The rising tide of illiberalism

There are times when the thick line separating the liberals from the bigots gets blurred. That’s when people pretending as liberals show their illiberal streak. By refusing to accept that a woman can choose to be traditional or voluntarily accept the religion-mandated dress code, this “unprejudiced” collective behaves just like the regressive elements they so often denounce in public. When music maestro AR Rahman’s daughter, Khatija Rahman, showed up at the 10-year-celebration of the film Slumdog Millionnaire in Mumbai’s Dharavi wearing a niqab, her father was called a “hyprocrite” and trolled mercilessly for “forcing” her to follow the Islamic dress code. Rahman responded by uploading a beautiful photo of his family on Twitter with the hashtag freedom to choose. It featured his wife with her head covered, Khatija in a niqab, and another daughter, Raheema, dressed in a salwar kameez with the dupatta resting on her shoulder. He followed it up with another photo of his daughters and his son Ameen. 

This is not the first time Rahman has been targeted, even though he has made India proud on so many occasions. Slumdog... had fetched him two Oscars — for the Best Original Music Score and for the Best Original Song for ‘Jai Ho’. In 2010, he won the Grammy and was conferred upon the Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian award. More importantly, Rahman is a wonderful example of the syncretic culture that India stands for. And, unlike his detractors, he will never stoop to that level to prove his credo. 

Rahman had drawn ire of the Muslim conservatives when he performed one of the most touching renditions of Vande Matram, Maa Tujhe Salaam. An Indian Muslim group had issued a fatwa against him for giving music to celebrated Iranian director Majid Majidi’s film on the Prophet, Muhammad: Messenger of God. People jealous of his stupendous success had also gone out of their way to highlight his conversion to Islam. Once he was trolled on social media for performing Tamil songs at the Wembley Stadium in London.  

While the world had constantly harped on man-made barriers, let blood flow over differences, Rahman had tried to heal wounds with his music.  

Curiously, the history of Indian classical music scene is replete with instances of legendary Muslim vocalists and instrumentalists paying homage to Hindu gods and goddesses through their musical offerings. Right from inception, Bollywood — the melting pot of India’s culture — has been free of religious bigotry. And, more importantly, countless viewers of Indian cinema never allowed religion to come in the way of their devotion for their favourite filmstars, singers, and lyricists. India is a land of stupendous diversities and any attempt to homegenise it will backfire. Here, a woman can choose to wear a niqab without feeling oppressed by religious diktats. 

The Rahman controversy gives us an opportunity to revisit our understanding of freedom and what it actually means for different kinds of people. Will one idea of freedom subjugate other expressions of it? By targeting Rahman, the so-called liberals are trampling over Khatija’s right to self-determination. Let’s not dignify it by calling it liberalism.