A crisis is occurring in India. A religious war that began decades ago has been rekindled. What once was believed to be a quelled situation between Muslims and Hindus in India has become one of the worst religious wars the country has seen.
Hindu zealots are stoning and destroying Muslim shops and homes in Ahmedabad and other cities in the Indian state of Gujarat. The fighting has become so grave that troops have been called from the Pakistani front to set up order within these cities. The nation’s top foreign priority, its ongoing conflict with Pakistan, is a lower priority now while India attempts to cope with its domestic difficulties.
The situation is bringing back memories of the pain and anguish of the slaughter of religious zealots occurring between Hindus and Muslims 55 years ago.
The present strife erupted from the controversy surrounding the religious value of the city of Ayodhya, the site of a Muslim mosque that was destroyed by a frenzied crowd in 1992. The city has religious importance for both Muslims and Hindus who revere the city as most holy; Ayodhya is claimed as the birthplace of Ram, arguably the most important Hindu god.
Ayodhya has consistently been in turmoil. After the demolition of the mosque 10 years ago, fierce riots ensued, killing 2,000 Hindus and Muslims. After much negotiation by Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, the turmoil appeared to subside.
Recently, however, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, or World Hindu Council, advanced plans to build a temple to Ram at the site of the demolished mosque. These talks further spurred violence that led to the slaughter of 58 Hindus two weeks ago. A train carrying a group of Hindus from a prayer meeting of the VHP at Ayodhya was ambushed by fanatic Muslims and burned. Fifty-eight Hindus, including women and children, were killed in this incident.
A string of riots ensued in Gujarat, with Hindus taking arms against Muslims throughout the state. Ahmedabad, the city hardest hit, has been put on partial curfew under a constant military presence. The economy has shut down because businesses have closed their doors. The incidents remind India of its unhealed strife between Hindus and Muslims.
Since Vajpayee has been at the helm of the Indian government, he has wrongly tried to sideline the Ayodhya issue using bureaucracy and procrastination. Vajpayee has had to deal with many other issues, including a struggling economy, a schism of his political party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, and ongoing Pakistani security issues. With the eruption of recent violence, Vajpayee has been unable to address India’s border disputes with Pakistan, which could polarize India and doom it.
What is most disturbing is that the consequences of the Ayodhya issue could be the most disastrous. In a country comprised of a mix of Muslims and Hindus (but run mostly by Hindus), there has been a strong push to complete the temple for Ram at Ayodhya. Vajpayee has tried to bury the temple in paperwork to quell the Muslims. He appealed to the VHP to halt construction to appease Muslim sentiment. In mistakenly doing so, however, many Hindu nationalist-controlled state and parliament seats have begun to secede from Vajpayee’s party, weakening the currently united India.
L.K. Advani, the home affairs minister and an influential Hindu nationalist, reminded Vajpayee that his coalition came to power with a pledge to rebuild the temple and that Vajpayee relies largely on Hindu support. The longer that Vajpayee waits to make a decision on the temple, the hotter the blood of Muslim and Hindu zealots boils as they feel deceived, and the more they will try to take matters into their own hands.
Vajpayee has shown that he can often be a brilliant statesman and has led India out of tumultuous times. He has begun to bolster the Indian economy and even resolved parts of an increasingly tense issue with Pakistan that almost led to nuclear war. However, his indecisiveness as to how to deal with Ayodhya has already begun not only to increase violence among supporters of the temple, but has caused Vajpayee to lose power in the northern states of India.
Vajpayee must act on the issue of the Ayodhya temple immediately, making it the foremost concern on his political agenda. Only after solving this issue is India safe within its own borders. Then Vajpayee can deal with global concerns.
India is poised to become a world power and player in a time of globalization. The correct balance of internal structure with foreign policy can lead India to a respectable position in the world. The United States has shown that the security of the home front can be breached, but it must immediately be restored for the protection of its citizens.
Vajpayee must forget about satisfying the various zealot groups that fight over an issue that may never be solved. He must instead enforce his authority as the leader of India and ensure the safety of his people. He must do whatever is required to alleviate the problem. The use of the former mosque site in Ayodhya should be restricted; it should be blocked from religious use, period.
India may not know who has the right to Ayodhya, but Vajpayee should not falsely yank both sides around trying to appease the other. In a religious debate, the past has shown that neither side will compromise any beliefs, and thus Vajpayee must act like a stern father chiding both of his children. If Vajpayee does not quell both sides, the future of India will cycle as the past has already done, with a brutality that rivals the violence occurring in the Middle East.