Modi wins again
However, with this recent victory, there still remain serious concerns about how the Modi government will be treating minority communities in the country. India has a huge Muslim population, making up 13.4 per cent of the population, as well as 24.1 million Christians. Both groups are widely discriminated against as are other minorities. India has moved decisively to a rightist and avowedly nationalist position and there are concerns that this might fuel extremism to the detriment of minority groups. There are also further concerns that tensions with Pakistan will rise on the back of nationalist sentiments. This can be clearly seen in the rising tensions on the Line of Control and the Working Boundary between the two countries. The full impact of India’s swing to the right both domestically and internationally, however, remains to be seen.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 22nd, 2014.
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@Motiwala: In that case, u shud be very happy n jumping with joy ...
As an indian Christian, it is absurd to hear about Christians being discriminated in India. Christians are in fact far better represented , even more than hindus in the indian economy and far less Christians than communities in terms of percentage are poor. Christians and Sikhs are generally doing far better than the other communities , an established fact. My wife is Hindu and my elder sister too is married to one. Both families attended the wedding.
Sir, (Please publish despite length) Modi will exploit existing societal fault lines, he may not create new ones but his followers may go off tangent from his Agenda. Reg Discrimination: It does take place. It's a sad tale but then who isn't discriminated against really? When limited resources have to meet unlimited wants of burgeoning population social injustice is an unpleasant certainty. India is trying still. You have to understand differing cultures too. Yesterday a friend hosted Diwali lunch in a Chennai (Madras) restaurant for me. (Diwali is a day earlier in South) To my mild surprise I noticed the menu displayed at least 6-7 items made out of beef & it's part of a chain owned by a Kerala Hindu. Eating beef on Diwali day? Unthinkable on any day in Gujarat or Delhi. Does it mean Gujarat discriminates & Tamilnadu doesn't? In living memory Madras hasn't had a Hindu-Muslim riot. Madras has hardly any Muslim-Hindu segregated ghetto-slums as such but Dalits, many of who are Christians, are as worse off as their counterparts anywhere but that has nothing to do with Christianity. Their suffering is in spite of it. If you don't know that you will think Christians get a raw deal.
IMO, Brahmins are discriminated against the most in the Naya Hindustan which is 70 years old story already. (Anti-Brahmin movement by Dravid parties in South, Maharashtra & low-caste Reservations pre-date independence by more than a decade). It's next to impossible for a Brahmin to get a government job in South but he is shade better off in North. On whatever you have based your observation, it can't be Indian Laws. May be laws err in favour of minorities. At societal levels there are discriminations but then anybody who has had a nodding acquaintance with the centuries old social history of subcontinent will know discrimination is part of our genetic inheritance. How to shed is the challenge.
Minorities are discriminated ..what a joke ..I come from a real minority community ..I am a Sikh which has much lesser population than even Muslims in India..I never faced any such issue like what Pak Ahmadis .,Shias ,Hindus,Christians face in Pakistan ..our previous PM was a Sikh who ruled for 10 yrs..our President for 10 years was a Muslim and the leader of one of the biggest party Congress is a Catholic..our biggest and richest Bollywood stars are mostly Muslims ..we had top Army Chief who is a Muslim ..can u name any of your Past present PM who is a Hindu ..
The Modi government has begun to strip away some of the more cumbersome regulations and there are reports of civil servants actually working overtime to the surprise of many. THIS IS YR LINE (The Express Tribune) ..............WELL I CALL THIS GOVERNANCE......!!!!
@Motiwala: Jinnah was a butcher too,, Google Direct action day.... What do u call that butcher,,, Quiad e Azam ? Also google black september ur fav son Zia u Haq killed how many of your Muslim brother is Palestine ? How many innocents were killed when ur coward Bin Qasim decedent upon Sindh ? Was he not a butcher? Forgot Bangladesh , Dhaka killing fields? Callling some one else a butcher is way to ignore ur own mess... Sad state of Pakistani society ! Happy Diwali, Have a Blast, i mean not to get killed in a blast!
so no Kashmir issue for next 10 years
This editorial states that "India has a huge Muslim population, making up 13.4 per cent of the population.... Both groups are widely discriminated against as are other minorities."
That makes the Indian Muslim population to be about 170 million. How does India "widely" discriminate against such a massive population? On what basis is this statement being made? The poor Indian Muslim is as much discriminated against as a poor Hindu or Christian or Dalit. In fact, of all the downtrodden in India, the Dalits have it the worst. In case you haven't noticed, India practices equal-opportunity discrimination where the only thing that counts is money and political power. In most cases it doesn't matter what your religion is.
On a separate point, Pakistan in comparison has a total population (including minorities) of 188 million. One could argue equally effectively that Pakistan has at best fared no better, and may actually fare much worse when it comes to the treatment of its own Muslim population, which by sheer numbers is comparable to India. The rampant sectarian violence in Pakistan does not occur in India. So, Pakistan does not treat its minorities well, nor does it treat its majority well either.
If Indian Muslims were to form a separate country they would be the 8th largest country in the world by population. But we already tried that, didn't we? And look where that has taken us.
'Both communities heavily discriminate against'.....
You must be talking about Pakistan, not India.
Come to Kerala to see , a Christian is the CM, a Muslim is the deputy CM n a state with 55 percent Hindus, 20 percent Christians and 25 percent Muslim
India's defence minister in the last adm AK Antony is a Christian..Our bomb guy and ex Presdent Abdul Kalam s a Muslim. Ex CJI Aslam is a Muslim... The richest man in India, Premji is a Muslim...
SoiniaGandhi is a Chrstian, so also her son-in-law Robert Vadra.
