Muslim Identity

Nice post appeared In The Pioneer.
http://dailypioneer.com/DisplayContent.aspx?ContentID=303263&URLName=Indian-Muslim-Indian-first-Muslim-later
There is personal incident narrated telling how the separate identity is created in society unconsciously even at at the tender age.
In the later section it analyzes latest Bihar election in this regard. Here are the words.
how difficult it must be for Indian Muslims to keep their national identity ahead of their religious identity. There was always something or the other, which brought the identity of the Indian Muslim under scrutiny repeatedly. Latest being the controversy created by Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh’s comments.

It has to do with the political, intellectual and community leadership. But isn’t that a hackneyed observation. Indeed, it is but I want to take it further. Left to them, the community is capable of taking very commendable decision. In this direction, Bihar has shown the way.

In the just concluded Assembly polls, with no community leader of substance in the reckoning, the Muslim voting pattern varied from constituency to constituency. If they embraced Nitish Kumar-led NDA on a large number of seats, they totally rejected him in the Muslim majority Kishanganj. The rejection followed the NDA attempt to hoist a discredited Taslimuddin on the masses.

Similarly, while the Muslims deserted a listless RJD and LJP of Lalu Prasad and Ram Vilas Paswan, still the decent Muslim leaders from these parties managed to win. If Rahul Gandhi was rejected for raising hands with Ranjeet Ranjan and Lovely Anand, Lalu Prasad was rejected for visiting Shahabuddin in Siwan jail just ahead of the polls. Do we need a more compelling example to support the Muslim desire to join the national mainstream?