Navaid Hamid, President of the AIMMM told Clarion India that this shows what would be the direction of the President of India in this tenure. This is actually the direction of the Central government. The President of India is bound to read the speech prepared by the government
Waquar Hasan | Clarion India
NEW DELHI – The All Indian Muslim Majlis-e-Mushwarat (AIMMM), a federation of various Muslim organisations, has raised concerns after newly-elected President Droupadi Murmu failed to name any Muslim icons among the freedom fighters in her first address to the nation after being sworn in as President of India.
Speaking to Clarion India, Navaid Hamid, President of the AIMMM, said, “She took names of all important freedom fighters from Birsa Munda to Bhagat Singh. But she did not take the names of Ashfaqullah Khan nor Maulana Abul Kalam Azad nor Dr. Zakir Hussain.”
While mentioning the names of many freedom fighters in her speech and appreciating their contribution to the nation and patriotism, Murmu said, “Pujya Bapu had resorted to Swaraj, Swadeshi, Swachhta and Satyagraha to show us the way for realising Indian cultural ideals. Countless personalities like Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Nehru ji, Sardar Patel, Babasaheb Ambedkar, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Rajguru and Chandrashekhar Azad had taught us to keep national pride as paramount.”
“Many brave women icons like Rani Lakshmi Bai, Rani Velu Nachiyar, Rani Gaidinliu and Rani Chennamma had taken to new heights the role of women power in defending and building the nation. From Santhal revolution, Paika revolution to Kol revolution and Bhil revolution, all these revolutions had strengthened the tribal contribution in the freedom struggle,” she added.
Hamid first raised the issue of Muslim freedom fighters’ omission through his tweet and called it “worrisome” if it is deliberate.
He told Clarion Indian that this shows what would be the direction of the President of India in this tenure. This is actually the direction of the Central government. The President of India is bound to read the speech prepared by the government, he said.
“When the President of India is giving important address to the nation and mentioned different the names of different freedom fighter including from the marginalised community, it is surprising that all those who drafted the speech have omitted Muslim contribution in freedom struggle. It is nothing but rewriting history with exclusion of Muslim participation in important journey to the independence,” he said.
Hamid also expressed concern over the negligence of Murmu saying that he is surprised that why Murmu did not note the omission of Muslim freedom fighters when she was given draft of the speech by the government.
The election of Murmu as President of India has received appreciation as she is the first president from the tribal community. In her speech, she also highlighted this fact and called her election “achievement of every poor person”.
“I belong to tribal society. I have got the opportunity to rise from serving as a ward councillor to becoming the President of India. This is the greatness of India, the mother of democracy. It is a tribute to the power of our democracy that a daughter born in a poor house in a remote tribal area can reach the highest constitutional position in India. That I attained the post of President is not my personal achievement, it is the achievement of every poor person in India. My election is a proof of the fact that the poor in India can have dreams and fulfil them too,” she said.