A Paean to Humanity in South Asia - Part II
By Akbar Ahmed
American University
Washington, DC

Another Indian student at American University, Sushmita Kamboj, provides my next example. When Sushmita joined my World of Islam class as a student several years ago, she spoke of the vast distances between Islam and Hinduism in India. Growing up in Yamunanagar, about three hours north of New Delhi, she recalled, “In school, every joke was about a Pakistani. The news constantly showed Pakistan and its people as the enemy. We would go to the border between India-Pakistan and shout to the other side during parades. In that environment, it is easy to believe that one is indeed very different.” She soon became instrumental in closing those gaps.
Sushmita’s commitment to the pursuit of knowledge was evident when she wrote to me from home during her summer holiday in 2017 and insisted on returning to school early to help with my book, Journey into Europe: Islam, Immigration, and Identity. In her email, she said, “In light of the recent atrocities around the world, I have thought about your confident and restless nature that believes in changing whatever you do not like in this world. The philosophy of self-creation and self-assertion that you practice also reminds me of Iqbal’s philosophy of khudi. I remember learning about it from my grandfather, who himself embodied that philosophy and shared it as his last words to me.”
She returned with impressive energy and commitment to scholarship: she assisted with the book, my forthcoming play and peace-building exercises. She also returned home taking a copy of Journey into Europe with her. It was well received: “For me, the most glorious moment was when I gave my father Journey into Europe, and saw him not only read it but also later in the day share bits from the book with family and friends. He shared with fascination Islamic contributions to Muslim society and his friends listened wide-eyed and struck with wonder. Now, this is a rare sight in a Hindu household and for me, this epitomizes Professor Ahmed’s influence and impact.”
Sushmita also wrote a strong piece about the Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Mahatma Gandhi entitled, “Building Bridges with the Other (ed),” which was published in the Huffington Post. Sushmita also reflected on the shaping of her academic interests: “Though I had passion for academia, I needed to further develop my understanding and build confidence in my ideas. I feel that my work with Professor Ahmed allowed me to hone my abilities. It gave me direction, purpose and confidence which was critical for my acceptance in a prestigious program such as the one in University of Oxford. Professor Ahmed showed me where to look but never compelled me on what to see; it is because of this he is my guru.”
When I asked her about how her interest in bridge building emerged, she responded, “My interest in bridge building was inspired by Professor Ahmed. After seeing him work tirelessly to promote better understanding among people of different faiths, I began to see the value in it myself.” She added, “I knew very little about Islam even though I had many Muslim students in my school. It was in college after seeing Muslims from all over the world and meeting Professor Ahmed that I got to learn about Islam. My misconceptions about the religion began to disappear.” After she applied to do an MA in Anthropology at Oxford University, I waited anxiously for the official response until she sent this breathless message: “I must talk to you. Once I stop shaking. It is only because of you. Only because of you! Thank you so much, this means so much. It is really heartwarming to have your support both in my academic pursuits and outside the classroom in my career.” Sushmita promised, “Your students will work for a more prosperous and united sub-continent since you have lit a fire that shall not stop. I hope for a more stable and strong Pakistan as well.” Sushmita paid me the greatest compliment a teacher can receive, “I find myself extremely lucky to have a mentor-guru like Professor Ahmed. If only everyone could have a teacher like you.”
Finally, let me give the example of my former undergraduate American Indian Hindu student, Priyanka Srinivasa. When she graduated from university in 2014 prior to her joining the University of Cambridge as a graduate student, she wrote me a scintillating farewell letter.

A senior colleague said if a professor gets this kind of letter from a student once in a life time they should consider themselves fortunate. Here is an extract:
“When we are together, we are the contradictions of history. Truly the unlikely friendship—here you are: Muslim son of Pakistani aristocracy and world-famous scholar, and me—an American student who is Indian and Hindu and from an ancestral village that isn’t even on maps. In you, I have found my dearest friend. I have found a teacher and mentor, a fellow South Asian, a comrade, a partner-in-crime, a poet, and a father. I cannot believe it has been four years already under your tutelage because for me it seemed so eternal. Thank you, Dr Ahmed for inspiring me. Thank you for encouraging me during moments when I doubted myself the most, smoothed over the bumps, and told me to stay true.
