Though some of their beliefs overlap, Hinduism and Islam are two very different religions. Hinduism, considered one of the world's oldest religions, has no human founder and does not follow a specific set of teachings. In many ways, Hinduism is often considered more of a way of life than a “religion.” Hindus believe in the omnipresent spirit Brahman, which resides within each person and can take on many different forms. Hinduism regards life as a cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, with Karma acting as a guiding force. Hindus follow the teachings in the Vedas and inherit their traditions from the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Gita. Muslims, on the other hand, follow a monotheistic religion called Islam, which was founded by the prophet Muhammad in 622 A.D. This religion emphasizes the sovereignty of their God, called Allah, who stands above all else and to whom Muslims pray exactly five times every day. The Muslims derive their inspiration from the Quran and Hadis and have gained their traditions from the Prophet, Caliph, and Imams. According to Kanwaljit Kaur, a Doctor of Philosophy in History, “There is a great difference between the Hindus and Muslims in tradition, in history and in their attitude towards life political, social and economic” (3). Because of these inherit differences, Hindus and Muslims “neither inter-marry nor dine together and indeed they belong to two different civilizations which are based mainly on conflicting ideas and conceptions” (30). Because their religious figures and traditions vary so greatly, the two religions are easily distinguishable and can easily be seen as two seperate faiths. As religion is the foundation on which their beliefs, interests, traditions, and daily life lie, they have very different viewpoints on their ways of life.
The religious differences between Hindus and Muslims also bring out their intellectual differences. According to Dr Ramachandra Tupkary, a retired engineer and leading intellectual thinker in the Hindu Nationalist Party, the human brain can be divided into two sections: the left and the right. The left side holds the disciplined and organized components. This side is built to deal with uniformity and simplistic ideals. The right side, on the other hand, is the side holding imagination and originality. These two halves of the brain can be used to represent groups of people. “Cultures that have a strong right-side brain are good at dealing with complex thoughts and tend toward a democratic and decentralized society. . . . People who have a strong left side brain are more disciplined but tend toward autocratic and centralized societies” (Luce, 144). Because Muslims have specific prayer times for each day and follow a strict set of guidelines and teachings, they can be described as an organized, left-side culture. Hindus on the other hand, are more imaginative with their faith and don't conform to specific teachings, but have universal rights and wrongs and believe that their god lives through everyone. Therefore, Hindus can be described as a right-side culture. These intellectual differences have contributed to the cultural clashes between Muslims and Hindus, thus shaping India into the society it is today. (Luce)
Question #2: What is the history of Islam and Muslims in India?
Islam became prominent in India through the appearance of Arab traders that frequently came to trade goods such as spices and gold during the 5th century, bringing their religion with them. Islam was passed between cities and towns, quickly and peacefully expanding across India. Communities of Muslims were established all over India and beyond. In fact, India was introduced to Islam a long time before it was actually invaded by Muslims (Kaur, 1). It wasn’t until 600 years later that the Muslim invaders began to slowly creep into the territory of India through its northwestern borders. By 1290, India was under the control of Muslim leaders. This new regime of Muslims, an outcasted minority in India, sparked wars and battles between the Hindus and Muslims lasting over two and a half centuries. It wasn’t until India’s battle for independence from the Crown in the 1900s that Hindus and Muslims began to work together. “The liberation of India from the British regime in 1947 was the result of a long drawn struggle carried on by different sections of the Indian people irrespective of caste, creed or regional affiliations by forging a united front against the colonial rule” (Kaur, 1). Despite having put their differences aside for a successful cause, India’s independence was quickly followed by Partition, which deepened the divide between the two groups.
Question #3: What political and historical factors caused the Partition of 1947?
