Why doesn't India have problems with Muslim extremists?

[ronki23]

India has the 3rd largest Muslim population in the world after Indonesia and Pakistan; yet you have no Taliban or Taliban-esque right wing Muslim parties and no ISIS. The only time we had Al Qaeda was the attack on Taj Mahal Hotel and Indian Embassy bombing in Kabul.

What keeps Indian Muslims in place?

 

[sovietchild]

Well, if India had oil. Don't you think India would be like middle east?

 

[ronki23]

Well, if India had oil. Don't you think India would be like middle east?

It's not that simple. Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Somalia all have issues with Sunni extremists and they don't produce oil.

If i'm not mistaken, Indonesia and Malaysia also have problems between Muslims and non-Muslims.

I'm asking what keeps Indian Muslims in line and so liberal?

 

[Lorgar-Aurelian]

India has the 3rd largest Muslim population in the world after Indonesia and Pakistan; yet you have no Taliban or Taliban-esque right wing Muslim parties and no ISIS. The only time we had Al Qaeda was the attack on Taj Mahal Hotel and Indian Embassy bombing in Kabul.

What keeps Indian Muslims in place?

Too busy with communists.

 

[ronki23]

Too busy with communists.

Communism works in India; Kerala is Communist I believe and they have high literacy and GDP per head. Congress are Communist in theory but in practice they choose who to appease

 

[Lorgar-Aurelian]

Communism works in India; Kerala is Communist I believe and they have high literacy and GDP per head. Congress are Communist in theory but in practice they choose who to appease

I meant the extremist slot is taken up by communist groups at the moment. You know Nazalites and the like.

 

[sayak83]

Umm
2008 Mumbai attacks - Wikipedia

While most terrorist attacks in India from Islamic extremists have occurred through terrorist cells operating from Pakistan, a few have been homegrown as well.
Bhopal-Ujjain train blast: Accused trio learnt bomb making online, say cops

This of course is in addition to the volatile situation in J&K where terrorism is frequent as is often excessive police reaction.

The situation of poverty and marginalization of Muslims is not unique to them and is shared by ethnic tribes, lower caste people and northeastern people of Tibeto-Burmese descent. The advantage India has is that it is a multi party democracy and is having rapid economic growth and hence despite many problems, people of all groups are optimistic about their future. Indian society also remain community oriented and centrist rather than conservative or liberal. Thus on social values, apart from eating cows, the views of Indian Hindus and Indian Muslims do not differ over much.

Indian youth is a strange mix of conservative and liberal attitudes: Survey

It's essential that Muslims are made to feel the benefits of growth, as they are still poorer than the national average. Developing better schools and increasing job opportunities in Muslim dominated districts are more likely to be beneficial than anything else.

 

[sun rise]

India does have a problem with Hindu extremists attacking Muslims. There is strange symmetry between Muslim fanatic mobs attacking others on religious grounds and Hindu fanatics doing the same on the basis of rumors about treatment of cows.

 

[Aupmanyav]

India has the 3rd largest Muslim population in the world after Indonesia and Pakistan; yet you have no Taliban or Taliban-esque right wing Muslim parties and no ISIS. The only time we had Al Qaeda was the attack on Taj Mahal Hotel and Indian Embassy bombing in Kabul.

What keeps Indian Muslims in place?

Nice question. Taj Mahal Hotel bombing and other terrorist incidents happened because of Pakistani ISI. It is democracy which keeps the Muslims in place. They are a part of the political process in India. Of course, the government machinery helps. Both communities are living together for the last 1,000 years. If an employer is Muslim, his employees might be Hindu or vice-versa. We do not have even the Shia-Sunni conflict in India. We are sort of proud of it. To go in detail, Muslims have constructed Hindu temples and worship Hindu Gods, temples have graves of Sufis in their compound. India is a mixed story. Of course, at times, we fight and may fight violently, but soon come back to the default position of living together. In terrorist actions, even Muslims get killed. How does one separate the two?

