A noted secularist, Sri Madhu Limaye has foreseen the explosive growth
of the Muslim population and the consequent decline of the Hindus in
India5. He says in an article published in Muslim India, “Maybe the
Hindus are a dying race as Shraddhanand warned 50 years ago. Perhaps
India will have anon-Hindu majority by the year 2300 (if the world
survives that long), after that there will be a precipitate Hindu
decline and they will become extinct in this ancient land of ours. There
is much that is bad in Hinduism (Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism). But there
is something pricelss too. Thanks to the stupidity, social
exclusiveness, and cowardliness of Hindus in the past millennium that
‘priceless something’ which is the heritage of the entire human race
will disappear and that makes me sad.” Of course Mr. Limaye gives three
hundred years for this to happen although we shall see in the chapter on
demography that such a situation will come about around 2050 itself.
Hence it would appear that several secular scholars have more or less correctly gauged the problem posed by Islam to the present Indian society. And their general understanding has been that the solution to this problem is the expectation that as education and modernity spreads in India and Islam, Muslims will no longer be under the sway of their clergy and will become more open and accommodative. It is now over two decades since their books were written and yet no signs of this change are to be seen. They have also failed to show that this indeed has happened anywhere else in the world. Even in the modern European and American states where the Muslims are a small minority, they have not given up their ghetto mentality and fundamentalism. The only exception perhaps is Turkey where Kemal Pasha forced the Muslim clergy not to interfere in his reforms. But even here, Islamic fundamentalism is again rearing its head. In fact we can safely conclude that the secularists in spite of many pious utterances, will not be able to solve the Muslim problem. The question that the Hindu patriots and organisations have to ask is, “Can we and how?”. The fate of our nation depends on the solution of the problem posed by Islam.
REFERENCES :
5. Is India going Islamic, Baljit Rai, B. S. Publishers, Chandigarh, 1994.
Hence it would appear that several secular scholars have more or less correctly gauged the problem posed by Islam to the present Indian society. And their general understanding has been that the solution to this problem is the expectation that as education and modernity spreads in India and Islam, Muslims will no longer be under the sway of their clergy and will become more open and accommodative. It is now over two decades since their books were written and yet no signs of this change are to be seen. They have also failed to show that this indeed has happened anywhere else in the world. Even in the modern European and American states where the Muslims are a small minority, they have not given up their ghetto mentality and fundamentalism. The only exception perhaps is Turkey where Kemal Pasha forced the Muslim clergy not to interfere in his reforms. But even here, Islamic fundamentalism is again rearing its head. In fact we can safely conclude that the secularists in spite of many pious utterances, will not be able to solve the Muslim problem. The question that the Hindu patriots and organisations have to ask is, “Can we and how?”. The fate of our nation depends on the solution of the problem posed by Islam.
REFERENCES :
5. Is India going Islamic, Baljit Rai, B. S. Publishers, Chandigarh, 1994.
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