The “British Raj,” also referred to as the “Crown Rule” or “Direct Rule” in India, was the ruling of the Indian subcontinent by Britain between 1858 and 1947. When Britain colonized India, they treated the Indian people cruely and violently, leading to a serious of violent revolts by the Indians. The Indian people also responded to the colonial impact is a less direct way: through the construction of communal ethnic and national identities. For example, in 1886, Syed Ahmed Khan, an Indian Muslim Pragramist, founded the Muhammadan Educational Conference. This group was built to become a national identity for the Indians, a political party whose goals was to push british the away. The British, however, placed a self-imposed ban preventing it from discussing politics and meeting together. In December of 1906 at a conference in Dhaka, attended by 3,000 delegates, the government removed the ban and adopted a resolution to form an All Indian Muslim League political party. It wasn’t until 40 years later, on August 16, 1946, that Muslim League leader Muhammad Ali Jinnah called on Muslims to engage in direct action in support the creation of a separate nation (which was Pakistan). This became known as the “Direct Action Day.” On this fateful day, widespread communal rioting between Hindus and Muslims commenced in the city of Calcutta in the Bengal province of British India. It is estimated that 5,000-20,000 Muslims and Hindus were killed, and tens of thousands wounded, many of them critically. This marked the start of what is known as “The Week of the Long Knives.” In retaliation to this, over 20,000 Muslims were murdered by Hindus in Bihar. “In a terrifying outbreak of sectarian violence, with Hindus and Sikhs on one side and Muslims on the other—a mutual genocide as unexpected as it was unprecedented. . . . the carnage was especially intense, with massacres, arson, forced conversions, mass abductions, and savage sexual violence” (Dalrymple, 2). Trouble soon spread to other parts of the country.
By 1946, Britain was no longer able to keep the Indians under its rule. “After the Second World War, Britain simply no longer had the resources with which to control its greatest imperial asset, and its exit from India was messy, hasty, and clumsily improvised” (Darlymple, 3). And so, after colonizing India for over 300 years, the British left India divided into two independent nation states: Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan. According to Kaur, the reason for the creation of Pakistan was so that the Muslims, as a minority, would be able to see themselves as a nation different from the Hindus. “Immediately, there began one of the greatest migrations in human history, as millions of Muslims trekked to West and East Pakistan (the latter now known as Bangladesh) while millions of Hindus and Sikhs headed in the opposite direction” (Dalrymple, 1). With this, India was finally free, but was divided due to the creation of the two subcontinents.
Question #4: What legislative and economic factors deepened the conflict since Partition?
After Partition, many Muslims chose to remain in their home country of India. However, as Hindus and Muslims were no longer willing to coexist in India, the tension between them mounted. In turn, this led to the creation of organizations run by Hindu Nationalists with the primary goal of eradicating Muslims from India throughout political and communal acts of violence. According to Kanwaljit Kaur, when religion moves from the private to the public sector, as it did in India, “it becomes the basis for the organization of political and economic interests along with the religious lines”(Kaur, 7). In cases like this, people belonging to one religion tend to group together because they also share socio-economic, political and cultural interests. Since Islam is so different from Hinduism and Muslims have been greatly outnumbered in India, Muslims have been continuously targeted by Hindu Nationalists. As an underrepresented minority in India, Muslims have lost political power. With majority representation in government, Hindu Nationalists distinguished themselves from Muslims, targeting their practices through legislation and economic practices. For instance, ____ . The tension among the Muslims of India soon manifested in the Khilafat Movement, a Muslim movement targeting HIndus. “The Muslim peasants, excruciatingly poor, had set up a Khilafat of their own, attacking the police and the military, the landlords and moneylenders (almost all Hindu), attacking everyone in sight, for they were bitter against the world which give them misery and combined the ardour of an oppressed class and of religious fanaticism” (Kaur 12).
While class structure is established by economics, the social classes in India can easily be divided by the two religious groups. The Indian burgeouse has been predominantly Hindu. Conversely, Muslims in India usually constitute the lower half of society in India, below trade workers, service workers, and merchants. Muslims in India are often servants, slaves, or “untouchables.” The category of “untouchables” was created after the Partition of 1957 to consist of the lowest of the lower class. The Muslims’ basal position in society has mainly been a result of the hatred towards them from Hindus who wished for them to leave India once and for all. The class status of Muslims has resulted in their lack of access to education, which has caused a cycle of inability to earn significant money and own land. Because Muslims have lacked the educational and property qualifications to vote, they have been consistently under represented in Municipal Committees (Kaur, 11). Muslims have thus been at conflict with Hindus for equal opportunity and voice in India.
Question #5: What religious and cultural factors have deepened the conflict since Partition?
