Bangalore:
India has a Muslim population of about 15% (officially about 12%). The community wise figures of the latest census (1981) are not released, perhaps fearing that it will upset the balance of power of the Ruling Class. And how this Muslim minority is treated in India is known to the whole world. Barring Indonesia, India has the highest Muslim population in the world. As the Indonesian Muslims are not considered “orthodox” by the Muslim world, the Indian Muslims become the most important segment in the world. And the daily anti-Muslim riot in one or other part of India has made them the worst persecuted minority and their deaths in hundreds if not thousands has fully exposed the humbug of Gandhian non-violence.
China has a total of 14 million Muslim population, forming just 1.4% of its 1,000 million population. As a religious minority, they are the single largest, but the way they are treated in China despite being a communist society – not believing in god or religion, should be an eye-opener to the “god-fearing” Indian Ruling Class which has been persecuting its Dalits and minorities inviting the attention of all those concerned with human rights in the world. Despite all this the Indian Ruling Class does not stop mouthing its slogan of non-violence. It is more concerned about cow slaughter but not the slaughter of human beings.
Both during my previous visit (1980) to China as the leader of a goodwill delegation and this time (August, 1983) I went to mosques and churches in Beijing and Shanghai and met many leaders of the Muslim and Christian community. Prof. Bashir Hussain, Principal, University Law College, Bangalore, and a member of the delegation, was with me during my last visit to mosques and churches China’s Constitution recognises national minorities who are given special status. Muslims are among the 55 national minorities. At the Shanghai mosque, I met two Muslim leaders (Mahamud and Salim, leaders of the Shanghai Islamic Association, address : No. 52 – Shao Tao Yuan Street, Shanghai, China) and they gave the following account of the treatment given to Muslims in China : Protection to minorities is not only ensured in China’s Constitution but strictly implemented. When prayers are going on in the mosque, non-Muslim neighbours do not create any noise. Nobody cooks pork near the mosque as pork is a religious taboo to Muslims. This gesture on the part of the non-Muslims is very much appreciated by the Muslims. If anybody brings. pork, he will be punished. As Muslims don’t eat pork, they are permitted to open their own hotels and there are any number of them in big cities. Muslims are permitted to keep their special identity.
Muslims being a microscopic minority, China could have crushed them as the Indian Ruling Class is trying to do with its minorities here. But an the other hand, we found them enjoying full freedom and their life & property secure unlike in India. When I told them the way the Muslims were killed in India in hundreds, the Muslim leaders of China were very much shocked as they knew very little of India. Surprisingly they had not even heard of the recent Assam massacre of Muslims When I told them about the mass killings of Muslims at Moradabad, Aligarh, Hyderabad, Jamshedpur, etc. they wanted more details. They felt very bad that the Muslims and Dalits suffered alike in India and both were victims of a common enemy. When both had a common enemy, they should put up a united fight, they said They sought more information about the slaughter of Muslims and Dalits in India. Though officially they had no touch with the other Muslim countries, they considered that the current conflicts between different Muslim countries were due to the manipulations of the two super Powers, USA and USSR. They said they had full religious freedom and assured to conduct special prayers for those killed in Hindu atrocities on Muslims and Dalits in India. Women attended mosque services in China. They had sent a small team to Saudi Arabia for the Haj. This was because China did not have full diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia. They agreed to examine our suggestion to invite an Indian Muslim delegation to find out how beautifully Muslims and other minorities were looked after there.
As for Christians, both Roman Catholic and Protestant, several outside church delegations had visited China and their reports about the excellent treatment given to Christians were published. According to Chung Tseng Chu, priest of the Shuijia Huei Catholic Church, Shanghai, which I visited, China had a 3-millian Catholic population and they were free and secure.