Of course there ay be individual cases of discrimination; but that is felt b all based on the language,education, economic class, gender and religion/caste etc
FYI, the Muslim population in India grew after independence; not like the decimation of the minorities in Pak.
FYI I am a proud Indian Christian; and I come from a part of India where Christianity was there long before Rome became Christian; and Islam was there 4 centuries before the present part of Pakistan became Muslim.
Christians along with Sikhs are the top two richest communities of India. Christians facing discrimination is poppycock!
One of my best friend who is Muslim used to say after reading my notebook --
Sale kya urdu mein likh k diye ho!!
Things to learn for you guys...
-He is my best friend..certainly not discriminated -Language is a regional thing..not Religional -Urdu is a beautiful language to speak...and its major prominence is because of Lucknow --present day india Though we understand it fully..we cant write it.
And guess wat..we were studying in Christian Missionary School..
Welcome to India
Till such time as the disgraceful constitutionally sanctioned discrimination such as the apartheid law that prohibits Non-Muslims from being Prime Minister and President of Pakistan, exists on the statute books of Pakistan, no Pakistani newspaper is entitled to editorialise about discrimination, potential or otherwise, anywhere in the world
ET Mods-please print opinion of an Indian Muslim.
I have never felt discriminated in India but then my father gave me good education and my husband and I have just 2 children. Both my husband and I have good jobs and we see hope for ourselves and our children. Sometimes people have to question the choices they make. If a man has 6 children and sends them to madrasa because he cannot afgord good education for the children and will not let his wife earn and support family income due to cultural reasons, can you blame discrimnation for the state that family finds itself in?
Like many others, I too was initially concerned about Modi when he was nominated BJP candidate. But in listening to his speeches in the long election campaign fromSeptember to May, I did not hear what I expected to hear. Modi may in future discriminate but so far all I see him is busy on economic reform which will make life better for all Indians. So I will hold my judgment and protest if he does something that is problematic.
I am not sure if you have asked actual minorities or are you just going by sound bytes from Congress politicians and its supporters in media?
Christians are discriminated ...dude we are talking of India here not pakistan.
Pakistan treating its minorities with charm eh??
No shame ??
When Muslims will come out of all phobias surrounding them ? Here, in election campaign in Mumbai, nobody talked about religion/ cast. Now the days have come "what you can offer and fulfill for development like education, health, infrastructure, etc". Only those leaders and parties will survive in India who are credible and visible on theses issues. If Modi does not deliver, he will be out in next election, he knows this well. That much maturity has arrived in Indian voters. But if you do not want to change, it is your choice and look out.
The citizens of Pakistan must undoubtedly be the world’s most selfless people. They are ever willing to sacrifice their time for the protection of Muslims from alleged oppression anywhere in the world be it Kashmir, Gujarat, Kosovo, Myanmar or Palestine and all this support even at the cost of Muslim sects like the Shia and Ahmadi sect getting slaughtered for their religious beliefs in Pakistan. Why there is even an exception that proves this rule of selflessness and that is the Pakistani silence regards the slaughter of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang at the behest of China. Indeed if the Crab Nebula, Betelgeuse or Aldebaran had Muslims, one could be sure that Pakistan will selflessly overlook the slaughter of Muslim sects in Pakistan and provide support against alleged oppression committed against Muslims there.
Till such time as the disgraceful constitutionally sanctioned discrimination such as the apartheid law that prohibits Non-Muslims from being Prime Minister and President of Pakistan, exists on the statute books of Pakistan, no Pakistani newspaper is entitled to editorialise about discrimination, potential or otherwise, anywhere in the world.
"...discrimination against minorities" - this coming from a Pakistani newspaper! Was this said to compensate for a lack of comic strip in the paper?
Butcher of Gujrat in full control, to destroy India.
Pakistan will do well to analyze and understand what the Indian voter is voting for, an ideal that Modi has been successful in symbolizing, and will have to live up to in times ahead. I think Indians are also coming to realize that there is a difference between politics on the plank of religion vs. on the plank of nationalism, and that BJP currently represents the latter; this makes them a comfortable choice for all those people who want an honest Govt, a strong foreign policy, domestic rule of law, and increased prosperity, while they couldn't care less if a Ram temple is built in Ayodhya over the next many years. So as long as you try and pigeon-hole Modi and the BJP as an anti-minority party, you will end up having to explain the mystery of their successes in an increased number of minority dominated constituencies in the recent past and in the future.
BTW modi govt. already cleared 5 lakh cr power,dam, road project which are low hanging fruits in previous congress govt.In december there will be bid for Delhi Mumbai Industrial corridor project.
Ok, let us pause for a moment: The PM decides to spend Diwali with the flood victims of Kashmir. The election campaign in Maharashtra and Harayana after a long time had no religious polarisation. It was purely fought against corruption and for economic growth. The minorities in India vote in big numbers just like majority if not more. Parties like MIM contested in Maharashtra and won seats in Mumbai. Their primary focus was against the congress type of religious appeasement. While it is known they are also anti-BJP. It is surprising Pakistan is talking about concern for minorities in India. Can you please take care of your minorities first. Have you seen a single muslim from India knocking on your door for asylum. You know how many of your minorities are running away from your country.
Indian Muslims already got Pakistan. India has 14.6% as Muslims. Muslims comes under majority in India not minority, please check your facts. Partiton act define India as a non-muslim state.
Both groups are widely discriminated against as are other minorities.
This comes as news to me. In all my life, I have never faced discrimination in India.
Both groups are widely discriminated against as are other minorities.
Author is an arm Chair analyst and is far removed from the ground reality. This line was not called for. This line rather gives green light or encourages local Pakistani's to discriminates against other minorities. Irresponsible journalism.