Many Hindus in Indian government have abused of their power in order to society limit Muslim religious practices with the goal of pushing them out of India. “Newly elected Hindu leaders introduced municipal regulations to control butchers shops and slaughter houses and to alter procession routes at festival times. . . . the new found powers were used to force Muslim butchers to dry their hides outside the city, while in Chandpur a ban on cow slaughter was introduced” (Kaur, 11). More recently, in 1992, a Hindu crowd tore down the Babri Masjid mosque, which acted as a symbol for Islamic faith. Violence broke across the subcontinent, killing hundreds of Hindus and Muslims.
Question #6: How has the conflict worsened in recent years?
The conflicts have deepened since the Partition and riots have spiked over the last half of century. “The number of Hindu-Muslim riots rose during the 1960s, reaching a peak in 1969, declined between 1971 and 1977, then began an unambiguous and alarming increase during the years from 1978-93” (Brass, 60). This is due to the injustices directed towards the Muslims and their consequent retaliation on the Hindus. Recently, the Hindu community has formed various organizations, such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), with the sole goal to attack and rid India of the Muslims. For example, in July of 2017 “the BJP, and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), announced plans to recruit 5,000 “religious soldiers” to “control cow smuggling and love jihad.” So-called love jihad, according to Hindu groups, is a conspiracy among Muslim men to marry Hindu women and convert them to Islam” (World Report, 2). This is just one of the many ways that these groups have worked in collaboration to bring end to Muslims in India.
These nationalist groups also caused the Muslims to also form together, in groups resisting their plight. The working committee of Provincial Muslim League also decided to launch a civil disobedience movement including the nonpayment of taxes and revenue, violation of law and order, boycott of non-Muslim traders and the boycott of goods manufactured by the non-Muslims”(Kaur, 29). This new league of resisting Muslims led to the Hindu government becoming worried as they were making speeches in places of worship, and community centers. This caused the Hindu government to make bans on their speech leading to violence in protests. The ban followed routine searches of the offices of the two organisations. Though nothing really objectionable was found, workers who tried to protest and obstruct the raiding parties were arrested on January 25, when they defied a ban on processions and meetings… However the demonstrators were scattered by the police, resorting to lathi charge, resulting in injuries to over a dozen persons.” This resulted in back to back violence between Hindus and Muslims over the past fe decades.. A major, more recent example of this is the destruction of the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya in February of 1992 (Brass, 31). This sparked outrage between the Muslims and have established grounds for more conflicts to come in the future.
“Not since the 1947 partition of India have so many people been killed and uprooted as a result of ethnic or communal violence. By most available reports now, mob violence has claimed four thousand lives, rendered about 200,000 homeless, and forced a large number to leave the state for protection elsewhere. The immediate occasion of this bloodshed was the election held in February, though conflict and tension have been present for the last three years” (Ashutosh 1). These communal violence is all targeted at the Muslims that stayed in India, angering the Hindus who are in power. This is due to their ability to be a minority in every case, but at the same time very widespread. “Even though a minority (according to the 1971 census, 11.2 percent of the Indian population was Muslim as opposed to 61.2 percent caste Hindus), Muslims are in a majority in one state and constitute 13.5 to 24 percent population in five states. There are 39 districts in India in which they comprise from between 20 percent to 94 percent of the population” (Ashutosh, 3).
Question #7: What human right violations have occurred during the conflict?
During this conflict, their have been Illegal acts performed by the police, including extrajudicial killing of Muslim villagers and prisoners. “Most of the persons killed in most riots in India and in all riots in Aligarh since Independence have been Muslims; moreover, most have been killed by the police” (Brass, 328). Due to the hatred and oppression this group has the government turns a blind eye to this and the Army personnel are not held accountable for their actions. Through the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), “ soldiers who commit violations effective immunity from prosecution” (World Report 2018). Because they are not held accountable for violation of any laws infringing upon humans rights, “the police arrest innocent Muslims, kill them inside their homes, and enter mosques to shoot and kill Muslims as well” (Brass, 60). In addition to this, they block their right to freedom of speech, by placing negative connotations on their protests against the police. Their “[d]issent was labeled anti-national, and activists, journalists, and academics were targeted for their views, chilling free expression” (World Report 2018). “Authorities in India continued to use sedition and criminal defamation laws against government critics. In June 2017, police in Madhya Pradesh state arrested 15 Muslims on sedition charges for allegedly celebrating Pakistan’s victory over India in a cricket match, despite Supreme Court directions that sedition allegations must involve actual violence or incitement to violence” (World Report 2018).