Temple with dargah in Alwar, Rajasthan; Muslims worshiping in a Hindu temple; Muslims in a 'kavad' yatra (honoring Shiva); last image: devotees at the dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer.

Now, I do not know if the person in foreground is a Hindu or a Muslim, he could be either.

 

[Aupmanyav]

I meant the extremist slot is taken up by communist groups at the moment. You know Nazalites and the like.

Communists in India are a fringe except in South, in the state of Kerala. Don't know how long they will last there, but finally they are going to be replaced there too.

 

[ronki23]

Nice question. Taj Mahal Hotel bombing and other terrorist incidents happened because of Pakistani ISI. It is democracy which keeps the Muslims in place. They are a part of the political process in India. Of course, the government machinery helps. Both communities are living together for the last 1,000 years. If an employer is Muslim, his employees might be Hindu or vice-versa. We do not have even the Shia-Sunni conflict in India. We are sort of proud of it. To go in detail, Muslims have constructed Hindu temples and worship Hindu Gods, temples have graves of Sufis in their compound. India is a mixed story. Of course, at times, we fight and may fight violently, but soon come back to the default position of living together. In terrorist actions, even Muslims get killed. How does one separate the two?

Temple with dargah in Alwar, Rajasthan; Muslims worshiping in a Hindu temple; Muslims in a 'kavad' yatra (honoring Shiva); last image: devotees at the dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer.

Now, I do not know if the person in foreground is a Hindu or a Muslim, he could be either.

ISI isn't necessarily the same as ISIS or Al Qaeda; why don't Indian Muslims join these groups as here in the UK and in France and Germany we have Muslims pledging allegiance to ISIS (normally of African and Turkish background)

 

[sayak83]

ISI isn't necessarily the same as ISIS or Al Qaeda; why don't Indian Muslims join these groups as here in the UK and in France and Germany we have Muslims pledging allegiance to ISIS (normally of African and Turkish background)

India has not attacked Iraq, had good relations with both Palestine and Israel, had good relations with Iran as well as Gulf countries where many Indians live for a living, has not invaded Afghanistan or Pakistan despite grave provocations, does not (after the fiasco of Tamil Tiger problem in Sri Lanka by the lamentable Indira Gandhi) seek to act as mediator in other people's problems. I do not there is any democracy on earth where both a party representing highly conservative religious Muslims or Hindus or Sikhs and a party representing hard core communists contest in a civil manner with both left liberal and right conservative parties of various hues. The current effort (led, unexpectedly, by the BJP for now) is to cash out this representative diversity in terms of effective government in nation, state, district and village level (each had its own election cycle). China had gone for governance first model, which while consistent with its basic historical trends, is running into difficulties in adding freedoms and accountability into the picture. India had gone for freedom and representation first and is beginning to add effective governance in the mix and, so far, quite successfully. Thus people are optimistic and it shows
India and Modi: The Honeymoon Continues

I do not think there is space for significant unrest where 80-85% have strong positive views about the government and the state of the country. This is in sharp contrast with the disillusioned state of many in Western countries, East Asian countries (Japan, South Korea) and even countries like Brazil. And the fact is India does have a very vibrant multi party democracy and a free press with hundreds of national and regional channels and news papers. Nobody watches any state sponsored channel or paper. Such approval thus does not come by careful propaganda of totalitarian state apparatus like in Russia or North Korea or Iran.

 

[Aupmanyav]

ISI isn't necessarily the same as ISIS or Al Qaeda; why don't Indian Muslims join these groups as here in the UK and in France and Germany we have Muslims pledging allegiance to ISIS (normally of African and Turkish background)

Well, a few do and die in Iraq and Afghanistan. Government agencies know about them and keep a watch. If and when they return, they are arrested, then follows years of investigation. All that deters the candidates. ISI is trying its best but they have not been able to disturb the communal equilibrium. We have yet not used strong arm tactics in Kashmir like China does in Xinzang.