Ramachandra Guha has an excellent piece in The Telegraph today, urging Indians to resist the temptation to triumphantly gloat over their own happy state, and scoff at Pakistan’s miserable plight.
“It has been said of Pakistan that since its birth, it has been bedevilled by its submission to the three As— Allah, the Army, and America. In the first and third of these respects it is, in fact, not very dissimilar to India. For the first four decades of Indian independence, religious bigots had little significance in the social and moral life of the nation. All this changed in the decade of the Eighties.
“The butchering of the Sikhs in 1984 and the killings and forced migration of the Pandits of Kashmir in 1989-90 were two events that punctured holes in India’s claim to be a secular state. So, and far more substantially, did the Ayodhya movement and the rising tide of violence against Muslims that accompanied it. Today, the political influence exercised by Hindu bigots in India is scarcely any less than that enjoyed by Islamic bigots in Pakistan….
“In India, religious extremists mobilize around the name of Ram, rather than Allah. And they are also funded by greenbacks sent by America, albeit by American citizens who claim to be of the same faith as the fanatics at home….
“Rather than sneer and scoff at a neighbour in trouble, they would be advised to look within, to repair and restore our own damaged institutions, to take pause at our own easy indulgence of religious bigots, and, not least, to be vigilant against the inducements and blandishments put before us by an expansionary superpower.”
Read the full article: Neighbourly reflections
churumuri 
Dear Ramchandra Guha,
India is a better country now than it was 60 years back not because luck smiled at us. Its just that Indians worked their butts off to enable India to be a n economic giant. Unlike Pakistan, we didnt have the US or another giant to spoon feed us every time we cried “Wolf”. We sufferred and struggled, but we are here.
Please stop this nonsense of making us equal to Pakistanis. In the last 60 years of Indias existence, the number of people killed for Ram is nothing compared to the number of people killed for Allah. Not all crimes are the same, thats why the courts hand out different judgements for different crimes. Also, the crimes committed against Hindus outweigh (in terms of number, period etc) any crimes committed against Muslims.
Finally, we do not scoff at Pakistanis. We have learnt to ignore their indigestion problems (caused due to their allergy in seeing Indias growth). I am sure Pakistanis are very noble people. I am sure concerned people like you have a tear or two left for them. Please dont expect the rest of Indians also to be so concerned as you are. We do not want anything to do with Pakistanis. Just leave us alone and stop comparing us with them.
LikeLike
hahaha!!!
sure sure. everything same to same only. the root causes of pakistan’s militancy and india’s militancy are the same. we are worst than pakistan. ya ali lets take those swords and bleed, it will cause much consternation in sunni pakistan, but that is ok.
instead of probing the more relevant question of the rising militancy amongst Ka’s muslims, churumuri is peddling cliches. what has KA ever done that KA’s muslims have to take to militancy?
on what accounts is this an excellent piece? is there any thing original in this piece? you can take any topical issue and conclude that ayodhya, rising hindu militancy is the root cause to standing ovation amongst the intelligencia. pieces like that are rupaayge dajannu. for what all and all are you going to use ayodhya saar?
lets ask the questions. why is hindu militancy rising? what is it that is alarming, hindu militancy or militancy of any denomination?
LikeLike
and now Pakistan wants Dawood’s Karachi address in Interpol website to be deleted!! Rogue state. Suits them well. they’ll soon perish
LikeLike
He lets the Commie in him out of the bag when he tells people to be wary of the expansionary super power. Why the hell is he talking about the rising tide of violence against Muslims when we have left the Ayodhya issue behind us? He is trying to instigate Muslims and Sikhs by talking of past riots. It’s time media houses stopped giving precious editorial space to pseudo-secularists such as these
LikeLike
Dear R Guha,
You are a comic genius!
Looks like the inmates are running the secular lunatic asylum! Is there any way we can contribute some lowly Greenbacks to ensure that your damaged brain can be repaired at the earliest? We are concerned you know.
LikeLike
bla bla bla bla… man this guy is a waste of space… he knows EVERYTHING about EVERYTHING… Stick to Cricket Mr. Guha…
LikeLike
These self-proclaimed, media sponsored intellegentsia – see everything in their own narrow-minded pseudo-secular way. Dont know who provocate these kind of people to give their opinions.
LikeLike
interesting article
LikeLike
Mr Ra(hi)mChandra Guha, you need a break. Please take it.
LikeLike
Another candlebra batting for pakistan in the ELM. Nothing new.
I have an idea, why dont we buy a one way ticket to these bleeding hearts for pakistan types on the samjautha express and pack them off to the land of the pure once and for all.
The list of beneficiaries of this scheme could include vinod mehta, ramachandra guha, arundathi roy, kushwant singh, kuldeep nayar,prafool bidwai, bakra dutt, sagarika goose, karan thapar, rajdeep sardesai, you know the usual suspects afflicted with india-paki bhai bhai disease.
LikeLike
Mayura,
One more to your list- Gauri lankesh
LikeLike
Mayura,
Please also add Vajapayee to the list. Thanks!
LikeLike
India and Pakistan are Bhai Bhai whether one likes it or not. The Muslims of Pakistan and India as well as Bangladesh are all from one common heritage based in Akhand Bharat.
If the Manu dharma’s inhuman doctrines were not practiced in India, none of the Dalits would have converted to Islam. Off course there were Rajput kings who happily converted to Islam to save their powers.
Who are you guys trying to kid? Once you wanted Akhand Bharat and if you had stupidly done so, India’s ruling party would have been the Muslim League!!
It is secularism that will get us forward not your religious fanaticm. He Ram! what a heartless people you are all becoming, how much more hatred do you want to spill. There is no difference between a Terrorist who kills and you.
LikeLike
>>If the Manu dharma’s inhuman doctrines were not practiced in India, none of the Dalits would have converted to Islam. Off course there were Rajput kings who happily converted to Islam to save their powers.
>>
What exactly do you mean by Manu Dharma converted dalits to Islam?
LikeLike