In addition to this, Muslims have been targeted by extremist Hindu groups through violence, and for various crimes. For example in 2017, rumors began spreading that Muslims “sold, bought, or killed cows for beef. Instead of taking prompt legal action against the attackers, police frequently filed complaints against the victims under laws banning cow slaughter. As of November, there had been 38 such attacks, and 10 people killed during the year”(World Report 2018). Due to this, “the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), announced plans to recruit 5,000 “religious soldiers” to “control cow smuggling and love jihad.” So-called love jihad, according to Hindu groups, is a conspiracy among Muslim men to marry Hindu women and convert them to Islam”(World Report 2018).
Dangerous labor forced on marginalized people, especially those of lower classed. Because Muslims were apart of the lower class, they took part in the inhuman practice of “manual scavenging” – disposal of human waste by people considered low-caste (ethnic minorities and those living in remote rural areas) In July 2017, 39 people reportedly died from being trapped in toxic sewage lines(World Report 2018).
This dehumanization was most prevalent in the Muslim women. Sexual violence towards women girls and women who survive rape and sexual violence “continue to face barriers to reporting such crimes, including humiliation at police stations and hospitals; lack of protection; and degrading “two-finger” tests by medical professionals to make characterizations about whether the victim was “habituated to sex.” Rape survivors also lack adequate support services including health care, quality legal assistance, and compensation” (World Report 2018).
Rights continue to be undermined in India, even for the children. Because of the outbreak of these conflicts and violent outbreaks, children’s education was greatly disturbed.Clashes between protesters and security forces in Jammu and Kashmir state that began in July 2016, continued to simmer throughout 2017, leading to frequent closing of schools and colleges. In May 2017, a student was killed by paramilitary forces inside a government school in Anantnag district during a violent protest”(World Report 2018). In addition to this, the chaos the state was in caused for the government to neglect children resulting in many deaths. “In a deadly outcome resulting from state corruption and neglect, over 60 children died in a public hospital in Uttar Pradesh state in August when a private supplier cut off the oxygen supply after government officials failed to pay long-pending dues” (World Report 2018). There is also a lack of human rights in people with disabilities. According to web trends, people with disabilities have the highest mortality rate, and although In April, India enacted a new mental health law that provides for mental health care and services for everyone and decriminalizes suicide. However, disability rights groups say much remains to be done to ensure that the law is properly enforced”(World Report 2018).
http://apnaorg.com/research-papers-pdf/thesis-3.pdf
Question #8: What is the current status of this conflict?
According to statistics shown from the last decade, many Hindus still rule in Indian government have abused of their power in order to society limit Muslim religious practices with the goal of pushing them out of India. “Newly elected Hindu leaders introduced municipal regulations to control butchers shops and slaughter houses and to alter procession routes at festival times. . . . the new found powers were used to force Muslim butchers to dry their hides outside the city, while in Chandpur a ban on cow slaughter was introduced” (Kaur, 11). In reaction to this in 1992, a Hindu crowd tore down the Babri Masjid mosque, which acted as a symbol for Islamic faith. Violence broke across the subcontinent, killing hundreds of Hindus and Muslims(Kaur 10-11).
In current years, while the conflict has improved it is still very existent to this day. “Their frequency and intensity have fluctuated from time to time and place to place, but hardly a month passes in India in which a Hindu-Muslim riot does not occur that is large enough to be noted in the press” (Brass, 5). They have come to recognize this mistreatment the country has given to minorities, women, and people of lower caste. This was shown in the “Supreme Court rulings in 2017 strengthened fundamental rights, equal rights for women, and accountability for security forces violations. In August, the court declared the right to individual privacy “intrinsic” and fundamental under the country’s constitution, and emphasized the constitution’s protections, including free speech, rule of law, and “guarantees against authoritarian behaviour.”( World Report 2018). With this in mind it seems only natural that the conflict would stop, but do to the large number of people disagreeing with the court's decision, “In the first 10 months of 2017, there were 42 reported militant attacks in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in which 184 people were killed, including 44 security force personnel. Several were killed or injured as government forces attempted to contain violent protests” (World Report 2018).