mushirul Hasan must have dreamt of. He wanted Muslims to be a securer of justice not only for Muslims but also for the non-Muslims of the world. This is a message for global peace and communal harmony.
It encompasses about two hundred years of British imperial history, leaving out the depredations of the empire in North America . It is a sordid tale of violence shellacked over with propaganda, hubris, racism, a willingly compliant press, and an ignorant domestic audience.
Promoting social harmony among all religious groups was the keynote of Syed Ahmad’s mission. He once wrote, “A life devoted to good deeds is better than a thousand acts of devotion and piety.”
The memoir elaborates in detail on how the essence of Hindu communalism is social exclusion, while the essence of Ambedkarism lies in social inclusion.
In these strange times, even universities and the students are being targeted. Reading provides a refuge, or as some may call it, an escape from the everyday theaters of eccentricities and violence. It was a respite to pick up The Nehrus in Prison (2016) by Mushirul Hasan.
There are two definitions of identity politics. The first is the effort to secure the rights denied to some on the basis of their identity—defensive identity politics. The second is that which seeks domination on the basis of identity—aggressive identity politics. Aggressive identity politics espoused by the majority is thought to be ‘natural and benign’. And identity politics, as practised by the blacks, the Asians, the minorities and the disadvantaged, is thought to be ‘dangerous, indulgent and damaging’.
It explores the everyday Hindu-Muslim strifes in the U.K (Upar Kot, not to be confused with the United Kingdom), a part of the town of Aligarh (130 kms southeast of Delhi) in Uttar Pradesh, since the 1990s.
