The conspiracy of selective silence - The Pioneer

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The conspiracy of selective silence - The Pioneer

Op-Ed

The Pioneer

Wednesday, May 3, 2006

 

When a mosque was demolished in India there was an

international outcry, but nothing when a temple was

destroyed in Malaysia, says Seema Sarin

 

A century-old Hindu temple was demolished in Malaysia

despite devotees pleading with the authorities to stop

the operations. Though the Malaysian Hindus were

understandably upset, the Hindus in India did not

react, which is fine.

 

The Government of India did not react, which might

have been right, had it not officially objected to the

Danish Government about the publication of the

Prophet's cartoons in a Danish newspaper. The UPA

Government had even suggested the Danish Prime

Minister to postpone his visit to India.

 

The International Herald Tribune published a cartoon

depicting US President George Bush as Lord Shiva.

Though an organisation, Indiacause, did find the

cartoon offensive, most Hindus did not react to it.

When Mohammed's offensive cartoons were published,

Muslims all over the world, including in India,

protested. One must not forget that the cartoons were

first published in September and the protests occurred

months later.

 

Hindus did not react similarly when the Malaimel Shri

Selva Kaliamman temple was destroyed in Malaysia, nor

when a Krishna temple was demolished in Moscow. Hindus

are not obliged to react like Muslims when such

incidents occur. Even many Muslims, though they might

have been offended by the Danish cartoon, did not

participate in the protests. But should not have the

Government of India reacted in similar manner to these

religious incidents?

 

Secularism means treating all religions equally. If

the Government can officially object to the point of

postponing a prime ministerial visit on cartoons of

the Prophet being published in a Danish newspaper

(which had nothing to do with the Government), how can

it claim to be secular when it says nothing to another

(Malaysian) country about demolition of a Hindu temple

- an act which done by the Malaysian authorities?

 

Perhaps the best policy would be not to react to

religious incidents abroad, be it related to Hindus or

Muslims. Religious occurrences abroad are not the

affair of the Government of India, whether they

involve the publication of offensive cartoons or

demolition of Hindu temples. The UPA Government does

seem to observe that policy, except in the case of

Muslims. Is it fair to have different policies for

different religions in a secular country?

 

As for the world and the media, these too seem to have

double standards when it comes to religion. There was

a huge outcry when an unfrequented mosque was

demolished in India, but nothing happened when a

well-frequented temple was destroyed in Malaysia.

Never mind that the temple was destroyed at a time

when 300 devotees were praying there.

 

Now the Indian press has found some justification for

reacting to the first incident, while ignoring the

second - because the former incident happened in

India, while the second occurred in a foreign country.

But why should the global media create such a hue and

cry over the destruction of a mosque in India, but

remain silent over the demolition of a temple in

Malaysia?

 

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