Were Muslims ever persecuted in India prior to 1947 ? Werent minority Muslims ruling majority Hindus. Still Muslims wanted to separate and form a new country where they are in a majority.
http://www.dawn.com/weekly/dmag/dmag6.htm
Inquisitive minds
By Amar Jaleel
Intolerance breeds hatred; and our society seems to be infected with this disease.
I have often been asked: why do I, at times, sound apologetic? Why do I feel constrained to furnish a preamble in some of my discussions? Before I share with you the queries of the inquisitive persons born after 1947, I must first answer the two questions.
We are subjects of an intolerant society. Intolerance inflicts when a person or a society is either empty or is infected from within. Intolerance is a maddening sickness. It breeds hatred. Like an individual who suffers from an incurable malady and becomes overtly sensitive and irritable, a society suffering from intolerance turns out to be violently reactionary and hostile. Sanity departs. Rational thinking takes cover. People shy away from academic discussions on the subjects and issues that are branded forbidden. A healthy society like a healthy mind turns out to be an abode for tolerance, piety and intellectual growth. In a healthy society people listen to each other’s point of view, and weigh opinions patiently. They respect one another’s right to dissent. Therefore, I deem it essential to furnish a preamble before sharing certain subjects with my friends.
Now, let us take up the issue of an inquisitive mind. What characteristics does it signify in a person? Why does a person born with an inquisitive mind remains restless till he explores an issue that bothers him? He seeks answers to the questions left unanswered. Right from his childhood he grows up with often repeated ‘why,’ ‘why not,’ and ‘how.’ He won’t digest it instantly if you told him that all men are born equal. He won’t accept the maxim. He would assert that all men are not born equal. How can you prove that a child born into a poor family, and a child born into a rich family are born equal? People born with inquisitive minds strive to know. They probe into enigmatic issues. They refuse to accept anything on its face value.
In today’s discourse we would dispassionately discuss queries of the inquisitive minds that wonder what prompted our leaders to plead for an independent country for the Muslims of the subcontinent. Were the Muslims persecuted in undivided India? Were they segregated? Were they denied equal opportunities? Were they hindered in offering prayers? Were they restrained from celebrating Eid and other festivals? Were they debarred from their right to own properties? Were they deprived of freedom of expression? To furnish an answer, we are required to look at India first, not necessarily prehistoric and Vedic India.
India was a huge country and was deservedly regarded a subcontinent. When Mohammed bin Qasim subjugated Sindh in 712AD, India was overwhelmingly populated by the Hindus. Mohammed bin Qasim’s was a brief stint in power. With the establishment of sultanat of Ghazni in 962AD commenced a series of Muslim conquests, invasions and attacks on India under the Ghaznavis, Ghoris, Khiljis, Tarkhans, Lodhis, and finally the great Mughals. From accession of Babar in 1526 till death of Aurangzeb in 1707AD, Mughals held sway over most of India. Except for Mahmood Ghaznavi and Aurangzeb most of the Muslim rulers of India were liberals. They did not interfere with religious and cultural customs and traditions of the Indian people. The Hindus and the Muslims did not engage themselves in killing orgies like the ones the world watched with awe in 1947-48.
During the 600-year Muslim rule over India, the Muslim population registered a study growth. It was heterogeneous Muslim population. Predominant among them were the solders and the mercenaries from Central Asian states, Iran, Afghanistan, Arab principalities, Africa, and Turkey. The others were the local converts. They lived in harmony with the Hindus. The two communities respected each other’s faith. However, slaughtering cow on Eidul Azha and other festivals by the Muslims was an outrageous ritual for the Hindus. It infuriated them. The conflict was so deep rooted that even after 200 years of ouster of the Muslims from power by the British it was reflected in the two-nation theory, the basis for the creation of Pakistan. Muslim leaders repeatedly pleaded with the British that the Hindus worshipped cow, whereas the Muslims ate cow. Therefore, the Hindus and the Muslims were two different nations, and they could never live together. Thus, India was partitioned in 1947 between the Hindus and the Muslims. One wonders, had the Hindus not revolted against slaughtering of cows, Pakistan might not have come into existence!
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Now let us examine the inquisitive minds’ queries. Were the Muslims segregated? Were the Muslims persecuted and denied equal opportunities? The answer is that till the death of Aurangzeb in 1707AD, the Muslims were the rulers of India. Who could have segregated and persecuted them? The British wrested power from the Muslims and became the sovereign rulers of India. The question of persecution of the Muslims is presumptive. At present, more Muslims live in India than in Pakistan.
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The communal riots in the wake of partition of India in 1947 constitute the bleeding chapter in the history of mankind. Millions of Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs were butchered to death. No query from an inquisitive mind can bring them back to life.