** Mounting fury over religious discrimination by the Hindu majority is triggering an increasingly violent Muslim backlash **
By Alex Perry Bombay
** “Muslims are a despised minority, disliked by a large section of the majority,” wrote Muslim commentator Firoz Bakht Ahmed in the Hindu newspaper last month. **
Indian Muslims do have their high achievers: President Abdul Kalam; Wipro chairman and India’s richest man, Azim Premji, and a host of Bollywood stars (Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan).
** But for every President or Muslim tech entrepreneur or movie star or policeman, there are 1,000 others with tales of discrimination in the workplace or the education system, harassment by wayward police officers or segregation into ghettos by Hindu landlords. Whatever the causes, there is no disputing the fact that Indian Muslims today are less educated, poorer and live shorter, less secure and less healthy lives than their Hindu counterparts. Census figures paint a bleak picture of their plight. In rural India, 29% of Muslims earn less than $6 a month, compared with 26% of Hindus; in the cities (where a third of all Muslims live) the gap rises to 40% vs. 22%. Some 13% of India’s population is Muslim, yet Muslims account for just 3% of government employees, and an even smaller percentage are employed by private Hindu businesses. Meanwhile, in the cities, 30% of Muslims are illiterate, vs. 19% of Hindus. Nor are any of these indices improving.
India’s Muslims are also far more likely than Hindus to be victims of violent attacks. **
In all the communal riots since independence, official police records reveal that three-quarters of the lives lost and properties destroyed were Muslim, a figure that climbed to 85% during last year’s riots in Gujarat. The Gujarat authorities even went so far as to price Muslim lives below those of Hindus, offering $2,050 in state compensation for Muslims killed but double that for the riots’ 58 Hindu victims. “There is often a tendency in India to treat Muslims as them rather than us,” says K.C. Tyagi, former leader of the moderate Hindu Samajwadi Party. “And this tendency does have terrible manifestations. Even today, by and large, Muslims have not been admitted to what we call the Indian mainstream.” The portion of the population affected by this systemic discrimination is staggering: India’s Muslim “minority” numbers 150 million people (vs. 850 million Hindus)—after Indonesia, the second-largest Islamic community in the world.
Many muslim thinkers in India are of the opinion that muslims desperately need reformists. Education must take top priority. Even now a majority of muslims in small towns and villages study in madrassas instead of mainstream schools. The muslims get govt funds for these madrassas, so instead of building those, they should be building proper english foundation schools.
Once any muslim comes into the mainstream via the educational system he/she faces a lot less problems in fitting in. At least that is my own personal experience. For eg I went to a boarding school and studied with muslims, and it was only in adult life that I fully understood that muslims are different from hindus. All the muslim girls I studied with are sucesses. Except one. She had the bed next to mine and was a first class athlete. The 100mts relay was her forte. She could have easily made it to national level, but her parents objected to her wearing shorts after a certain age and she was withdrawn from school and married at 16.
If you go to places like Bangalore you will see one muslim name after every 3 hindu names.
EVery muslim in India has the opportunity to make it. For some it will be a breeze, for others harder than most. There is no secret formula. Many hindus fall by the wayside too, unrecognized for their work.
The only problem is the RSS and stubborn muslim leaders like Shahabuddin. If only we could do away with the whole moth eaten lot and get some intelligent spokesmen for both sides!
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Zakk: *
The Gujarat authorities even went so far as to price Muslim lives below those of Hindus, offering $2,050 in state compensation for Muslims killed but double that for the riots' 58 Hindu victims.
[/QUOTE]
There is a difference, because of a reason. But dont go by what article says. The 58 people killed in Godhra got the compensation from Railways and hence a higher amount. Railways has a special insurance for all the people killed in its accidents.
The people killed in the actual riots, i.e. either Hindus or Muslims got the same compensation of Rs 1,00,000/-. (which is the aftermath of the Godhra incident).
Anyway, compensation or not, Thank you Jinnah!....
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by karina: *
Many muslim thinkers in India are of the opinion that muslims desperately need reformists. Education must take top priority. Even now a majority of muslims in small towns and villages study in madrassas instead of mainstream schools. The muslims get govt funds for these madrassas, so instead of building those, they should be building proper english foundation schools.
Once any muslim comes into the mainstream via the educational system he/she faces a lot less problems in fitting in. At least that is my own personal experience. For eg I went to a boarding school and studied with muslims, and it was only in adult life that I fully understood that muslims are different from hindus. All the muslim girls I studied with are sucesses. Except one. She had the bed next to mine and was a first class athlete. The 100mts relay was her forte. She could have easily made it to national level, but her parents objected to her wearing shorts after a certain age and she was withdrawn from school and married at 16.
If you go to places like Bangalore you will see one muslim name after every 3 hindu names.
EVery muslim in India has the opportunity to make it. For some it will be a breeze, for others harder than most. There is no secret formula. Many hindus fall by the wayside too, unrecognized for their work.
