Justinian Plague (541–549 AD) was the first major outbreak of the first Old World pandemic of plague, the contagious disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Named after the Byzantine emperor Justinian I (482-565 CE ), Justinian’s plague affected nearly half the population of Europe. The plague arrived in Constantinople in 542 CE, and the outbreak swept the Mediterranean world, finally disappearing in 750 CE. The means of transmission of the plague was the black rat (Rattus rattus), which traveled on the grain ships and carts sent to Constantinople as tribute.
In his new work, titled The Fate of Rome: Climate, Disease, and the End of an Empire, historian Kyle Harper, Professor of Classics and Letters and Provost of the University of Oklahoma, argues, although the fate of Rome was played out by emperors, and barbarians, it was equally decided by bacteria and viruses. According to Harper, the Justinian Plague devastated the remaining Roman parts of the Empire just as Islam was making its intrusion into Europe, as the disorganized and ailing Romans were no match for the invading Muslims. The Justinian Plague, increased the scope of Islam in and around Europe that lasted for many centuries.
An article in The Print, dated September 30, 2020, and titled ‘Rich farmers dominate farm protests in India’, highlighted, how since Charan Singh days, rich peasants have led peasant agitations in India. The article by Indranil De, (IRMA, Anand) and Sanjib Purohit (NCAER, Delhi), underlined an interesting aspect : The farm movements in India are plagued by overrepresentation of rich farmers as a political force. They provide the critical mass, without which the protests cannot snowball. However, agitations dominated by a few rich farmers may not solve the problem of the farming community as a whole.
According to Surjit S. Bhalla, Executive Director IMF India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Bhutan, the nucleus of the protests is not marked by rural impoverishment and ruin. According to his estimates, the top two lakh farmers of Punjab and Haryana have incomes — mostly drawn from agriculture — that are among the top eight percent of all incomes in India, including urban income. He also calculated that nearly 20,000 of the farmers in the protest zones have incomes in the top two percent of all India.
In his article in The New Indian Express (Jan 3., 2021) , Amar Bhushan, former special secretary Research and Analysis Wing observed “the leaders behind the protests are rich and wield enormous political clout in their states. They can afford to carry on the spectacle until the Prime Minister loses his nerves. Bhushan warned, that the agitators confidence has been boosted by support from Khalistanis, Naxalites and Muslim fundamentalists.
Protesting farmers against the farm laws however raised the prime demand for the release of jailed Maoists and those arrested in the anti CAA communal riots in Delhi. Farmers organizations protested against removal of Article 370 in Kashmir. In September 2019, various farmer organizations held a rally at Bathinda, against the Union Government’s move to abrogate Articles 370 and 35-A and changing Jammu & Kashmir into Union Territories .BKU Ekta Ugrahan senior vice-president Jhanda Singh Jethuke, Harvinder Bindu, Shingara Singh Mann said, Kashmiris should be given freedom and right to take their own decision.
Several mosques in Delhi and United Against Hate (UAH), a campaign founded by a group for anti CAA protest, tied up to provide food to the protesting farmers at the Sant Nirankari Samagam Ground in north Delhi’s Burar . UAH’s co-founder Khalid Saifi is lodged in jail under sections of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act registered in connection with communal riots, which broke out in the Capital in February this year. The mosques were roped in and the group members had spoken to the Imams of significant mosques in the city, especially the ones close to protest sites, to facilitate food for the farmers before Delhi Police allowed the protest at a designated place (The Hindu, Nov., 28, 2020).
Maulana Sajjad Nomani the spokesperson of All India Muslim Personal Law Board speaking at the Singhu border, extended full support for the farmers protest.
Muslim organizations in Kerala have expressed solidarity with the farmers agitating in Delhi. The Sunni Yuvajana Sangham (SYS) will organize ‘Solidarity Meet’ at 116 centres in the state .Wisdom Islamic Organisation has asked the people of every state to join the agitation staged by farmers in North India. Kerala Nadvathul Mujahideen (KNM)-Markazudawa said the repressive measures adopted by the government will not be enough to douse the fire ignited by the agitation. A statement issued by Markazudawa secretariat said it is the duty of every citizen in the country to express solidarity with the farmers .
Sikhs for Justice (henceforth SFJ) was the one singular international group which monitored the farmers protest in Delhi. SFJ was formed in 2007 demanding Khalistan a separate homeland for Sikhs in Punjab. Its legal adviser – Gurpatwant Singh Pannun had launched ‘Referendum 2020’, which aimed to “liberate Punjab from Indian occupation”. In August 2018 at a large pro-Khalistan rally —known as the London Declaration — organised at Trafalgar Square in London announced the “Referendum 2020”. New York-based Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the founder of SFJ and also its legal advisor, was focus of the rally.SFJ declared conducting referendum in November 2020 in Punjab along with major cities of North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Kenya and the Middle Eastern Countries. India banned SFJ in 2019 in India, and, it currently operates from US.
