Mirza, with all my respect for you as a poster (I even thanked the last post for the great points you raised), I will have to debunk some of your beliefs.
What
@Joe Shearer @Shantanu_Left and probably many other Indians fail to comprehend is quite simply that ever since 1947, the persistent dehumanisation of (in no particular order) Pakistanis, muslims, mughals and Kashmiris by a significant subsection of the Indian population - which was ostensibly intended to psychologically facilitate any number of overt or clandestine struggles against these specific entities for Delhi's perceived gain - has backfired catastrophically.
I agree with you wholeheartedly that the dehumanization of Pakistanis, Muslims, Mughals, Kashmiris is very much a reality that you experience. But it is not good to combine all of them together. There are different grades and degrees.
Mughals: most modern-day Indians are not sufficiently aware of their own history. Yes, the RSS-Hindutvadis have spray-painted the Mughals negatively. The Congress had nothing to do with that. Generally, it's irrelevant in India except the Babri Masjid demolition was a stark reality of anti-Mughal hate.
(Non-Kashmiri Indian) Muslims: All the liberals on this forum regularly condemn the ruling party of India and the Prime Minister for their involvement in the 2002 Gujarat riots. We also condemned the recent Delhi riots without mincing any words. We also accept that the current ruling dispensation in India is hostile to Indian Muslims.
Kashmiri Muslims: Kashmiri Muslims have certainly been treated the worst in the Secular Republic. And I blame both parties for that: Congress and BJP. But the hatred has really fanned the most during BJP rule. It makes my blood boil every time I read about the atrocities on Kashmiris here and I attribute this to my own part-Kashmir heritage. I am still an Indian.
Also, many Kashmiri Muslims residing in India (but not all) are supporters of the Indian State. They are ordinary people who want no trouble with the law, seek education, jobs, and just live like others.
I am myself torn in this. While I have my sympathies for Yasin Malik and other separatists, a lot of Kashmiris are not backing them enough. In the event of a Referendum (which I fully support), I can tell you the sentiment from the Valley: less than 20 percent Kashmiris will want to separate from India. Most are more than happy with a great degree of autonomy to rule their lives.
Pakistani Muslims: now that's a sensitive topic. As we have discussed countless times here before, Indian media is to be blamed for the dehumanization of Pakistani Muslims in India. And none of us liberals support the Indian mainstream media, that's why we are on a Pakistani forum because we get better quality news of our own country.
Aman ki Asha was a good initiative to prevent this kind of dehumanization of Pakistani Muslims in India. But of course, it's in cold basket now. Let us open a new thread to discuss how Pakistani Muslims should be portrayed in Indian media, and what Indian liberals can do better to prevent any possible dehumanization.
Neither me or Joe (or any other Indian posters) would support any of this. And you know that.
None of these entities has been silenced or crippled or defeated or removed from the pages of history, and they never can be. Psychological warfare and indoctrination of one's own people to "hate" one's perceived enemies is a methodology that is useful in any war but is emphasised particularly by fascist entities. 20th century history attests to this.
We don't support the fascists of Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, and their entire team. But we do support our country because we love it just like you love yours. If you can't see the difference between the two positions, then there is nothing left to argue.
This imprinting on the collective consciousness of the Indian people results in the simplistic and crude "excusing" of or "apologism for" a blatant war crime because the victims of said war crime are perceived as "them", not "us". Even if the definition of Kashmiris is not absolutely "them", they are still "less us" than the Hindu population of Jammu for example.
As mentioned here, we are ourselves against this "us" versus "them" generalization. But it's not going away anytime soon. We will do what is needed to prevent it in the future. So open a new relevant thread and we can discuss ideas.
I'm not saying it's a conscious choice in every case. I can't read minds. However, the net effect is the same whether a conscious choice or a subconscious reflex. Automatic defensiveness of what is quite simply a war crime on Muslims (this "defensiveness" arising because Pakistanis happen to be the accusers) can only be sustained within the collective psyche of Hindustan because of the subconscious dehumanisation of these various entities as described previously.
My conclusion is that once the madness penetrates the subconscious of even well-meaning Indians, the descent of this particular society is complete.
Please see above. Totally against any sort of dehumanization of any group, including Pakistani Muslims. Our objective in this forum is to win hearts, and clear misunderstandings.
Peace
@Joe Shearer @xeuss
