Reforming the Indian Muslims: There Is Hope

The Indian Muslims are all converts from Hinduism, and many of them are first-generation Muslims who have an ancient Hindu ancestry. This fact pinches them and is reflected in their treatment outside the Sub-continent. So much so that even Indian Muslims who ventured out earlier during the prime of ISI power to support Baghdadi were given only menial jobs and were not allowed to marry or have sex with Arab girls. No Indian Muslim was allowed to touch a local Arab girl, yet the Indian Muslims tolerated all this, and I really cannot understand why. In effect, they are given second-class status. Many Arab Muslims refer to them as Hindu Muslims.

In India, the Muslims are a backward lot. Almost 80% of their women are denied education by the community, and nearly 45% of the males do not attend National schools. They thus live in their own world. Matters are not helped by the fact that the Indian government, which was mostly the Congress government, actively sided and planned to keep the Muslims in a backward state, as they felt they would be a good vote bank.

Muslim representation in elite jobs in India is minimal, and many are isolated from mainstream politics. They lead an insular life and prevail on their women to accept the Sharia, Polygamy, no education, and willy-nilly wear the Hijab or Burkha. This is enforced in a draconian way, and there are reports of women being killed for not wearing the Burkha.

The Indian Muslims had also actively supported the Muslim League for the creation of Pakistan. They had hoped that once Pakistan was created, they would be prominent there. Unfortunately, a moth-eaten Pakistan was made, and areas that in effect had agitated for Pakistan, like the Bhopal Muslims, were left in India. Millions of others would have preferred to join Pakistan and had agitated for the state, but were left in India as the division of the country was demographic, and only Muslim areas were created for Pakistan..

Thus, they were forlorn and saw the mirage of Pakistan slip away from them. They could not reconcile to this state of affairs and, accordingly, decided not to be emotionally involved with the new state, as their sympathies remained with Pakistan. No wonder, in a cricket match between India and Pakistan, the Indian Muslims always cheered for Pakistan, and a Pakistan victory was their own win.

This led to most Muslims being marginalized in India. As India progressed, the Muslims got left behind. They resorted to all sorts of ruses, including terrorism, to undermine the Indian state, with which they felt no affinity. This led to Hindu-Muslim riots all over the country, and the Muslims, being a minority, suffered more deaths. All this has increased their bitterness, and now many top Muslim leaders are talking about insecurity and intolerance. The fact is, the Indian Muslims have not emotionally bonded with India and still think and yearn for the days when they (Muslims) were the rulers of India.

The situation does look murky, but all is not lost, and a sizable number of Muslims are realizing that they have to shut the door on their past and join the mainstream. Muslims have to shed their inhibitions and come forward. But this is not happening. In many areas like Kashmir, the Muslims are still dreaming of breaking away from India. They are, of course, in a minority, but as you are aware, a minority can always terrorize the majority by terrorist means with a gun.

Many young Muslims sympathize with ISI, and a local terror group, the Indian Mujahedin, is formed. This is all very dangerous, and one wonders where all this will lead. The Muslims from India feel isolated. This is their own doing, and one wonders how this jinx will be broken.

There is always a silver lining to the dark cloud, and after 75 years of independence, the Indian Muslims are realizing that they have no place in Pakistan, which itself is a failed state and on the verge of bankruptcy. This is a good sign, and we have reports of even Muslim girls now coming forward and joining the all-India services like the Indian army and police. In the recent battle with Pakistan, the spokeswoman of the Indian Army was a colonel who was a Muslim.