Author: François Gautier
Publication: The New Indian Express
August 7, 2008
URL: http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IE720080807021531
Instead of calling an all-party meet to resolve
the Jammu and Kashmir row, the government would do well to try to understand
the fury of Hindus and not limit the scope of the introspection to the Amarnath
issue. Are Hindus angry only with the hypocrisy of the government on the land
issue? Are there no other topics that make them furious?
Hindus are a peace-loving people. The average
Hindu is easy-going and accepts you and your diversity, whether you are Christian,
Muslim, Parsi or Jain, Arab, French or Chinese. He goes about his business
and usually does not interfere in yours. In fact they take it a little further:
They hate trouble and go out of their way to avoid it.
Everywhere in the world, on the other hand,
Hindus are hounded and humiliated; be it in Fiji where an elected government
was twice deposed in an armed coup, or in Pakistan and Bangladesh, where Muslims
target Hindus every time they want to vent their anger against India (read
Taslima Nasreen's book Lajja). There were one million Hindus in the valley
of Kashmir in 1900. Only a few hundred are left today, the rest having been
forced to flee through terror. In Assam, Tripura, or Nagaland, Hindus are
being outnumbered by Bangladeshi illegal immigrants and terrorised by pro-Christian
separatist groups, such as the Bodos or the Mizos, while local governments
often turn a blind eye. Their temples are being taken over in states like
Kerala or Karnataka, the donations appropriated by the state governments.
Yet in 3,500 years of known existence, Hindus
have never invaded another country and never tried to impose their religion
upon others. No, it has rather been through peaceful invasions that Hinduism
has stormed the world, whether in the East, witness Angkor Wat, or in the
West today, where the byproducts of Hinduism, yoga, meditation, ayurveda,
pranayama have been adopted by millions.
Hindus also gave refuge to all persecuted
minorities of the world.It's a pity that these two communities turned against
their Hindu brethren , the former by way of lured conversions, and the latter
with bloody invasions.
Hindus, who accept everybody and welcome all
religions, are mocked and bombs are planted in their markets, their trains
and temples are attacked, they are chased out of their homelands; television
and newspapers make fun of them, their own politicians ostracise them.
So, sometimes, Enough is Enough. At some point,
Hindus, the most peace-loving people in the world, those Mahatma Gandhi once
called gently 'cowards', erupt in fury - uncontrolled fury.
Yes, one should condemn the Gujarat pogrom,
but one should look also at the causes. It is not only the 36 innocent Hindu
women and children who were burnt to death in a train by a mob of criminals.
It is also how much silent frustration and anger must have built over the
years, decades, or centuries even, amongst Gujarati Hindus, that in one moment,
1,25.000 Hindus, normal, peaceful people, came out on the streets of Ahmedabad
with such fury.
The same thing is true of Jammu and the Amarnath
issue. Hindus never complain about their government giving billion of rupees
to Indian Muslims for the pilgrimage to Mecca. But when Hindus need shelters,
toilets and basic facilities at a height of 15,000 feet to worship at Amarnath,
it is denied by the same government. So they erupt in fury.
Instead of appealing for calm and communal
harmony, instead of giving us all this eyewash about a 500-year-old Dargah
'mostly patronised by Hindus' political leaders, journalists, and spiritual
leaders, would do well to look at the root cause of Hindu fury, and try to
address their frustrations.
Journalists should also do a little bit of
introspection. Hindus have had enough. If this government, or the next, does
not take note of their frustrations, we might very well see more Jammus erupting
in the coming months and years.
- fgautier26@gmail.com
