Indian-administered Kashmir becomes the stage of rancors and disputes once again. The morning of this Monday September 13th, several violent manifestations took place all over the Jammu and Kashmir territory which were motivated for the announce of a church in Florida, United States, to burn copies of the Koran during the 9th anniversary of the terrorist attacks in New York and The Pentagon.
Defying a curfew imposed for the authorities, people went out to the streets to manifest their complaint against the United States and the Indian Government. The result: government institutions and Christian schools were set on fire and eighteen civilians died because of the intentions of the police to calm down the situation. About a hundred of people resulted wounded.
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In my Opinion...
A combination of factors is the motivation for these manifestations. The Indian Government is seen like a dictatorial authority for the Muslim population in Indian-administered Kashmir, specially for those who integrate separatist groups. This is one of the main causes that always provoke this kind of violence in the region. The solution for this conflict seems to be so far from find it; but the violence is not the answer. The only choice is start all over again and establish the foundations for a dialog between the parts involved: both government and its detractors.
In addition, the Anti-American sentiment spreads more and more through the Islamic world and pronouncements like the Florida's church declarations, just feed rancor feelings against the United States all over the world. This verify the thesis that the hate is only able to generate more hate. "Respect" is the key. If we keep generalizing and stereotyping the people we are going to turn out ourselves victims of our own ignorance.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with you, respect is the key. But what about respect in the other direction? One may say well we have to respect who believe in a particular religion and their rites, but that doesn't mean that we have to respect and tolerate acts of violence nor much less repeat them. If this hate to the muslim people for the 9/11 spreads in America with acts like the burn of the Koran, then America will carry the responsibility of accept some acts of anger against them as well. It's all about fairness and a little bit of perspective.
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