“As I get ready to depart for Cambridge, I gather all the lessons you taught me like seeds. You always told me if there is one thing I should be certain about, it is knowing who I am. I promise to never disappoint you or myself. I hope to one day be a fine scholar on Hinduism. I hope through my writings to continue the legacy of scholars and activists who want the subcontinent to heal. I will make this my mission as you had made this your mission years ago.
“I will be back to our fig tree soon, my friend. When I miss you, I will meet you between the stanzas of Rumi. I will meet you in autumn at Cambridge. I will meet you at the bottom of a glass of chai. I will meet you in grainy black and white photographs of brown brigadiers. I will meet you in old history books about civilization. I will meet you in my prayers. I will meet you in our eternal pursuit of ilm. I will meet you there. Yours Always and with my Deepest Respect and Gratitude, Shanti and Salaams.”
There are other examples of this spirit of affectionate inclusion : Srimati Kamala, the widely admired director of the Gandhi Center in Washington, DC, bestowing the inaugural Gandhi Peace Award on me; Manjula Kumar, celebrated director at the Smithsonian taking up the challenge of successfully staging my plays; and the renowned Indian Professor Julius Lipner, a pillar at Cambridge University, providing a glowing blurb for my academic book on the Quaid.
As a parenthesis for history buffs, and to underline the mutual interest of Indians and Pakistanis in South Asian history, I cite Lipner, a prominent Indian and I cite an equally prominent Pakistani scholar. Both gave blurbs for my Jinnah, Pakistan and Islamic Identity, one of the four projects that formed my “Jinnah Quartet” which included the feature film Jinnah starring Christopher Lee. Professor Lipner, whose words are on the cover of the book, wrote, “A courageous book, based on careful and original research….an extremely important service.” Professor Sharif al Mujahid, the leading Pakistani historian on the Quaid in Pakistan and founder-Director of the Quaid-i-Azam Academy, Karachi, in his blurb, also on the cover, called the book, “A Mahabharata...readable, human oriented, multi-dimensional. Unique. Superb.”
In the middle of the last century when dozens of new states were being born from the dying corpse of the colonial empires, India stood out as a beacon of hope promising equality, democracy, and equal citizenship to all its nationals irrespective of religion or race. It was a beautiful dream and today the daily lynching, rapes, and mobs burning people alive, are shattering that dream.
The interactions I have described are in in keeping with the old spirit of nobility of the Indian soul inspired by the inclusive sages of the land like Lord Buddha, Asoka, Mahavira and Guru Nanak. And on the Muslim side here are some names: Data Ganj Baksh, Bhit Shah, Muhiudin Chisti in Ajmer, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, and Allama Iqbal. All of them abhorred violence and promoted non-violence. They embraced all, regardless of color and caste. It is the true and permanent spirit of eternal India—more inclusive, more generous, more humane. This is the spirit that inspired the modern Indian leaders Gandhi and Nehru and is in keeping with the vision that they had for India, and Jinnah had for Pakistan. If anyone doubts Jinnah’s vision for Pakistan, they must listen to his first speeches to the Constituent Assembly in Karachi in 1947. Both nations must understand that being cruel to their minorities is not only reflective of the ugliest strain of human nature, a sign of moral bankruptcy, but indicative of a weak and failed polity. That is why the early founding fathers, Gandhi and Nehru in India, Jinnah and Liaqat in Pakistan, honored their minorities and reached out to show them support and promised protection.
In the early days of Indian independence, the idea of a liberal, secular, and inclusive India under Nehru was propagated by Bombay films. Aan, one of the earliest hits and the first in color, starred a Muslim hero, Dilip Kumar or Yusuf Khan, had a Muslim director and many of the songs were sung by Muhammad Rafi, a Muslim. Mughal-e-Azam about the glory days of the Mughal Empire under Akbar the Great was similar. While Akbar was played by Prithviraj Kapoor, it also starred Dilip Kumar and Madhubala, both Muslim, and was voted the greatest Indian film ever. The epic Taj Mahal had a Hindu hero and heroine playing the Muslim Mughal emperor and empress. Lata and Mukesh sang for Muslim heroes and Rafi for Hindu ones. There are countless such examples. The idea was of projecting harmony in diversity. In the last few years this image has been disturbed, as the newer films cited above demonstrate.