The attempts to align Khalistani and Islamic groups could be seen in support given by Islamists to the farmers protest. Led by Faaroqi Mubeen, the team of the Muslim Federation of Punjab provides community kitchen at the Singhu border to protesting farmers. The Indian Union Muslim League extended its support for the farmer’s agitation. Khalistani secessionism has been encouraged by a section of western writers such as Barbara Crossette ( New York Times bureau chief in Delhi) who argued that Sikhs and Muslims have been ill-treated in India .
The Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) extended its support to the farmers protest, and alleged the country”s farming laws are being changed to favour multinationals and corporate. Members of various Muslim organisations in Ludhiana , led by Shahi Imam of Punjab Maulana Habib-ur-Rehman Sani Ludhianvi, who is national president of Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam took out a protest march during Bharat Bandh against the farms laws. Chicago-based Dr Mohammad Qutbuddin has said that farmers in India are protesting for their rights and Muslim organizations and masses should stand by them
A conglomerate of around 28 Muslim groups issued an appeal to Muslim shop owners to close their shops on January 22 in support of the “innocents” who have been jailed in the DJ Halli and KJ Halli riots case. They further said that the bandh is also in support of agitating farmers and against the love jihad law
In January 2021, Dr Shaheryar Ansari, representative of Students Islamic Organisation of India extended its support for the farmers protests.
In a statement issued on November 26, 2020, radical Islamic group, Popular Front of India Chairman, O.M. A Salam extended his organization’s support to Delhi Chalo March being taken out by farmers’ organizations. A resolution passed by the National Executive Council of Popular Front of India (Dec 29., 2020) has stated that it is the duty of all right-minded citizens and sections in the country to stand with the struggles of Indian farmers against new farm laws.
The support by Islamic groups to Jat farmers protest has to be seen in a larger perspective, as the primary step towards forging a Dalit Muslim vote bank politics. When the farmers’ movement gained momentum under Rakesh Tikait, the Muslims were present in large numbers at the Muzaffarnagar and Shamli mahapanchayats . Faheem Usmani, who runs a school in Deoband in western UP, says, “With the Jat and Muslim voters coming together on one platform, as in the panchayat of the Indian Farmers Union, its impact will be seen in 2022 (India Today Feb 13., 2021).
On the Jat Muslim coalition in western UP, A K Verma, Professor at Kanpur Christ Church College and part of many surveys conducted by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) observed Muslims always had the number on their side but what gave them confidence was the improvement in their economic status. “The combination is getting reflected in their growing political clout. According to the 2001 Census, Muslims constitute more than 33 per cent of the population in 12 districts of Western Uttar Pradesh. Out of 77 assembly seats in this region, Muslim candidates won 26 seats in the 2012 assembly elections ” according to Verma ( Business Standard, Sept 19., 2013)
Unlike the prospering Muslims in western UP, Jats, have however suffered because of the plight of the once-flourishing sugar mills in the region. The state’s sugar mills are estimated to suffer a loss of nearly Rs 3,000 crore and also owe about Rs 3,000 crore to farmers.
According to a report by The Hindu, Muslim prosperity began in the 1990s, when businessmen, taking advantage of the advent of economic liberalisation, purchased shops in Muzaffarnagar’s markets, hoping to catch up with the majority community. The 1990s also saw the Qureshis, traditionally butchers, in Meerut, Hapur and Muzaffarnagar, expanding their meat shops and even building processing plants as they turned meat exporters.
The Jamiat-ul-Quresh began in the late 1920s, and it organised the Qureshis, who entered politics to protect their businesses. Fellow Muslims, however, say they have not used their clout to help other OBC Muslims.In the post-Mandal era of the 1990s when OBCs began to assert themselves and get representation in Parliament, OBC Muslims, classified as pasmandas or ajlaf, followed suit. Being financially well-off, the Qureshis began to dominate mainstream Muslim politics. The Qureshis joined Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in large numbers in UP, enabling her to forge a political alliance of Muslim OBCs and Dalits.
Now the focus has shifted to Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh ahead of polls next year. Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) Vice President Prof. Salim Engineer has condemned the Lakhimpur Kheri violence in Uttar Pradesh .Anis Ahmad, General Secretary of Popular Front of India has also extended support to Lakhimpur Kheri protests.
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