New Delhi, Sep 20 (IANS) Former Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari has triggered a row after citing a remark attributed to former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru about what he described as the perceived threat posed by “Hindu right-wing communalism”.
Ansari made the remarks while delivering an address at the third A.G. Noorani Memorial Lecture in New Delhi on September 18. The event, titled ‘Remembering a Polymath: The Life and Times of Abdul Ghafoor Noorani’, was organised to commemorate the life and work of the late jurist, constitutional expert and author A.G. Noorani.
Referring to Noorani’s 2019 book The RSS: A Menace to India, Ansari quoted a passage in which the author cited an observation attributed to Nehru from a meeting of Ministry of External Affairs officials. Former Foreign Secretary Jagat Singh Gundevia recorded the observation.
Quoting the passage, Ansari said: “The danger to India, mark you, it is not communism; it is Hindu right-wing communalism.”
Ansari said the trends discussed in this context sought to replace civic nationalism with what he termed “cultural nationalism”. He argued that such an approach could portray an electoral majority as a religious majority and create distinctions among citizens based on their faith.
The remarks drew a sharp response from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).
VHP spokesperson Vinod Bansal questioned Ansari’s comments and his political position.
Speaking to IANS, Bansal said, “Leaders like Hamid Ansari, who served as India’s ambassador in several countries, were given the position of Vice President twice and were respected by the country. But towards the end, he raised the issue of creating fear among Muslims.”
“When he was Vice President, how many times did he participate in programmes of terror organisations like PFI and SDPI? Everyone knows about the controversies surrounding him when he was an ambassador; I do not want to elaborate,” Bansal said.
The VHP spokesperson further said, “Today, he finds fault with the majority Hindu society — the very society that respected him and accepted him, and because of whose acceptance India has the world’s largest Muslim population and some of the largest numbers of mosques in the world. In which world is he living?”
“Hamed Ansari, we know that you can never feel indebted to the country. The country has given you so much, and now he is saying such derogatory things about the very nation. He should at least respect the constitutional post he once held,” he added.
The All India Imam Organisation also “strongly condemned” the former Vice President’s remarks.
All India Imam Organisation Chief Imam Umar Ahmed Ilyasi, speaking to IANS, said, “Hamid Ansari now wants to engage in politics in the name of Muslims, but when he held high posts, he did not remember Muslims. Today, he is remembering Muslims. Today, when Muslims are not asking about him, he feels that he should play politics using the name of Muslims.”
He said that the Muslim community is intelligent and understands such statements and the intentions behind them.
“I feel this looks like a big conspiracy or a plot to spoil the atmosphere in the country through such rhetoric. No Muslim agrees with this statement,” Ilyasi said.
“He (Hamid Ansari) should change his perspective regarding the language he is using. If his perspective changes, the scenario will change as well,” Ilyasi added.
–IANS
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