"It is not just Modi, but the entire Gujarati society has moved on, and is reconstructing a new equation with Muslims. After 2002, we took it upon ourselves to ensure that no Muslim child would be deprived of education simply because his or her family can not afford the fees or buy books. Many Hindus gave us money for it. For example, at the start when we sponsored a Muslim girl’s education in a medical college, one of my Hindu friends said that he will pay for that semester’s fee for the girl. That really boosted my morale and convinced me that humanitarian spirit is alive even in Gujarat. Those who say that there is a lot of Hindu-Muslim hatred in Gujarat are perpetuating a myth. That hostility stayed alive for some time after the riots. Even after 2002, once things settled down and the ice was broken, it is Hindus who extended help to Muslims to rebuild their lives. How much can the Muslims do alone?... Hundreds of Hindu families came for our daughter’s wedding. As the state is experiencing genuine social peace and security, inter-community relations have become far more relaxed. I tell my fellow Muslims, we also must take the initiative to promote social interaction. Muslims cannot continue to live in an alienated, insulated manner. We have not made much effort to familiarise our Hindu brothers about our culture....But today such social interaction has begun to take place all over Gujarat because the ruling party is not acting as a divisive force. It is providing a sense of security by upholding the rule of law. People don’t view each other with as much suspicion as they did when riots were engineered routinely."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Zafar Sareshwala, quoted in Kishwar, Madhu (2014). Modi, Muslims and media: Voices from Narendra Modi's Gujarat. p.350-352
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Hindu%E2%80%93Islamic_relations
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Hindu–Islamic relations
114 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Hindu–Islamic relations →
Related Quotes
"Whenever the Muharram… chances to coincide with Hindu festivals, such as the Ramnavmi or the birth of Rama, the Chara…"
"If the kings of Islam, with all their majesty and power, take for granted infidelity and infidels, polytheism and pol…"
"Mahmud utterly ruined the prosperity of the country, and performed there wonderful exploits, by which the Hindus beca…"
"Hindu sciences have retired far away from those parts of the country conquered by us, and have fled to places which o…"
"They [Hindus] totally differ from us in religion, as we believe in nothing in which they believe, and vice versa.… Th…"
"[The Vijayanagar kings allowed] that every man may come and go, and live according to his own creed without suffering…"
"A European traveller named Barbosa who observed goings-on in Vijayanagara described the king as allowing great freedo…"
"The Brahmans, says Ibn Batitah, “are revered by the infidels and inspire hatred in the Muslims” (p. 188)."
"[In the original edition of the novel Sitaram, the Fakir says:] Son, I hear that you have come to found a Hindu domin…"
"As early as in the time of Sultan Iltutmish (1210-1236), soon after the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate in 1206,…"