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| India-Pakistan |
| Conflict in Kashmir not about religion, says expert |
| 2008-08-29 |
| Picked right up on that, didn't he? (AKI) - Violence between Muslims and Hindus in the disputed territory of Kashmir should be seen as a conflict over secession rather than a dispute over religious differences, according a leading Indian commentator. M.J. Akbar, editor and author, sought to downplay the latest conflict that erupted in Kashmir after Hindus demanded land be set aside for pilgrimages. M.J. Akbar is s chairman and director of the publication, Covert. "There's no conflict between Muslims and Hindus," Akbar told Adnkronos International (AKI). "The conflict is between Kashmiri separatists and Hindu agitators. Their tension has not seeped into other parts of the country." Akbar said there were five million Muslims in Kashmir and 175 million Muslims in India. He said it was important to remember the conflict was confined to Kashmir. He also said Indians in general respected the notion of a religious pilgrimage. "The agitation is for a piece of land," he said. "There is no sympathy for the agitation but there is sympathy for the pilgrims. There is a lot of respect for pilgrims in India." Neverthless Akbar criticised the politicians who had enabled the "secessionists" to exploit the situation. "The weakness of the central government in Delhi enabled them to raise the temperature of the conflict," he said. "The government did nothing for six or seven weeks - it didn't do anything wrong, it just did nothing. The government lost credibility, it was confused." Meanwhile, suspected Muslim |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 Akbar has pointed out that if 5 million Indian Muslims in Kashmir cannot bear to live in India, then Indians will start to ask if the other 170 million Indian Muslims should be living in India. He is quite worried that the community will pay a heavy price for a second partition. |
| Posted by: john frum 2008-08-29 07:04 |