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Synopsis

It is of primary importance to sensitize the police force in all the States of India that Muslims situated in India are Indians, retired Supreme Court judge, Justice Rohintan F Nariman has said.

In his foreword to a report on the instances of communal violence during Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti processions that were taken out in April 2022, the ex-judge has said,

"Given the preamble and the Fundamental Duties chapter of the Constitution of India, I believe that it is of primary importance to sensitise the police force in all the States of India to these constitutional values and fundamental duties of the citizens. This can be done by first informing them that Muslims situated in India are Indians. For example, a Keralite Muslim is culturally akin to other Keralites and has little in common, culturally speaking ,with his Muslim brothers in the States of West Bengal or the Punjab, or globally with the Muslims in Iran and Saudi Arabia. As a matter of fact, the Keralite Muslim would have much more in common, culturally speaking, with the Keralite Hindus and Christians. It is therefore important to emphasize that Indian Muslims are not a homogeneous group of people but are divided into any number of sub-groups having cultural identities identical to other Indians consisting of different religious groups."

Nariman has added that once this basic fact is drilled into the police force in all the States, things could become much better.

Also some way must be found to stop political interference with the functioning of the police in all the States, he has said.

As per the ex-judge, all this should ensure a new beginning on the long and hard road to achieving fraternity, which will alone ensure the dignity of every individual citizen of India.

Justice Nariman has also emphasized on the duties of every citizen as given under Article 51A of the Constitution of India, i.e., to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem; to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women; to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture; and to safeguard public property and to abjure violence.