The religion of Islam as it is, gives them enough stature to play a constructive and effective part in tackling the grave problems that our country is facing. But, due to the intellectual bankruptcy on the part of the Muslim leadership, no such solutions are forthcoming.

If the Muslims fail to relate to their present situation, it is in large measure due to their emotional development having atrophied in memory of their glorious past. They had, after all, been rulers of South Asia for almost a millennium. This indeed, is the principal underlying factor in the lack of realism which marks a great deal of their own planning for the future. Adverse circumstances having led them to the point where the only feasible course is to take ‘a back seat’, they are still unwilling to face up to the reality of the situation. Worse, they are misled by their leaders, who keep harking back to the heyday of the Mughal reign. In the present context, the paths along which the Muslims are directed by popular leaders can only lead to destruction.