Instead of seeking unity, today we have the petty party thugs organizing groups and arming them to track individual Muslim men and women and then beating them to pulp, often setting them alight. That violence is supposed to be in revenge for the Muslim warriors of the past. A crowd of twenty murdering an unarmed individual is not an act of heroism, it is empty cowardice. If anyone has any doubts about where this can lead, they must look at Germany in the first part of the last century and its history with minorities. The test of civilization will always be how a majority treats its minority community. It is an easy test to fail.
There is a battle brewing that will define not only India but the entire region. If the mood of unchecked hate grows in India, a clash with Pakistan will be inevitable and it could involve a nuclear exchange. The leaders of India can huff and puff against Pakistan but in their heart of hearts they can never be sure that Pakistan, if backed into a humiliating corner and attacked, would not press the nuclear button. It is this uncertainty that gives the confrontation a perennial edge. This is gross posturing and dangerous brinkmanship. A single minute miscalculation would plunge the entire region into apocalyptic chaos. That must be avoided at all costs.
The poison swirling about is pushing both nations towards nuclear annihilation though no one really calculates the destruction. This is the weight of a thousand years of history and a million memories of imagined insults, real pain and hurt. There is no way forward except to inch back from the brink moving very, very carefully. The leaders and thinkers of South Asia must work backwards from scenarios of confrontation and reverse engineer to a point where there is no movement towards hostility and nuclear exchange.
The first and most critical step is perhaps the most difficult one for Hindus and Muslims—to put aside our individual egos and confront the reality that we have caused deep pain to one another. We must acknowledge that pain. Hindus for what they are doing to Muslims today, Muslims for what they have done to Hindus yesterday in their invasions of the Subcontinent over the centuries. Hindus and Muslims must consciously break the cycle of revenge and counter revenge. They must stop thinking of extracting an eye for an eye.
If the putrid atmosphere of hatred can be cleared, then the next steps become easy: scholars, artists, sports figures, and writers must be invited from across the borders to promote mutual understanding. Seminars and conferences need to be held and political figures invited to take part and learn. Traders and businessmen must work together for mutual prosperity. None of these ideas are new or radical yet none of them have been successfully sustained.
In order to move forward from the current impasse, we must understand, appreciate, and remember the ties and deep bonds between Hindus and Muslims and I have given personal examples of what is possible. The leaders of India and Pakistan must show the world how to tackle the real problems of coronavirus, climate change, widespread poverty, and, something we must underline, religious conflict. To cite Mahatma Gandhi, to bring about change, become the change.
For Indians it is a strategic and historic mistake to see all Pakistanis as fanatic fundamentalists determined to attack India and plant the Pakistan flag on the Red Fort, just as it is a mistake for Pakistanis to see all Hindus as fascistic supporters of Muslim genocide. Hindus must never forget that the Quaid while protecting a group of Hindus being attacked by Muslims in Karachi declared himself as “the Protector General of the Hindu community in Pakistan” and appointed a Hindu minister in his small cabinet; just as Muslims must never forget that Mahatma Gandhi gave his life standing up for the rights of the Muslims.
As I remain committed to peace and friendship between the communities, I observe carefully the state of the relationship between Hindus and Muslims and between India and Pakistan today. I am encouraged that beneath the bluster and hatred and violence there is still humanity. Perhaps the deadly coronavirus, that attacks all, the Hindu and the Muslim, the high and the low, will act as catalyst and encourage the leaders to start a new chapter in South Asia. It is a unique opportunity to reset the clock, to practice and create true shanti and its Islamic equivalent salaam. As someone who passionately believes in shanti and salaam, I hope and pray we take this path. There are so many wasted years to make up for; let us create a new world that our founding fathers only dreamt of and one we can build on.
(Akbar Ahmed is an academic, author, poet, playwright, filmmaker and former diplomat. He currently holds the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies and is Professor of International Relations at the American University in Washington, DC)