India A Shining Beacon Of Religious Unity And Hope For Asia In Particular And World In General
By
Colonel Awadhesh Kumar, Special Forces
India is not only a developing Country but also a rising economic and military power. Even when more than half of todays so called developed world were probably just making their first tribal villages, on the Subcontinent ARYAVARTA had numerous kingdoms and small states like Vaishali practicing democracy and living in harmony with Emperors having suzerainty over their area. As late as 17th century AD, Indian GDP accounted for more than 25% of the World’s GDP.
Akhand Bharat Varsha has remained a Nation with a very well defined religious system since time immemorial. It functioned without interference from the political systems or caused any interference into the political system. However the political system always followed the DHARMA laid down and whenever there has been decline in the political dharma followed by neglect of religious system, the people have risen to restore it. In India there has always been a religious balance and harmony, with everyone having freedom to pursue his own religious path. In this matter no other country has the background or experience any current status to give any kind of sermons to the people of India.
India has always been a secular country with every one free to pursue his religious belief. Minorities have always remained protected and that is why Islam, Christianity, Zoroastrianism all who had come here peacefully had no problems. The problems started when certain invaders who followed Islam entered India more for loot and plunder rather than to settle here. That too had started to resolve itself when Moghul Empire stabilized itself. The wars during from Akbar to Aurangzeb’s rule and even later were political and never religious.
However then came the Britishers and it is they who tore apart the social fabric of India. After 1857 war of Independence, even Christianity became a tool in the hands of these racists and some even started the vile activity of Conversion. When on the verge of being forced to leave, the Britishers ensured that there was a partition of the AKHAND BHARAT based on religion. They also left a festering sore in terms of Kashmir.
The Government of India under the Congress Party started on a good note but by 21 st Century the ruling Congress party had degenerated into backing the Vote Bank politics. It resulted in fracture of the polity also on cast lines and vote banks got built up on both caste lines and religion. A number of political parties deliberately created confusion on the term SECULAR and they began to go down to any degree to appease their vote banks.
Now the Indian government formed by BJP has commenced restoring things to their right and just positions. As a major step in order to resolve the long pending problems in the State of Jammu and Kashmir, the Government abolished the Article 370 of the Indian Constitution and decided to split the State into two union territories – Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh – to be directly ruled by the central government. The status of Gilgit Baltistan, a part of the State presently under illegal occupation of Pakistan and a small part under China, has been left out deliberately. It will be decided once we get back possession of the territory.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had vowed to resolve this issue during his campaign for the 2014 election but was unable to do so because of certain other pressing problems and also due to lack of majority in the Rajaya Sabha. During the general election 2019, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) again promised to revoke Kashmir’s special status. Now this has been done.
India aims at cutting off the links between Pakistan and the minuscule number of Kashmiri Separatists who had been holding the State to ransom since late sixties. This move coupled with crack down on terror financing has effectively reduced the Pakistan Sponsored terrorist activities in J&K. In the long-term this will also help in integrating the region both economically and politically with rest of the Indian Union.
India is a multi-religious country with Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists Christians, Parsis and even some Jews. India is the only country in the entire World where Jews have never been prosecuted for their faith. No wonder Israel has such friendly relations with India. About 14 percent of the Indian population is Muslim. They are those who refused to go to Pakistan even when British partitioned Bharat into two based on religion.
They reposed their faith in India. India as a country has also reposed full faith in them. So we have had two muslim Presidents, two Vice Presidents,,Chief Justices of Supreme Court, Governors, Union Ministers, an Air Force Chief, several Army Commanders and equivalents and so on in the Civil services.
The ruling BJP regarded the move on J&K a historic victory. This is a victory of people of India of all faith over terrorism and Separatism and will further boost the political image of the multi-religious country – often described as epitomizing unity in diversity.
This move will now pave the way of Kashmiri Pandits going back to their home and hearth in the Kashmir Valley from their makeshift Camps in Jammu region. Kashmiri Pandits going back to their homes in the Kashmir Valley will then fully re establish the Kashmiriyat and the Secular characteristic of the land. After all, the Indian Vedas the greatest literature produced by humanity till date were written in this land of ours ….Kashmir.
Many a Western Countries and even China harps on religious issues in India. Then why have the Europeans fought two major World Wars when all were Christians only. Even the Arab world has been fighting one another when all are Muslims and Why did Bangladesh fight it out with Pakistan for independence.
Presently even the Muslim people of Baluchistan are asking for Indian help in throwing out the Pakistani occupiers of their land.
Then Uighurs Muslims too are up and against Chinese occupation of their land. Xinjiang has become very volatile and people are chaffing against foreign occupation. So are the peace loving Buddhists people of Tibet fighting passively for their freedom from Chinese occupation.
How to reconcile different religions in the process of modernization has become a challenge to countries in the region, which is a core problem concerning regional and national stability. They all need to learn from India.
India has managed the issue in the most peaceful manner and the Sufi cult is the outcome of this. Kabir and Rahim are revered equally by both the Hindus and the Muslims. Ajmer Sharif, Nizammuddin and Mazar of Chishti are visited by Hindus in greater numbers than others including Muslims.
There is a pressing need for religious harmony in rest of Asia including China. This cannot be achieved by going the way of colonialists who divided the region on the basis of religion or ethnicity.
Only India can teach everyone the pursuit of religious identity and also build the foundation of a modern secular state, stability will just follow. Just look at Indonesia, today it is a Muslim country but still follows its rich traditions and history.