The only problem is the RSS and stubborn muslim leaders like Shahabuddin. If only we could do away with the whole moth eaten lot and get some intelligent spokesmen for both sides!
[/QUOTE]
KARINA the points that you have mentioned above are being said by a large number of moderate hindus . but i totally disagree with your views because
this is a classic case of the victim being asked to mend his ways and get himself educated while the educated murderer goes scot free.
it must be noted that the people who are talking up arms are all highly educated muslims people who have been arrested are MBAS ,DOCTORS, COMPUTER ENGINEERS, so please stop this old drum of muslims getting education etc....
the fact of the matter is that there is a huge section of young muslims who are angry at the humilitation and the sense of injustice thats being heaped on them. and unless the majority community stops it by rejecting the facist the angry will only mulitply and the result will be disasterous for all of us
Kabir- you make it sound as if the minority community has a right to take up arms. How will that solve the problem?
When you talk of the majority community 'rejecting fascism', could you come up with a solution rather than make sweeping statements on what should be done, because it's easy to say what should be done or what shouldn't. We can condemn all we want but it's not going to take us forward.
Thats why I talked of education. If all you want from me is a condemnation of the majority, that's easy to give, but provides no fodder for a thinking man/woman.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by karina: *
The only problem is the RSS and stubborn muslim leaders like Shahabuddin.
[/QUOTE]
Sorry, but that is a pathetic analogy considering what happened to Muslims in Gujrat. The RSS incited Hindu's to burn and kill thousands of Muslims in Gujrat, and I don't believe that Shaabuddin has incited anyone to burn or kill anyone?
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by kabir: *
..this is a classic case of the victim being asked to mend his ways and get himself educated while the educated murderer goes scot free..
[/QUOTE]
Look, even in America today there is discrimination. Discrimination can never be erased completely. But, it can be discouraged and laws enacted to protect people from it. America has the civil rights.
India on the other hand has their leader condoning the discrimination. He belongs to the group committing these crimes. It was like if Bush was a member of the KKK. That is the difference between discrimination in America and India.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by karina: *
Many muslim thinkers in India are of the opinion that muslims desperately need reformists. Education must take top priority. ....
[/QUOTE]
Karina, I happen to know a VERY BIG Indian Muslim population here in US and most of them tell me the similar "dicsrimination" stories. Accept the fact that there is big time discrimination against Muslims. The moment RSS and likes stop getting any support specially from Indians abroad (mainly US) RSS will begin to fall. "secular" Hindus have to become more vocal and lead by example.
"Muslims are not getting educated" is very old suggestion and its false.
Look fellas I am not going to argue with you if for everything I say I get an answer ‘that’s bull, it’s the fault of the hindus and you know it’.
If the majority can realise what their faults are so should the minority. Hindus and muslims are together in this, and just blaming, blaming will not get us anywhere. Lastly, if Pakistanis think they know more than me about India’s problems then it’s another good idea for me to keep quiet. Why don’t you solve our problems by talking to this ‘large indian muslim population’ in the US?
I’m posting a link to an article which is very long, so do not want to copy it here. Read it with an open mind. You don’t have to agree with the whole of it -the point is to see the picture from all sides. And might I remind you that I speak not as a hindu, or part of a majority that oppresses the minority, but as a nationalist! For me it is India and Indians that matter, period.
I typed the whole thing and this server somehow didn’t accept it
I’ll try again.
I couldn’t read the whole article but what it suggests is that Muslims in India should giveup their id as “Indian Muslims” and they’ll become “progressive”, “modern”, “integral part” and what not. I don’t know how the “search for identity” stops them from participating in the society they live in.
In any given country, majority is not identified uniquely i.e. Pakistani Muslims, Indian Hindus, instead its minority who is identified differently i.e. Pakistani Christians, American Muslims/Jews etc.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Changez_like: *
..I don't know how the "search for identity" stops them from participating in the society they live in..
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I think an internationally respected organisation like Human Rights Watch is a far, far more credible source than the trashy Hinduvta source you have posted. So what do you say to the HRW report, and it’s main findings that Muslims were left to be slaughtered in Gujrat? Read this shocking paragraph on the rape and murder of Muslim women…
***Attacks on Women
I have never known a riot which has used the sexual subjugation of women so widely as an instrument of violence as in the recent mass barbarity in Gujarat. There are reports everywhere of gang-rape, of young girls and women, often in the presence of members of their families, followed by their murder by burning alive, or by bludgeoning with a hammer and in one case with a screw driver. Women in the Aman Chowk shelter told appalling stories about how armed men disrobed themselves in front of a group of terrified women to cower them down further.***
Why don't you blame the Muslims and their "lack of education" for the barbarity of the Hindutva terrorists in Gujrat, like you have been throughout this thread?
Malik, you are well aware that many Indians have been in denial with what had happened to Muslims in Gujarat. Thank you for highlighting the atrocities carried out by the Hinduvta fanatics.
