CRESCENT INTERNATIONAL EDITORIAL, NOV. 16-30, 1992
India has been highly successful in projecting its image as a ‘non-violent’ State. This is quite remarkable given India’s grisly record of massacaring its minorities, be they Muslim or Sikh. Even the persecution of Dalits, the oppressed, indigenous people of India, has not aroused any international approbation. In a country where the caste system, the ultimate indignity that can be heaped upon a human being, is rigidly enforced, India has literally got away with murder.
Among its numerous minorities, Muslims have been the target of a specially brutal campaign. The Hindu majority views them with suspicion and subjects them to frequent attacks, often in connivance with the law enforcement agencies. There are several reasons for this. The Hindus have not reconciled themselves to the creation of Pakistan even 45 years after partition. They use this to blackmail the Muslims, accusing them of still harbouring pro-Pakistani sentiment. This latter charge has led Muslims into the trap of being more Indian than the Hindus despite suffering untold misery at the hands of their tormentors.
