Oct 22, 2020
New Delhi: IMPAR (Indian Muslims for Progress and Reform) on Thursday expressed deep concern and anguish over an outright fake propaganda about a Muslim regiment which was dismantled after it refused to fight against Pakistan in 1965 war, and wrote a letter to the President and the Prime Minister demanding that the individuals and social media responsible for the sinister post should be brought to book.
The group of eminent Muslims also demanded that the mainstream electronic media which has given space to such propaganda should be slapped with the National Security Act.
”Such sinister design and dangerous rumours are being spread by certain individuals and groups, inimical to our country and our Armed Forces,” said the letter sent by IMPAR president MJ Khan. The letter is also addressed to the Defence Minister and the Chief of the Defence Staff.
The progressive Muslims body demanded that the antecedents of individuals who have made ‘Muslim Regiment’ posts should be thoroughly investigated.
” Muslim Regiment’ posts are an attack on India’s Armed Forces. Remaining a-political and secular has been an article of faith for every soldier, sailor and airman, both at the institutional and individual levels. Every soldier swears to protect the Constitution of India even at peril to his/her life in the service of our nation, and serves in harsh and high-risk field service conditions.
Today, our soldiers are facing the Chinese aggression in Aksai Chin and also elsewhere, while the threat from Pakistan remains, and our troops additionally remain deployed for internal security duties. IMPAR believes that this sinister design must have been planned and initiated by the forces inimical to India, such as ISI,” the letter said.
The letter pointed out that the propaganda started in 2013, when @120croreHindus – ‘World Hindus United’ posted the following on Twitter on 19 May 2013 at 9:57AM stating “In 1965 there was a regiment in Indian Army called Muslim regiment which refused to fight against Pakistan after which it was dismantled”.
The letter contained about over two dozen links of tweets relate to the propaganda.
These posts on ‘Muslim Regiment’ are blatantly false, because the Indian Army did not have a Muslim Regiment in 1965 or ever since partition in 1947. Some senior-ranking Veterans have unequivocally pointed out the false nature of these posts. Veteran Lt Gen S.A. Hasnain in his Times of India blog of 30 Nov 2017, states that this was not true, and was possibly part of Pakistan’s Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) psyops disinformation campaign. [“The ‘missing’ muslim regiment: Without comprehensive rebuttal, Pakistani propaganda dupes the gullible across the board”;
He further clarified that there was no Muslim Regiment ever and certainly not in 1965. “But Muslims fighting as part of multi-class regiments proved their absolute commitment and worth,” he affirmed. [https://eurasiantimes.com/did-indian-armys-muslim-regiment-refuse-to-fight-pakistan-in-1965-war/].
IMPAR would like to submit that Muslims fighting as part of multi-class regiments proved their absolute commitment at several points of time. For example, Quartermaster Havildar Abdul Hamid was posthumously awarded Param Vir Chakra for his courage and valiance in the Battle of Asal Uttar during the 1965 India-Pakistan War. Also in the 1965 war, Major (later Lt Gen) Mohammad Zaki and Major Abdul Rafey Khan were both awarded Vir Chakra, the latter posthumously, when he fought against the Pakistani division commanded by his own uncle, Maj Gen Sahibzada Yaqub Khan. Even earlier, at partition in 1947, Brigadier Mohammad Usman refuse the call by Jinnah to move to Pakistan, but fought the Pakistani invasion in Kashmir, was the senior-most officer killed in action in July 1948, and was posthumously awarded Mahavir Chakra for his gallantry, the letter said.
Saying that Muslim soldiers of this so-called ‘Muslim Regiment’ refused to fight the war against Pakistan in 1965 and hence the ‘Muslim Regiment’ was disbanded, denigrates and questions the loyalty of all serving and retired Muslim soldiers. Further, it helps the enemy by striking at the morale of India’s soldiers to degrade their operational capability. It also generates doubt in the public mind that if Muslim soldiers cannot be trusted, then other Muslims too are of similar kind. It exacerbates mistrust and hate between communities.
”When propaganda like the ‘Muslim Regiment’ posts is repeated often as they have been starting perhaps in 2013, the public assumes that it is the truth, especially when there is no official action against the perpetrators. However, IMPAR firmly believes that such propagators will never get their objectives fulfilled,” IMPAR said.
”IMPAR further appeals to the Government and the nation to ensure that the secular and a-political character of our Armed Forces is preserved, and to adhere unwaveringly to the vision and spirit of the Constitution of India, which spells out the framework for our nation and its people,” it said.
–INDIA NEWS STREAM
