"Twenty years ago I had been invited to a seminar on Hurdles To Secularism... There were four or five Muslim participants present in that seminar.... They were invited to speak next. But they all smiled and said that they had nothing to add to what their ‘Hindu brethren’ had already said so ‘loudly and so lucidly’. And then all of a sudden I saw some fireworks from the same silent and satisfied Islamic fraternity. They had all stood up, shaking with uncontrollable rage, and were shouting at the same time, “He is lying!” They were pointing their fingers at the gentleman who had been invited to speak by the president, and who had said only a few sentences. ... This was the late Hamid Dalwai. I had heard of him. But this was the first time I saw him. He was a tall man with a slight stoop, a smiling face, and a rather relaxed self-possession. He was saying, “All that has been said about Hindu communalism today is nothing new. We have heard it for the nth time. The intention of the working paper of this seminar, however, was to highlight for the first time what has so far been ignored by all progressive people who swear by secularism. What I want to expose today is Muslim communalism which has already divided the motherland, and which is still strong enough to poison our body-politic…” It was at this point that the Muslim gentlemen had stood up and started shouting... All hell now broke loose as the Islamic fraternity stood up again, and started shouting that they had not come to the seminar to be insulted by “a hired hoodlum of the RSS fascists”. JP could restrain them no more, and declared the proceedings closed with a note of anguish in his voice."
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Social activistsWomen's rights activistsJournalists from IndiaSocialist feministsHistorians from India
Original Language: English
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About Hamid Dalwai at a seminar. Goel, S. R. (1994). Defence of Hindu society.
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Hamid_Dalwai
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Hamid Dalwai
Hamid Umar Dalwai (20 September 1932 – 3 May 1977) was a Muslim social reformer, thinker, activist and Marathi language writer in Maharashtra, India.
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