Jaagne ki raat is an act of worship

Jaagne ki raat has become controversial. Kind courtesy: the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal (BD). The right wing organisations recently took upon themselves the laborious, responsible and moral task of “protecting” people from “harassment” by mischievous youths on Shab-e-Baraat and a helpline was launched last Monday. It is only incidental that these youths happened to be Muslims.
But while one is busy arguing whether the VHP and BD were milking the Shab-e-Baraat to fill their pail of communalism, one is all too familiar with the sight on such nights. Young men, many of them at restaurants, some in traditional kurtas, are witnessed having a feast, with an aerated drink as an accompaniment. After a heavy meal, a few are seen smoking at the local pan dabba, engaged in friendly banter. An array of vehicles is seen parked on either side of the road, more often than not, in a haphazard fashion. Small platoons of motorcycle riders wander aimlessly on the roads. Others show off their skills – the wheelie, the stoppie – and triple riding, as a matter of convenience of commutation, unmindful of penalization or the dangers of rash riding. This continues well into the night and sometimes ends just before daybreak. And with Ramzan just around the corner, more of these jaagne ki raatein, known as “taakh raat”, every alternate night in the last 10 days of the holy month, will be observed.
And as news of the Hindutva organisations’ move spread like wildfire on social networking, it triggered a debate within the community, especially within the middle classes. An introspective yet pointed question is being asked: Has the Muslim community invited this – the reaction to jaagne ki raat – upon itself? For, the faith strongly discourages inconveniencing others. The answer does not seem forthcoming.
The motorcycle stunts are not new. They have been happening on such nights for at least half a decade. The voices from within the community condemning them and urging youths to exercise restraint have been resonating concurrently. They have sought to remind them that one required engaging oneself in acts of worship on jaagne ki raat, not dining at restaurants and sitting on chabutras chit-chatting the night away. It has even reminded the youth of the communal tension in Delhi on one such night in 2013. A section of the community has tried to discourage youths from continuing their nights out but to little or no effect. The voice of the Muslim clergy remains largely disconnected and painfully didactic. Unfortunately, the mullahs fail to understand that festivals create business opportunities. They continue trying to tackle the problem in a one-dimensional way, pontificating from the pulpit and seldom going on the ground to create awareness. Perhaps, this is the very reason why clergy have remained ineffectual. Times have changed but their methods have not.
Then there are those who defend the jaagne ki raat culture. The premise of the arguments of this group is based on a thinly veiled sense of entitlement. They ask that when the Hindus have the privilege of celebrating festivals such as Ganesh Chaturthi and Hanuman Jayanthi with decibel levels shattering pomp and show, why should Muslims not celebrate theirs? And wasn’t Ram Navami celebrated sans a procession?
All pleas fall on deaf ears and attempts at reasoning are met with arrogance. This group is emboldened by the fact that the cops go soft on these bikers and in many cases, have let traffic offences pass.
It is no secret that the VHP and BD have had a clear communal agenda. But, it is a travesty that both communities have failed to realise that the louder one group’s festival becomes, the other group is bound to celebrate theirs on a grander scale, and, in the process a show of one-upmanship is triggered - a clear case of competitive communalism. Let us not forget, if Ram Navami is quiet, so is Milad-un-Nabi.