Modi is paying price for extremist
policies.
Dr Shabir Choudhry London
13 December 2018
During my recent visit to Qatar, I was invited to a function held in a
dessert at night by one prominent Qatari Sheikh. It was his family function
where, apart from his family, close friends were invited. I got the invitation
because Sheikh’s daughter was in my daughter’s class; and he kindly invited us
too.
It was amazing experience for me. Dessert at night was cool, and there
were numerous dinner sites in the dessert, where the rich people enjoyed their
evenings with friends and family.
The camp was divided on strict gender lines, and I did not know anyone
on the men side, where around 80 people were present. It was a camp, but had
sofa sets, carpets, tables, chairs, everything you can think off related to luxurious
dinner. If I start explaining everything what we did, or ate there, then I
won’t have any space left for the conversation I had with some Indian Muslims.
The Sheikh greeted me very warmly. He studied in England, and had no
problem in conversing in English. He introduced me to some Muslims from India.
During my conversation, I discovered that they were from Kerala.
I introduced myself to him, as a Muslim visitor from London. I asked Umer
if there was Hindu Muslim trouble in Kerala. He said there was no trouble in
our state. We live peacefully and respect each other, share each other’s
happiness and grief.
“Good to hear that”, I said, “so there must be trouble in other states.
Pakistani media tells us that lives of Muslims are made living hell in India.”
He said, “If your source of information is only Pakistani media, then
there is no need to discuss anymore. I sometimes watch Pakistani news channels,
and wonder which country they are talking about. It didn’t look about India.
The situation is not as bad as they portray. In my personal experience, there
is no trouble in Chennai, Madras, Karnataka and Kerala. I have spent time in
these states. I can’t speak for the whole of India. I understand there are
areas in UP, Gujrat and Jammu and Kashmir, where Muslims face problems, and some
are killed as well.”
I said, I don’t have details, like you have. However, the Pakistani
media tells people that Muslims are having very difficult time since Modi has
become Prime Minister of India.
He said, “Yes, there is some truth in this. Extremism in India has
increased in some states, as a result, Muslims and some other minorities have
suffered, but that is not true for all the states.”
Another Indian Muslim, Hussain joined the discussion, and said:
“Majority of people of India are secular minded. They are not trouble makers.
In every society, there are good and bad people. Because India is a huge
country with so many cultures and religions, it is expected to have differences
and troubles. However, secular minded people have replied to policies of Modi
in the elections. Modi and BJP are paying heavy price because of their
extremist policies.”
I said, I can agree, no society is perfect. Every society has its own
problems. Within Muslim societies, there could be political, tribal and sectarian
problems, which sometimes result in bloodshed and riots.
The fourth person who was listening to us attentively said, “More
Muslims suffer in Pakistan than in India. How many Muslims India has killed
since 1947; and how many are killed by Pakistan since 1947? Do you have details
or shall I give you some details?”
The other two men laughed, and I felt a little embarrassed. This man
perhaps knew his subject better than others. After asking him his name, I said,
“brother Ali Abbas, I know what Pakistan has done. I wanted to learn from you
people about the situation in India.”
With a smile on his face, he said, “I hold Master’s degree in politics
and history. Apart from watching other media, I also watch Pakistani media, and
I can tell that almost all Pakistani journalists are managed and controlled. In
order to divert attentions from their domestic problems they talk about
problems of Muslims in Kashmir and in India. If they are so concerned about
problems of Muslims, why don’t they speak about problems of Muslims in Yemen, in
Syria, in Afghanistan and in China?”
As soon as he stopped, Umer said, “What about problems of Baloch people,
Pashtun people, people in FATA who are subject to aerial bombardments; and
sadly, there are no media reports to tell about their plight. You Pakistanis
seem to be more concerned about propagating our problems then doing something
positive to resolve your own problems.”
I thought I was on a weak wicket. In any case, I was not there to defend
wrong doings of Pakistan. Political rule is, when you are on unstable ground,
it is better to change the topic. So, I said:
“Brothers, please correct yourselves. I am not a Pakistani. I am from
Azad Kashmir.”
With a defiant smile on his face, Ali Abbas said, “How interesting? You
are from occupied Kashmir? How Azad are you there? Do rulers of Pakistan give
you respect and fundamental human rights?”
This was another territory, which is close to my heart, nevertheless, I
wanted to avoid discussing it in this place. I said, “We are not azad; and we
don’t have fundamental human rights.”
However, in order to change the topic, I asked Hussain, “When you go
back to India which airport do you use?”
It was totally unrelated question to the discussion we were having. He
said, “We have 4 international airports in Kerala. We live in India, and not in
Pakistan, we have plenty of airports.”
Before I could comment on this, Ali Abbas with a cheeky smile asked,
“Sir, how many international airports do you have in your country which you
call Azad Kashmir?”
I knew, I was in a tight corner again. I pretended to be working
something on my fingers, and with a smile I replied, “Ten airports, one for
each district.”
They all laughed. They knew I was only joking. Ali Abbas said, “Sir, I
meant airports and not bus stations.”
They all laughed again, and I joined them too. After they stopped, I
said, the territory where I live, is called Azad Kashmir. It doesn’t mean it is
azad. We are occupied by Pakistan. The prefix azad is just to fool people that they
are azad; and those living on the side of the divide are occupied by India.
Before we could say anything else, our host came to inform me that my wife
and daughter were ready to go. I thank God for this intervention; and shook
hands with them, and left by saying we may continue our discussion some other
time.
Writer is a renowned writer and author of many
books. He is also President Foreign Affairs Committee of UKPNP; and Chairman
South Asia Watch, London.
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