Author: Moorthy Muthuswamy
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: September 6, 2002
The New York Times seems to be on
a campaign to discredit Indian Americans and India. It has given prominence
to an Indian Muslim woman on a crusade to discredit and divide us on the
issue of Godhra, a carnage for which Indian Muslims were responsible. There
has been no similar crusade by Indian Muslims or their diaspora about blocking
funds flowing from the US, West Asia and Pakistan to those who preach hatred.
These funds have turned Kashmir into a hotbed of Islamic fundamentalism,
with several thousands of non-Muslims ethnically cleansed, killed or raped.
And they have kept the majority of Indian Muslims from progressing and
joining the mainstream.
In his article, 'Where Freedom Reigns'
(August 14), Times columnist Tom Friedman does not mention the Muslim community's
involvement in the Godhra train burning, though he blames the 'Hindu nationalist'
Government for the pogrom. This attitude is similar to that displayed by
the Arab network Al-Jazeera, notorious for its one-sided reporting of the
Israel-Palestinian conflict or the US-led war on terror.
The New York Times has an blinkered
outlook about religious conflict in South Asia. An editorial, 'Instability
in India' (March 7), on Ayodhya and its implications merely parroted the
jaundiced views of two writers, Mr Pankaj Mishra and Mr Shashi Tharoor,
that had appeared on the op-ed pages. The latter had not spoken of the
Babri and other mosques being built on the site of razed temples. Nor the
inability of Muslims to coexist with others and respect their beliefs in
South Asia. The beleaguered Hindu community was demonised, while Muslims
were projected as victims!
Many of us sent letters to the Editor,
expressing a more realistic view. Not a single one was published. The editorial
had echoed flawed analysis, berating the Indian Government and, by extension,
Hindus. I wrote to the Times CEO, pointing out that his editorial board
had acted as judge, jury and executioner. I suggested that events in India
be viewed within the overall context of Muslim-non-Muslim conflict in South
Asia. So far, I have not received a reply.
Conveying to the international media
the nature and impact of Muslim-non-Muslim conflict in South Asia is important,
since it is about the imposition of fascism in the name of religion. The
attributes of a community become apparent when it wields power through
majority status. Every Muslim majority region in South Asia -Pakistan,
Bangladesh or India's Kashmir Valley-has seen a massive drop in non-Muslim
population since Partition. Pakistan has seen its minority population reduce
from over 20 to less than three per cent; Bangladesh from over 30 to about
10 per cent; non-Muslim population in the Kashmir Valley has been decimated
since 1989. Pakistan discriminates against minorities in religious practice,
voting, law and employment. It uses blasphemy laws to persecute them. However,
Muslim population increased from about 10 per cent in 1947 to 14 per cent
in Hindu majority secular India.
Religious indoctrination has transformed
South Asian Muslims into fundamentalists and oppressors. Non-Muslims are
now being attacked in the only land they can live as free citizens: India.
This is religious terrorism and genocide, faced also by the US and Israel.
We must assert ourselves as a community and as wagers of the war on terror.
I request people to write to NYT, urging it to provide space for alternative
views that are so much closer to the truth.
