Some 30-odd years ago Palestinians invented the hijacking of passenger planes, destroying them not only in the sky but also assembling and burning many hijacked passenger airliners in the deserts of Jordon.
What did they gain? Perhaps a justifiable demand for a separate state only got delayed.
Tamil Tigers were the pioneers of suicide bombings. In more than three decades of bloodshed in Sri Lanka, thousands have perished, many were tortured both by the LTTE and the Mahinda Rajapaksa government in Sri Lanka. Finally, sanity prevailed on both sides and today Sri Lanka is on the path of progress and peaceful co-existence.
As you would have gathered from the Heritage/History column of Dr Hari Desai in Asian Voice dated October 8, 2016, (page 25) the accession of State of Jammu and Kashmir to India was legal and is a fact of life. No one should speculate whether the State of Jammu and Kashmir can be delinked from the Indian Union, least by the use of terrorists or proxy war.
The State of Jammu and Kashmir comprises three distinct areas – the Valley which is predominantly populated by Muslims; Jammu which mainly consists of Hindus and Sikhs; and Ladakh comprising mainly Buddhists.
Even in the Valley, as can be gauged from the elections last year, the great majority are committed to the secular and democratic India. Of course, black sheep are there in every family and the Valley is no exception. There are some hotheads and misguided separatists.
In the last 3 months at least 25 well-built schools were deliberately burned down by anti-social elements. Who are the sufferers? Not the children of leaders who are waging violence against the State. Their offspring study in various schools and colleges in other parts of India or even abroad. None of the hundreds or so “protesters” who lost their lives are children of leaders or separatists or trouble-makers.
However, a school where the granddaughter of Syed Ali Shah Geelani – a Hurriyat leader – is studying is standing safe and education is going on as usual with exams conducted on time. How come when other schools were torched, this one was exempted?
Even though the situation in Kashmir has not been favourable since 1989, still Jammu and Kashmir could produce brilliant minds over the years. But the day may not be very far, when the pens in the valley will dry up if such situation continues unabated.
Intolerance, extremism leading to terrorism is the enemy of any civilised society. Those who fan the flames of hatred or encourage or abet such nefarious activities ultimately become victims of the flames they help to spread.
The Economist (dated October 29, 2016) touched upon a similarly related subject in a long article titled “India's Muslims an uncertain community”.
The world renowned magazine has clearly stated that India remains a secular country where the Muslims are not persecuted, hounded into exile or systematically targeted by terrorists, as have minorities in other parts of the subcontinent.
Let us quote straight away from the article, “India's Muslims have not, it is true, been officially persecuted, hounded into exile or systematically targeted by terrorists, as have minorities in other parts of the subcontinent, such as the Ahmadi sect in Pakistan.”
The Economist has every right to comment in its own way. It is right that there are very few Muslim army officers, and their number in higher ranks of police too are few and far between. But then the Economist admits that the “Muslims were in general poorer, more prone to sex discrimination and less literate than the general population. At postgraduate level in elite universities, Muslims were a scant 2% of students.”
Surprisingly, the Economist has not spared a single word about the burning of schools in the Valley. Why?
If educational backwardness is at the root of lack of progress of Muslims, how can the Economist keep quiet, or is turning a blind eye to what is happening in the Valley? The reality is well-built educational institutes were burned down completely by anti-social elements and even the fire brigade or security forces were stopped from dousing the flames. No sensible establishment can afford to look the other way.
The Economist has also given details of the Muslim population in India.
In 1951 the Muslims were 35 million in a total of 510 million population, making them 9% of the aggregate. Based on the Census of India (2011) sources, the Economist says the total population of India in 2011 was 1.2 billion, of which 172 million were Muslims, which comes to just under 15% of the aggregate.
We recollect that in 2012 when the BJP demanded the release of data of 2011 Census, the same Economist was unhappy as it thought it will create anti-Muslim feeling in India or stoke sectarian unrest.
It is a fact of life that the growth of Muslim population in India, which is steadily accelerating, could and would raise eyebrows of other communities – just as we have seen in the UK, the concern of the local community looking at the rapid increase of non-white immigrants.
Nevertheless, one thing needs to be clear. India belongs to all Indians irrespective of caste, creed, race or religion.
But commentators, both from abroad and India, should have a more balanced overview before making any irresponsible statements.
The Economist has also illustrated with charts the education level of the Muslims and Hindus in India. It is sad and very worrying that the Muslim community is falling behind in education. What can be done about it? Who can help them?
If such places of formal education are burned down, what will happen to many thousands of students and their future? There is also a chart showing population living below the poverty line – the data is very encouraging. It can be said with great relief that their (Hindus and Muslims) economic status has improved relatively and the difference is very small.
As usual, the Economist took the opportunity to attack the BJP-ruled government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is looking to bring in reforms in India by trying to address issues of women's rights i.e. Triple Talaq. It seems the Economist sees the communal approach. Perhaps there is so much exaggeration in the way such commentators look at the causes and consequences of the ills of India, especially a large and uncertain community like Indian Muslims.