The anti-Muslim riot in Jodhpur
distict, India, may have originated in the Hanuman Jayanti festival of
Jaitaran tehsil, but it appears the festival was also used as the site
to fan anti-Muslim sentiments on account of the attack on Sarabjit
Singh, the Indian spy on Pakistani death row since 1990 after he carried
out blasts in Lahore. Sarabjit was attacked on Friday in jail during
his walk with bricks and other blunt instruments, and is in a coma in
the Services Hospital. His assailants have not admitted outside help, an
indication that the investigative team may be doing its duty only
halfheartedly. The riot is thus an indication of the high value that the
Indian establishment places on Sarabjit, whom they have made every
effort to bring back, and whose life they are now trying to preserve by
holding the entire Muslim community of India hostage. It also indicates
how India is reacting to the adverse Pakistani reaction to the Indian
execution of Afzal Guru in February. Sarabjit’s lawyer said he had
received death threats since Guru’s execution. However, the
investigative team has not linked the attackers, who are street-gang
operators in Islampura, Lahore, and also on death row, to foreign
agencies. Thus the investigators seem to be opting for an obvious story,
even though it does not seem to hold water.
Another conclusion that
must be drawn from the Jodhpur riot is that the Indian establishment
still harbours the unrealistic mentality that sent Sarabjit Singh on his
deadly mission back in 1990. The stability of Pakistan and the
acceptance of it as a sovereign nation, which will take decisions based
on its own wider interest, not India’s, is yet to be sighted in Delhi.
The Indian obsession with Pakistan is unwelcome attention for one, and
secondly, is a sad indictment of problems ignored at home, especially
when they erupt in the form of the catastrophe in Jodhpur.
Despite
dreams to appear as the shining new star in South Asia, and despite the
seduction of its enormous markets, it is sadly true that India is far
from perfect. Where it overpromises and underdelivers, Pakistan does the
opposite. No matter the number of glossy magazines carrying incredible
India advertisements paid for by the Indian government, on arrival
there, there is less spiritual harmony to be observed and more the signs
of an India in flames, as in Jodhpur. Poverty, malnutriution and miles
of shanty town are hardly a success story. India would do better to
leave Pakistan to deal with its own problems, instead of increasing
them, and on the other side, it must resolve long standing issues such
as Kashmir, which are hardly a resounding endorsement of its human
rights record, especially given daily news of destruction all across
India, not just Kashmir, such as in Jodhpur. Where there is smoke there
is fire. And India’s investors will come to know sooner rather than
rather that communal tensions are eating away at India’s social
structure from the inside, with minorities fearing for their lives with
good reason.
distict, India, may have originated in the Hanuman Jayanti festival of
Jaitaran tehsil, but it appears the festival was also used as the site
to fan anti-Muslim sentiments on account of the attack on Sarabjit
Singh, the Indian spy on Pakistani death row since 1990 after he carried
out blasts in Lahore. Sarabjit was attacked on Friday in jail during
his walk with bricks and other blunt instruments, and is in a coma in
the Services Hospital. His assailants have not admitted outside help, an
indication that the investigative team may be doing its duty only
halfheartedly. The riot is thus an indication of the high value that the
Indian establishment places on Sarabjit, whom they have made every
effort to bring back, and whose life they are now trying to preserve by
holding the entire Muslim community of India hostage. It also indicates
how India is reacting to the adverse Pakistani reaction to the Indian
execution of Afzal Guru in February. Sarabjit’s lawyer said he had
received death threats since Guru’s execution. However, the
investigative team has not linked the attackers, who are street-gang
operators in Islampura, Lahore, and also on death row, to foreign
agencies. Thus the investigators seem to be opting for an obvious story,
even though it does not seem to hold water.
Another conclusion that
must be drawn from the Jodhpur riot is that the Indian establishment
still harbours the unrealistic mentality that sent Sarabjit Singh on his
deadly mission back in 1990. The stability of Pakistan and the
acceptance of it as a sovereign nation, which will take decisions based
on its own wider interest, not India’s, is yet to be sighted in Delhi.
The Indian obsession with Pakistan is unwelcome attention for one, and
secondly, is a sad indictment of problems ignored at home, especially
when they erupt in the form of the catastrophe in Jodhpur.
Despite
dreams to appear as the shining new star in South Asia, and despite the
seduction of its enormous markets, it is sadly true that India is far
from perfect. Where it overpromises and underdelivers, Pakistan does the
opposite. No matter the number of glossy magazines carrying incredible
India advertisements paid for by the Indian government, on arrival
there, there is less spiritual harmony to be observed and more the signs
of an India in flames, as in Jodhpur. Poverty, malnutriution and miles
of shanty town are hardly a success story. India would do better to
leave Pakistan to deal with its own problems, instead of increasing
them, and on the other side, it must resolve long standing issues such
as Kashmir, which are hardly a resounding endorsement of its human
rights record, especially given daily news of destruction all across
India, not just Kashmir, such as in Jodhpur. Where there is smoke there
is fire. And India’s investors will come to know sooner rather than
rather that communal tensions are eating away at India’s social
structure from the inside, with minorities fearing for their lives with
good reason.
source:http://www.nation.com.pk/E-Paper/Lahore/2013-04-29/page-6/detail-0
