This Article is From Oct 31, 2014

Shahi Imam Has Insulted PM And India

(Mohd Asim is Senior News Editor, NDTV 24x7)

The Shahi Imam of the Jama Masjid of Delhi is back in the news. And as usual, for all the wrong reasons. Syed Ahmed Bukhari is anointing his successor to the title of the Shahi Imam, a title his family has for generations bestowed upon itself. And no points for guessing - it's his son.

The imam has grand plans for the "coronation ceremony" on November 22 with an elaborate list of invitees - religious scholars and political leaders from India and other countries.

Invitees for dinner include Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, with whom Mr Bukhari claims he has old family ties. But, and that's where we must take this farce seriously, the dinner list doesn't include the Prime Minister of India. When questioned, Mr Bukhari snapped: "It's my party and I decide who to invite. I have no place in  my heart for Narendra Modi." He doesn't stop there. He drags the entire community into his rant. "Muslims of India have not forgiven Modi for 2002. What has he done for the Muslims since becoming PM?"

Parading himself as the caretaker and leader of Indian Muslims is Mr Bukhari's favourite pastime. And it has been proven time and again that Mr Bukhari holds no sway over the Muslim population of the country.  

But this time, Mr Bukhari has crossed all limits. Does he think he is a state unto himself, that he can dole out an invite to the head of another country with whom India is not on best of terms? The Indian government has frozen all dialogue with Pakistan (while we may have different opinions on that, but that's where official policy stands today) and Mr Bukhari is sending an invite to the PM of the same country, while insulting his own PM.

Mr Bukhari, whether you like it or not, Mr Modi is the Prime Minister of India and that office demands respect. By inviting Nawaz Sharif and railing against the PM in the same breath, Mr Bukhari has belittled the office of the PM, to say the least.

Yes, it's your party, and you can choose your guests, but you cannot disregard the sovereign state and extend invites to heads of state whom the government is not ready to welcome at this point in time.

In fact, it would be perfectly in order for all other political invitees - Rajnath Singh, Dr Harsh Vardhan, Vijay Goel, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Mulayam Singh Yadav et al - to give a royal snub to the so-called Shahi Imam by staying away from this function.

Imam Bukhari may have some delusions about his status and title, but let's be clear that the title of Shahi Imam doesn't mean anything today. 

When Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan built the majestic Jama Masjid in 1650s in Delhi (then Shahjehanabad), he asked the rulers of Bukhara (Uzbekistan) to send an Imam for the grand mosque. Maulana Adbul Gafoor Shah Bukhari was deputed. Shahjahan bestowed on him the title of Shahi Imam ("Shah" means king and "imam" is the one who leads prayers in a mosque. So Shahi imam means an imam appointed by the king.)

Since then, his offsprings have been Shahi Imams of the Jama Masjid as a matter of inheritance. After the end of Mughal rule, they have simply bestowed this title on themselves. The government of India never created or sanctioned this title, and rightly so.

Our present Imam Bukhari calls himself Shahi Imam because he thinks of himself as that, not out of any statutory sanction. For his son's anointment, he is trying to get some legitimacy by inviting political and religious leaders from many countries. His aim is to create a spectacle and wider acceptability. We must deny him that.

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