Sunday, October 25, 2009

Choice for Indian Muslims, to be in India or Pakistan?

This is a great existential question, would India Muslims prefer to be in India or in Pakistan?
Recently I read both sides of the arguments, one a case against life in India made in the cHindu and the other by a Muslim writer against life in Pakistan.
Harsh Mander puts together a solid argument claiming the usual litany of complaints,
the constant dread of being profiled as a terrorist, or of a loved one being so profiled, with the attendant fears of illegal and prolonged detention, denial of bail, torture, unfair and biased investigation and trial, and extra-judicial killings. There is, on the other hand, the lived experience of day-to-day discrimination, in education, employment, housing and public services, which entrap the community in hopeless conditions of poverty and want.

On the other hand Zafar Agha makes compelling argument that staying in India was the best decision his parents took.
Pakistan shunned renaissance wisdom and post-industrial democratic institutions.Such a medieval state has had to run out of steam sooner or later. So it is now implodingand being consumed by the medieval and tribal hatred it nurtured against India. Thank you mom and pop, for not migrating to Islamic state of Pakistan because I would have also exploded if not imploded by the jihadi forces that are consuming Pakistan now.

We can complain all about the police and bureaucracy. But cHindu chose to ignore the biggest problem facing Muslim is the vacuous leadership and its rigid opposition to anything modern.
Read both these articles and let us know of your thoughts. Shalom!

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