Talibani Farmans From Moradabadi Mullahs

First let me confess, I am from Moradabad, a city known for it's exclusive siyah kalam brass art work world over. The annual export from this city to the tune 



of Rs 4000 Crore. A city with Ganga Jamuni tahjeeb, rich of common heritage, in the year 1857 the Gadar was lead here by Nawab Majju Khan. He fought with Britishers with the help of both Hindu and Muslims, but due to a infidel he was trapped by Britishers and put in chuna bhatti. As a testimony of his shahadat Galshaheed looms large. I do not know how many young citizens of the day know about Nawab Sahab. This city also has produced renowned Urdu poet Jigar Moradabadi who has writteb gems like :

" Tujhi se ibtada hai tu hi ik din intaha hoga
sada-e-saz hogi aur na saz-e-besada hoga
hamen malum hai hum se suno mahashar mein kya hoga
sab us ko dekhte honge wo hamako dekhata hoga
sar-e-mahashar hum aise aasiyon ka aur kya hoga
dar-e-jannat na va hoga dar-e-rahamat to va hoga
jahannum ho ki jannat jo bhi hoga faisala hoga
ye kya kam hai hamara aur us ka samana hoga
nigah-e-qahar par hi jan-o-dil sab khoye baitha hai
nigah-e-mehar aashiq par agar hogi to kya hoga
ye mana bhej dega hum ko mahashar se jahannum mein
magar jo dil pe guzaregi wo dil hi janata hoga
samajhata kya hai tu divanagana-e-ishq ko zahid
ye ho jayenge jis janib usi janib khuda hoga
“jigar” ka hath hoga hashr mein aur daman-e-hazarat
shikayat ho ki shikwa jo bhi hoga baramala hoga"

 City also boasts producing  exceptionally talented Muslim actor of Parsee Theatre, Master Fida Hussain better known as Narsee Bhagat. Now a days the local member of parliament from this area is noted cricketer Mohd Azharuddin.

I am away from my city but through my connections I live this city at every moment, yeh shahar meri Sananso men basta hai. But today I am really disturbed, shocked and ashamed to read in a newspaper that clerics in 30 Muslim dominated villages of newly craved Sambhal District (erstwhile part of Moradabad) pronounced Talibani Farman from village mosques to boycott the polio immunisation drive in their villages. They want to pressurise the government to remain as a part of Moradabad district. The buck does not stop here, they further asked people not to send their children to schools, ban entry of politicians into their villages, stop going to political rallies. They also made provision of fine if the villagers do not follow the diktats. This is happening in secular country and that too in my own area.

I think that these clerics have misinterpreted meaning of secularism. Whatever is the issue but by stopping the polio drive, they are not only putting children of their villages at risk but also other children in the country since polio virus knows no geographical boundaries. If there is an outbreak in my district, it is sure to spread to not only other areas in the country but also across the international borders. The eradication of polio has been one of India's very few public health success stories but these so called religious zealots putting that at risk. The biggest challenge for polio eradication, particularly in UP was resistance from Muslim community in the name of religion rumours that pig fat in it, the immunisation programme was a device to control their population. To get around the problem, the government approached Ulema Committee in 2004 and in fact they started announcing the immunisation dates after the Friday prayers. Some of the camps were held inside the mosques.

Let the government of Akhilesh Yadav (read Mulayam Singh Yadav) should act tough, put an end to this kind of blackmail in the name of religion. Okay fine, there are issues in the civil societies, these should be taken up in a civil manner. The Akhilesh government has to understand that any kind of fanatic activity in the name of religion has no place in secular society.Let my area should remain an example of Ganga Jamuna tahjeeb not of Talibani farmans.