Predicting Muslim uprising in India ignores reality and history

The foundation of Indian society is too strong to cave in under the pressure of narrow religious sentiments

Few issues in India are discussed as fervently as the relationship between Hindus and Muslims. And seldom does the debate become as intense as during the time of elections, when politics of dividing people on religious lines is seen at its best. So when you hear about the ominous signs of a "Muslim Spring" that might turn the country and the region upside down, take it with a pinch of salt.

The suggestion, which I came across recently, nonetheless compelled me to look back at the society I come from. I grew up in a place and community where human relations eclipse any religious or cultural considerations. The only occasions when we were reminded of our respective faiths were pleasant ones – during religious ceremonies. What better way to celebrate unity in a culturally diverse nation?

My sentiments do not necessarily reflect occasional realities in India. Incidents of communal violence do hit headlines, the most prominent being the one that folllowed the demolition of the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya in 1992 and the Gujarat riots in 2002, when thousands of innocent people lost their lives, and scores were rendered homeless.

There have been others before and after, but these two events proved to be the most damaging ones, marking some of the darkest chapters in the history of post-independence India.

But these events failed to bring an iota of change in individual equations and perceptions in most parts of the country, including my native state of West Bengal. The reason is this: if Indians have time and again fought bitterly among themselves, they also have shown a remarkable ability to forgive and forget, keep divisive forces – such as the Rashtriya Swyamsevak Sangh, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal – at bay and successfully restrain them from tearing apart the social fabric.

It could be true that an insignificant minority of the population nurtures the belief that Hindus regard their Muslim counterparts to be inferior to them. There are also reasons to believe that on a few occasions, attacks and clashes have been wrongly blamed on foreign terrorist groups. Yet, it’s hard to imagine the country in the grip of such a bitter “spring”.

If conflicting social and political elements obscure the real picture, statistics might help to show it in a clear light. The second most populous country in the world with more than 1.2 billion people, India is home to over 2,000 ethnic groups. According to official figures, more than 1,600 languages are spoken in the country, of which an estimated 850 are in daily use. There are eight major religions, Hinduism and Islam being predominant. It’s a country dotted with temples, mosques, pagodas and Gurudwaras.

If these sheer numbers and facts aren’t enough to make one surmise, consider how rarely do communal clashes take place, how seldom communities fight to establish their dominance and how frequently people across faiths and cultures come together to celebrate events or protect each other’s interests as well as those of the nation in times of crisis.

Even though India has been beset by many social and political evils, its foundation, steeped in thousands of years of rich cultural history, is strong enough to resist the entire structure from caving in under the pressure of narrow religious and political sentiments, which could create a space for a Muslim Spring to blossom.

What poses a real danger to integration, though, is a growing sense of regionalism and linguistic communalism, which is no less formidable a force than religious communalism, as it has a tendency to multiply with every division.

This may not culminate in an immediate catastrophe like a Muslim Spring, but if left to continue unabated, this would surely make India’s much-cherished slogan, “unity in diversity”, sound hollow and meaningless.