IntroductionThe Hindus in India largely dominate the politics of India and regard the Muslims to be lesser people than them. Though the Muslims are one of the most established religions in the world, the Hindus do not recognise or appreciate this (Ahuja, 2004). There is thinking in the Arabic countries such as Pakistan that Arab is the most dominant group ad at the same time they consider their religion to be of more superiority to the worship of idols. It has therefore, caused a rift between the two religions taking centre stage in the country’s politics. Politics in India determine the allocation of national resources to different parts of the country and to the different communities. The discrimination of the Muslims especially in the allocation of resources and political leadership therefore arises due to this fact.
A case study of the Bhartiya Janata Party
An analysis of the party is taken to examine this discrimination of the Muslims in the country. An engagement interview was taken with the top officials of the party of the party to look deep into the matter (Bhambrhi, 2001). Globally, the party is known as the Indian People’s Party. It has been, for a long time, the largest party in the world. Hinduism is part of the party’s ideology other than being the right wing. The declaration of a state of emergency in the 1977 led to the development of the party as a result of coalition between many small parties.
After interviewing officials of the party, it is reported that its ideology is radical in nature because it believes that Hinduism is a way of life (Nag, 2014). It holds the view that integral humanism is a concept that needs to be respected by each party member. The party advocates for social conservatism whereby the citizens should be given the first priority in everything the government does
The party views the Islamic religion as terrorists or world aggressors with less value for human life (Nag, 2014). When it was in power, it advocated for an aggressive and nationalistic foreign policy, with the aim of curbing terrorism. The party was actually targeting Muslims and Arabs who had been wreaking havoc in some parts of the country. To show its commitment to the provisions of Hinduism, it went ahead to instruct the state agencies to carry pout tests on nuclear weapons and developed a bill that would help in prevention of terrorism. The Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) was heavily criticized because it was meant to crackdown on Muslims and their extremist agendas. The party supported the government’s idea to deploy military personnel to evict infiltrators from Kargil.
On the other hand, the Muslims who participated in the interview observed that the party is wary of its neighbor Pakistan because it is predominantly Islam. The previous governments worked hard to develop the country’s nuclear capability, not for energy sector develop but for military purposes (Rao, 2001). The party broke the country’s historical strategy and ordered a number of nuclear tests in 1998. The party wanted to showcase the military power technology of the Indians and that Muslims were lagging behind.
Vijpayee government, whose party subscribed to Hinduism ideology, expressed an open resentment towards the Islamic Pakistan thus authorizing the armed forces to expel the Pakistan soldiers who were occupying hotly contested region of Kashmir (Kargil War). However, the military managed to capture back the region that was initially under the control of India. To ensure the region remains safe secure of terrorism, the leader went ahead to support the United States in the War against terrorism making the United States to agree to supply India with weapons to deal with Islamic leaders who were focusing on bringing down Hinduism and India in general.
The leader in 2001, when the parliament had an attack came up with a law enabling the government to deal with the Islam and extremism, though it failed. The party went ahead to convene a special meeting to force the law in. The bill lead to the discrimination and the branding of Muslims as terrorists. The party closely works with international powers to prevent the Muslims from taking power.
The engagement with the party officials revealed that clear shows the ethnic and religious divisions in the Indian politics. Muslims are also discriminated in other facilities such as education as they are forced to study Hinduism. It leads to hatred that is more political (Stein, 2010). The police also side with the Hindus and therefore do not intervene in issues such as confrontation of the Muslims.
Conclusion
The situation in India is complex because Hinduism and Islam both claim superiority. Outside India, the Arabs consider their culture and religion to be more dominant. In fact, they urge Indians to subscribe to Islam in order to be superior. Inside India, Islam is seen as a violent religion, which must be avoided. The second largest party in the country has always been skeptical about Islam. This explains why it has cracked down on Muslims every time it has an opportunity to lead.
- Ahuja, G.M., 2004, Bharatiya Janata Party and Resurgent India, Ram Company, New Delhi.
- Bhambhri, C.P., 2001, Janata Party: Periphery to Centre, Shipra, Delhi.
- Nag, K., 2014, The Saffron Tide: The Rise of the BJP, Rupa Publications, Bombay.
- Rao, R., 2001, Coalition conundrum: the BJP’s trials, tribulations, and triumphs, Har Anand, New Delhi.
- Stein, B., 2010, A history of India, Wiley-Blackwell, London.
