Festivals in India have traditionally been syncretic affairs. Hindus attend Iftar parties, Muslims and Sikhs celebrate Diwali, and both Hindus and Muslims celebrate Christmas with India’s minuscule Christian community.
But a dark shadow has now fallen across this centuries-old eclecticism.
Radicalised Hindu youth who have partaken deeply of anti-Muslim propaganda over the last ten years via mainstream TV, social media, and large parts of the print media, now ‘celebrate’ festivals like Ram Navami by dancing in front of mosques to the music and lyrics of explicitly communal songs. These young people also try to plant saffron flags on those mosques and do their utmost to provoke those within. In Ratnagiri, Maharashtra on Wednesday, an attempt was made to ram the gates of a mosque.
Festivals were meant to bring about confluence. Today they are being used to foment conflict. The latest target is Holi.
Consider Bisfi-Madhubani BJP MLA, Haribhushan Thakur Bachaul’s, abhorrent ‘appeal’ to Muslims on March 10:
“I want to appeal to Muslims, there are 52 jummas (Fridays) in a year. One of them coincides with Holi. So, they should let Hindus celebrate the festival and not take offence if colours are smeared on them. If they have such a problem, they should stay indoors. This is essential for maintaining communal harmony.” (PTI)
This veiled threat has evoked a strong rebuke from Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav:
“BJP MLA (Haribhushan Thakur) Bachol has asked Muslim brothers not to come out on Holi. Who is he and how can he say such things? … This is a country that believes in ‘Ram and Rahim’. This is Bihar. He needs to understand that here five-six Hindus will protect one Muslim brother.”
Meanwhile in Sambhal, UP, Circle Officer Anuj Chaudhary has also told Sambhal’s Muslims not to step out for Friday prayers on Holi if they do not wish to get smeared by Holi colours. This, against the backdrop of not just five Muslims killed in police firing barely four months ago, but also the more recent humiliation of having to get court permission for the annual Ramzaan whitewashing of the Jama Masjid in Sambhal!
As if that were not enough, UP chief minister Adityanath has also told Muslims in UP that there is no need for them to go to the mosque on Friday the 14th as it is Holi! (He has justified Anuj Chaudhary’s belligerence by saying, “He is, after all, a wrestler and an Arjuna awardee.”)
It seems the powers that be are hell-bent on destroying all that is still syncretic and harmonious in India.
Perhaps those who want to force-fit festivals into tight religious boxes would do well to remember Aaj Rang Hai, a qawwali sung by the 13th century Sufi poet and mystic Amir, Khusrau for his spiritual master, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya. Legend has it that Khusrau met his master on the day of Holi and wrote the qawwali in his honour.
Let that sink in. A song about Holi, a Hindu festival, composed by a Muslim Sufi poet.
Aaj rang hai hey maa, rung hai ri
Moray mehboob kay ghar rang hai ri
Sajan milaavra, sajan milaavra,
Sajan milaavra moray aangan ko
Aaj rang hai…
Mohay pir paayo Nijamudin aulia
Nijamudin aulia mohay pir payoo
Des bades mein dhoondh phiree hoon
Toraa rang man bhayo ri…
Jag ujiyaaro, jagat ujiyaaro,
Main to aiso rang aur nahin dekhi ray
Main to jab dekhun moray sung hai,
Aaj rang hai hey maa, rang hai ri.
The English translation of this qawwali by Maaz Bin Bilal reads thus:
There’s colour today, O mother, there’s a glow today,
In my beloved’s home there’s new colour today.
I’ve met my beloved, I’ve found him,
In my own yard,
It’s radiant today!
There’s colour today, O mother, there’s a glow today.
I’ve discovered my saint, Nizamuddin Aulia,
Nizamuddin Aulia, he is my saint!
I have travelled far and wide, here and abroad,
Searching,
It’s your person, your glow that’s tinged my heart.
You’ve lit up the world, the universe is lit,
Never have I seen such splendour,
Whenever I look around, he’s there with me.
There’s colour today, O mother, there’s a glow today.’
Amir Khusrau’s ‘Holi qawwali’ is an exuberant celebration of the soul finding joy, meaning and peace in union with the divine. The Sufi tradition’s emphasis on simplicity, kindness and generosity to all, regardless of religion, is echoed in Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya’s emphasis on love as a means of realising God.
For him, love for God implied love for humanity.,
Perhaps if those who claim to be ‘real’ Hindus (but who spend their time vandalising mosques and persecuting Muslims) were to, by some miracle, realise that love for God is love for all humanity, they might just find the peace and satisfaction that has eluded them thus far.
Rohit Kumar is an educator, author and independent journalist and can be reached at letsempathize@gmail.com.
This piece was first published on The India Cable – a premium newsletter from The Wire & Galileo Ideas – and has been updated and republished here. To subscribe to The India Cable, click here.
