India and the 2002 Conflict, Essay Example

Introduction

Over the last 40 years the Western State of Gujaret has been a troubled place. There has been a constant state of conflict between Hindus and Muslims since the sub-continent divided in 1947 forming India and Pakistan. In 1969 some 2,500 were killed but the crisis escalated into a massacre in 2002 when some 700 Muslims were killed and their houses destroyed. The riot was triggered by 58 Hindus being killed in a neighboring state and the attack being a revenge killing in Gujaret.

Act of Provocation

The incident in Gujaret was triggered by a prior incident in Godhra. It was here that a group of Hindu extremists called ‘Karsevacs’ wanted to build a Hindu temple on a site where a previous mosque was destroyed. This caused a riot where a Muslim mob lost control and set fire to a train where they killed 58 people, 40 of which were women and children. This gruesome killing and destruction of the train illustrating the hatred between Muslims and Hindus in this region. This was the trigger that led to the revenge attack in Gujaret resulting in 700 Muslims being slaughtered. The state of Gujaret being run by Hindu nationalists and as such it is held that the state sponsors terror campaigns against the Muslims.

The incident is widely held to be an intelligence failure. It has not been determined in precise terms whether this was a spontaneous act of revenge or a pre-meditated act with the support of the Hindu State Authorities. It was expected that there would be a retaliatory response but not on the level of the killing that was carried out. To an extent the Government of Gujaret must be held responsible in failing to protect the Muslim minority. This was compounded by the Police being seen to facilitate acts of arson and plundering of property.

Later figures reported that the massacre resulted in 2000 deaths with over 200,000 reported as being left homeless. (Anon).

Escalation

In 2002 there escalated a military standoff between that of Muslim Pakistan and Hindu India. The military stand-off between the two nuclear powers through the disputed territory of Kashmir. The Indians held that they needed to show Pakistan a sign of strength because of a proxy war on terror it had been campaigning against India. The escalation involved 3 divisions of Indian Troops some 500,000 men with Pakistan responding by mobilising some 300,000 soldiers. Both moved up missile systems to the borders. The real threat was this moving towards a war using tactical nuclear weapons that ultimately could escalate to nuclear war between the two countries. Despite intervention by Russian Premier Putin it was the Pakistani leader Musharraf’s pledge to combat the terrorism that ultimately defused the situation.

Strategies for Change

There needs to be more religious tolerance and freedom of expression between India and Pakistan that may improve dialogue. Unfortunately as India has moved more towards democratic reforms the opposite has happened in Pakistan where they have been supporting the Taliban and the war in Afghanistan. The US also believes that the Pakistan state has been sponsoring terrorism and this further alienates the regime from the West and India. In addition terrorist attacks like that which occurred on Mumbai will further increase the tension between the two. Pakistan is now viewed as the area with the most instability and there remains a concern over the security of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal. The emerging threat of Iran further complicates the tensions in the region. (Centre for Preventative Action).

Works Cited

Anon. The silet wounds of Gujaret. 22 9 2004. http://www.opendemocracy.net/print/1684. 21 3 2012.

Centre for Preventative Action. Mission Statement of the Centre for Preventative Action. Policy Paper. New York: Centre for Preventative Action, 2010.