Muslims, terrorism and rise of the Hindu right in India /
by Sandy Gordon.
Description
- Language(s)
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English
- Published
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Canberra : Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University, 2004.
- Summary
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"India is located in the heart of a region in which more puritanical forms of Islam have been gaining ground for several decades. This radicalisation of Islam in South Asia has been furthered by the 'war on terror', and particularly the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Against this background, elements within India's predominantly Hindu population have been seeking to 'Hinduise' India's secular polity, sometimes directing violence against India's 130 million Muslims in the process. In response to these regional and domestic developments, a small minority of Indian Muslims outside Kashmir has chosen to take up the bomb and the Kalashnikov. This movement is closely tied to violent jihadi movements in neighbouring countries, especially the Gulf and Pakistan. The recently ousted, Hindu-led coalition government that has governed in New Delhi for the last seven years has at times responded harshly to this terrorism. Were it to continue, such a response could precipitate a classic downward spiral into terrorism and counter-terrorism. Any such development would have profound implications for India and the region. This paper examines the prospects for such a development in the context of the recent election of a more secular, Congress-led coalition in New Delhi. It argues that while the new government will seek to return India to its secular roots, now that the Bharatiya Janata Party is out of office at the centre, elements within the Hindu Right are likely to foment unrest between Hindus and Muslims, particularly at the periphery of Indian politics, in order to 'claw back' political power at the centre. Any such tactics may well cancel out the secular strategies of the new government."--Abstract from SDSC web site.
- Note
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"May 2004."
- Physical Description
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46 p. ;
21 cm.
- ISBN
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0731554566 :
Viewability