46 Dead In India

[Fixated]

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/south/08/25/mumbai.blasts/index.html

Has no one posted this?

[Frances]

1. India has its own serious religious

problems. If I were in India's government, I would not send troops to Iraq.

[Arun29]

3. Serious Religious Problems?

Actually Frances, India is the most religiously diverse secular country on the planet. I'd hardly call that a serious religious problem.

Of course, however, this is why foreigners, notably from Pakistan, work hard to disrupt that harmony. But by and large, you will find the Muslims in Bombay to get along very well with the Hindus and Christians and Jews and Buddhists and Sikhs.

[Fixated]

5. ...

No...Pakistan is working to "disrupt that harmony" because they believe that they have the rights to Kashmir.

Also, the most religiously diverse secular country? Based on what numbers?

[varun]

6. Pakistanis will not stop at Kashmir...

it is a fallacy that the problem between India and Pakistan will end if Kashmir were to be given to Pakistan. There are small pockets of muslim dominated areas in India...and Pakistan will demand them too. We already know what a crazy idea it was to create Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan) out of India...

As far as religious diversity is concerned, I think Arun is right. There are more than 12% muslims, 2% Christians, 1% each Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis (zoroastrians), and even Jews who call India their home.

[reorg]

8. religious diversity

seems somewhat hampered by the law against conversions "using allurement or force" in various Indian states:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2885741.stm

[reorg]

7. secularism or Hindu nationalism

>India is the most religiously diverse secular country on the planet.<

True, but everyone is immediately labelled a "pseudo-secularist" now if s/he dares criticize Hindu nationalists who would construct a Hindu temple at the site of a mosque they illegaly destroyed in order to do that, who would introduce legislation against cow-slaughter, and who label a vicious, pre-planned massacre of 2000 Muslims an "understandable response" to the death of 60 Hindus on a train.

What are Hindu nationalists doing in order to keep India diverse and secular?

[newyawker99]

9. Hi Arun29!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[LoneStarLiberal]

2. Very Reminiscent

Of bombings in Bombay in the early 1990s. The Indian government fingered D. Ibrahim, a Muslim underworld figure in Bombay for those bombings.

Interestingly enough, there is a Congress-led state government in Maharashtra right now. Shiv Sena, one of the more jingoistic political parties in India also claims Maharashtra as their home base. Sena is probably going to move to a vote of no confidence in the state government.

So many possible causes.

[AliceWonderland]

4. CNN

I found this story nonsensical -- though I shouldn't be surprised. The leader is: The Indian government said Monday's attacks appeared similar to ones planned or carried out by two terrorist groups -- one of them allegedly connected to al Qaeda. Ooh, scary. Then the rest of the story repeats that accusation, without any evidence, interspersed with No-one has claimed responsibility for the explosions and that while it is too early to say for certain who is behind the attacks, it's gotta be who the state wants it to be. I also like how the bloody Gujarat massacres are predominantly framed as nothing more than an event that inherently violent Muslims would want to avenge. Oh, those wacky naughty brown Muslims! Isn't it just like them?

Is this what passes for journalism these days? Oh wait. What a stupid question.