Hindu-Muslim conflict

Religious Conflict Between Muslims and Hindus in India

by Audrey Gumbert

In Conclusion

The conflict between Hindus and Muslims in India was caused by cultural differences and early political issues that escalated into mass violence before the government could intervene.

While there is no simple solution to the problem, reducing the religious corruption in the government and bettering public education could help India in stopping the violence.

Decreased Corruption

• Corruption in the government accounts for some of the spurring on of the conflict.
• Enforcing secularization of government officials could make sure that it is just and impartial.
• Making sure the police will do their duty to protect all citizens could also prevent some terrible conflicts.

What Can Be Done?

• There is no clear solution to the violence between Hindus and Muslims.
• When neither side is willing to trust the other, there is no one thing that can be done to fix it, only small steps toward a possible outcome.

Better Education

• Some public schools teach from a Hindu-oriented perspective. If schools were more secularized, children might not grow up thinking that Hinduism is the "right" way or that Muslims should be suppressed.
• A better quality of education would introduce people to more ways of thinking, which in turn would help them be able to accept differences more easily.

Main Idea

Today...

Effects of the Conflict

The Muslim-Hindu conflict in India was caused by cultural differences between the two religions and the newly-organized Indian government's inability to solve the conflicts in time.

While there is no one solution, secularizing the government and improving the quality of education in India may help nudge them in the right direction.

Most rioting is currently happening in urban areas, where only 27% of the population actually resides (Varshney). However, rural areas are definitely not exempt.

Civil disagreements can turn into wars of hate that end in casualties for both sides (Lakshmi).

• Deaths and injuries stemming from deliberate attacks
• Anti-Muslim riots and violent conflicts have caused hundreds of people to flee their homes in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh alone (Lakshmi).
• The religious conflict has made it difficult for national leaders to not choose a side.
• Some police (which is predominantly Hindu) have reportedly turned a blind eye to Hindu rioters, leading to corruption

Bibliography

Ashutosh, Varshney. "Ethnic and Religious Conflicts in India." Cultural Survival. Cultural Survival, Inc.,

n.d. Web. 13 Jan. 2014. <http://www.culturalsurvival.org/ourpublications/csq/article/ethnic-and-religious-conflicts-india>.

Geib, Richard. "Muslim-Hindu Relations in India." Crescent Moon Rising. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Jan. 2014.

<http://www.rjgeib.com/biography/milken/crescent-moon/asian-subcontient/hindu-islam-history/hindu-islam.html>.

Hughes, Chris. India & Pakistan. Farmington Hills, MI: Blackbirch, 2003. Print. Nations in Conflict.

Lakshmi, Rama. "Hundreds Flee Homes in Northern India following Hindu-Muslim Clashes." Washington

Post. The Washington Post, 10 Sept. 2013. Web. 12 Jan. 2014. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/hundreds-flee-homes-in-northern-india-following-hindu-muslim-clashes/2013/09/10/ed4916ca-1a1b-11e3-80ac-96205cacb45a_story.html>.

How the Current Mess Began...

An Early History

• The conflict became what it is today when the British left India in 1947, and the conflicts that the British had suppressed came back to light.
• The violence prompted the creation of Pakistan as its own Muslim state. However, half of the Muslim population chose not to move from their homes in India (Varshney). The partition did not help; if anything, they were blamed for the breaking up of India.
• Ownership of the area of Kashmir is still a source of conflict today.

• Ghandi tried to promote peace between the two groups with his belief in "one country for all Indians," but the conflict continued (Geib).
• Since then, India and Pakistan have fought three wars.

• Originally, India was a Hindu state, but around 700 AD, Muslims began to invade.
• Peace between the Hindus and Muslims fluctuated depending on which Muslim kingdom was in power.
• In 1525, Babur, a Mongol, took over and formed the Mogul dynasty, which took over much of India. He placed restrictions on Hindus and brutally discriminated against them. Babar's grandson Akbar later eased those restrictions, but they were replaced with the death of his grandson, Shah Jahan.
• Hindus and other non-Muslims rioted, which led to the end of the Mogul Empire, at about the same time as when the British began to take over India (Hughes, 14-16).