AP

erged from the dark ages and produced some great thinkers. The new thought/philosophy of those great scholars brought about a great change, elevating the mind and spirit of the people in Europe. Ambitions were charged, and the people looked for opportunities to satisfy these ambitions.
In the early 18th century, Europe took great strides in scientific development that led to the invention of steam engine, resulting in the industrial revolution, which enabled European nations to explore other countries that were being fortified with superior knowledge and technology. Earlier, only the Spanish and Portuguese had embarked upon the mission to reach far-flung countries in the East, particularly, India.
The 18th century brought forth an opportunity for the Dutch, French and British to establish links with Africa and Asia. What began as trade relations, within 100 years, turned into a desire for occupation and gain of absolute right over the life and resources of the people of the area that was under their occupation.
By the early 19th century, all these countries had established their colonies in Europe, South Africa, South Asia and South East Asia. The colonisers exploited the national resources of the colonised countries, and made slaves out of a substantial portion of the population to provide labour in different parts of the world to feed the habitat of the Empire.
India became the largest British colony and was the most resource-rich region under the British Empire. The country has a diverse population, with different languages, religions and cultural practices. When the British came to India, the country was under hundreds of local rulers. There were continuous fights between these rulers to achieve dominance and extend their frontiers. Through superior technology and devious methods of inducing the local Maharajas to plot against each other, the British gradually extended their area of influence to cover the entire sub-continent before the end of the 19th century.
The rulers appeased the Maharajas by letting them enjoy status and privilege, but made them subservient to the British Crown. They made Indians believe that they were lesser people. Hence, except for a handful, the urge for invention and promotion of new ideas became impossible in the early 20th century. However, some enlightened leaders realised that the British had converted the Indian people into slaves. They revolted and called for freedom from British rule. This became a movement after Mahatma Gandhi's return from South Africa. By 1930, it became apparent that one day the British would withdraw from India.
So, in order to protect their interests, the British tried to poison the relations between Hindus and Muslims. Though, in India, the Mughals ruled for 500 years before the British, yet there were Hindu kings in several areas as also Hindus living in Muslim-dominated areas. Hindus were a part of the army of Muslim rulers and were also courtiers in their administration.
Though Hindus and Muslims differ sharply in their pursuit of religion, yet there was no direct conflict between the two communities. In spite of the caste system among Hindus and its consequential deprivation of the lower caste, there was some sort of co-existence between the communities, even in villages.
The British realised this and created a sharp division between the Hindu and Muslim leadership. They indirectly nudged some radical Muslims to refrain from joining the freedom movement led by Gandhi and pursue their own course. This resulted in Partition as well as atrocities on both sides. A hostile environment was created in which one community lived in the fear of the other.
What we are seeing in Jammu & Kashmir today is, therefore, the result of the British policy of ‘divide and rule’, be it in the form of Pakistan arousing the passion of Kashmiris to demand aazadi or Hindu fundamentalists fanning the sentiments of people in Jammu.
Unfortunately, the government of the day is a mute spectator as the situation turns grim. It needs to act decisively and impartially. All it needs to do is to clamp down and lock up all those who are spreading trouble, irrespective of whether they are Hindus or Muslims.
But, it seems the politics of votes is preventing the government from taking any decisive action. It is time for Hindus and Muslims in other parts of the country to urge the government to take decisive action against the mischief-makers in J&K. For, Muslims across India believe that they are Indians. What they, possibly, desire is equal status. I believe they cannot be a party to further division of the country. If the government, too, believes so, then this may help it to take a firm decision on this issue.