Congratulation are in order for the recipients of this year's Nobel Peace Prize Malala Yosufzai, the campaigner for girls' education and Kailash Satyarthi the campaigner for children's rights to be free from bonded labour. Announcing the prize the Norwegian Nobel Committee ( Committee) declared that it "regards it as an important point for a Hindu and a Muslim, an Indian and a Pakistani, to join in a common struggle for education and extremism." English is not my first Language. I completely missed the "point." Terrorism is an international scourge. 9/11 happened in the United States of America. 7/11 devastated Mumbai killing Indians and foreigners of many faiths including Muslims, Jews and Christians just as 9/11 had killed thousands belonging to different faiths and ethnic groups including Hindus and Muslims.
In reference to 7/11 I did not mention Hindus. The Nobel Committee had kindly highlighted them enough, in fact exclusively, as if India was a Hindu country. Being of Indian heritage I detested the ignorance of the Committee clothed in its arrogance that sought to preach peace but instead committed the kind of blunder that in the long run can tear countries and societies asunder on the basis of religion, ethnic origin, language and whatever other reason merchants of hate can drum up.
Pakistan is a Muslim theocracy. 80% of Indians are of the Hindu faith but India is not Hindu. Next to Indonesia it has the largest Muslim population of any country in the world. It is home to more Christians than Sikhs and people of these and many other faiths call themselves proud Indians.
By reducing India to mere Hinduness the Committee has done a disservice to humanity including India. Pakistan's problems may be rooted in the pigheaded partition of India. It may need to constantly remind and reassure itself and the world of its Muslimness. Secular India underpinned by a secular constitution and convention needs no such reassurance of its identity. Indians have no doubt as to who they are. Religion may be an important part of most Indians' lives but they are not defined by their religion. Their citizenship is what defines them.
If it wanted to highlight gender equality the Committee could have talked about a man and a woman. If it wanted to strike a blow against ageism it could have pointed to the young Malala and older Kailash. I fail to understand what the Committee's "important point" was except the Committee blindly and recklessly wandered into the stereotypes made famous by the British Colonialists who did not want the world to remember that prior to the British Raj in India Muslim and Hindu kings and queens fought just as kings and queens did elsewhere but the people lived together without the riots and the like one sees in modern times, a legacy of the divide and conquer and later divide and rule policy of the British.
The Islamic terrorists of 9/11 hailed mainly from Saudi Arabia. They were trained and radicalised by Al Qaida in Afghanistan and Pakistan. They attacked a secular democracy with a Christian majority. In beheading western journalists and aid workers ISIS is following the heinous decapitation of Daniel Pearl. To get at the modern manifestation of terror and applying the inane logic of its equally inane statement the Committee would have done well to add a deserving Christian to this year's picks for the Peace Prize
The Committee made a great choice in the recipients of the Nobel for Peace. It is a shame however that in reducing India to mere Hinduness it and its statement greatly diminished the stature of the Nobel for Peace. In the process it unforgivably insulted an ancient civilisation, the great secular democracy of India. Rejoicing at the choice of the recipients I mourn the sheer stupidity of the Committee's "important point" I didn't get.
