Sowing and Reaping of Destiny

Afghan, Arab and Irani communities are held in the name of individual
founders or private Trusts. The Boards of Directors or the Boards of Trustees
appointed are widely viewed as decorative figures with little effective say in
formulating policies. It is the founders who are the effective owners of the place
and who ultimately dictate policy and management.
This trend, has been widely practiced in the Indo-Pak subcontinent, much to
the disadvantage of the local communities. For whatever reasons, similar
practice is now followed in the West also by certain factions. In the process, it
is becoming increasingly fashionable as others also try emulate them. Despite
their best intentions in promoting pet projects, in applying such individualistic
attitudes, they often fail to draw lessons from the past. In the process, they
remain oblivious of the possibility of long-term adverse effect. In terms of
social services to the community, overall organization and management, the
plight of the Muslim and especially the Shia communities in India and Pakistan
today will help illustrate the point.
We live in the world that has progressed faster in the last 20 years than at
anytime in history. The changing world has actually brought us closer together
and made us part of the most diverse society as one large community.
Pragmatism calls for collective endeavours in planning and application. That
would take us a long way in fulfilling our needs and in effectively reaching out
to the needy. In so doing the community can become stronger to meet the
requirements of the time and at the same time abide by the laws of the land and
maintain dignity and honour.
A painful scenario here is of little co-ordination among various Islamic centers
despite espousing common faith and common ideals. Many such centers,
among the wider Indo-Pakistani-Bangladeshi communities have emerged as a
result of friction or disputes and end up being at loggerheads with each other.
Similarly Arab and Irani centers operate with their nationalistic leanings. More
often than not, there is growing rivalry and competition between the
protagonists of such centers to the detriment of the overall long term interest of
the wider community. Here, the Khoja, despite their limitations, stand out as a
unique community operating on democratic principles and with transparency
and open accountability. This innate realization among the Khoja and their
desire to hold on to their outlook at times tend to play negative role towards
their progressive involvement across the ethnic, linguistic and racial divide.
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