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Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday said the slogans 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' and 'Jai Hind' were first raised by two Muslims and asked whether the Sangh Parivar would be ready to abandon them.
Reaching out to the minority community in this Muslim-dominated north Kerala district, the veteran Communist Party of India-Marxist leader said Muslim rulers, cultural icons and officials had played a significant role in the country's history and independence movement.
Drawing examples from history to prove his point, Vijayan said a Muslim man named Azimullah Khan had coined the slogan 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai'.
"Some Sangh Parivar leaders who came here have asked those who sat in front of them to chant the slogan 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai'. Who coined the slogan? I don't know whether the Sangh Parivar knows that his name is Azimullah Khan," the CM said.
He remarked that he didn't know whether they would stop using the slogan as it was a Muslim who came up with it.
Vijayan was addressing the fourth consecutive rally organised by the CPI(M) in the state against the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).
He said an old diplomat named Abid Hasan had first raised the slogan 'Jai Hind'.
The translations of over 50 Upanishads into Persian from its original Sanskrit text by Mughal Emperor Shahjahan's son Dara Shikoh had helped the Indian texts reach across the world, Vijayan further said.
He said that Sangh Parivar leaders and activists advocating for the extradition of Muslims from India to Pakistan ought to be acquainted with this historical context.
Along with others, Muslims also played a crucial role in the country's freedom movement, the chief minister pointed out.
While talking about the Citizenship Amendment Act, Vijayan alleged that the "RSS-led BJP government at the Centre" is trying to turn Muslims into second-grade citizens in the country through the implementation of the CAA.
The democratically conscious people of Kerala won't accept this move at any cost, he said.
He said that while the Centre claimed that the CAA was to give citizenship to refugees migrated from neighbouring countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who seek asylum in the country, its real objective is to make the citizenship of migrated Muslim refugees illegal, the CM charged.
No country in the world has ever divided refugees on the lines of religion except the Indian government led by the BJP leadership, the CM further said.
Despite widespread protests across the country and the opposition raised by various countries, "the Sangh Parivar-led union government went ahead, overlooking all such objections, and it was similar to the stand taken by fascist ruler Adolf Hitler," he said.
The Left government in the state was the first to register a loud protest against this in the country.
Though the LDF government tried to bring everyone across politics to protest against the CAA, the opposition Congress backed out of it later.
Criticising the grand old party, Vijayan further said the experience showed that they didn't have sincerity in the anti-CAA protest.
He alleged that at a time when the whole country has been protesting against the controversial law, the Congress MPs were participating in a feast organised by the party president.
"During the protests, none of the Congress leaders were present. Rahul Gandhi was abroad. It was the Left leaders who were arrested by the Delhi Police," Vijayan said.
He accused the Centre of giving silent permission to the rioters when Sangh Parivar unleashed violence upon the anti-CAA protestors in Delhi.
Vijayan further attacked the RSS and said that the ideology and structure of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh were adopted from Adolf Hitler's fascist ideologies.
Vijayan also referred to RSS ideologue M S Golwalkar's quote in one of his books that termed Christians, Muslims and Communists as internal enemies of the country.
"Its (RSS') ideology was not from any ancient texts, myths, or Vedas or from the Manusmriti but was taken from Hitler," the chief minister charged.