[lbo-talk] Re: Iran and the Left in a Moral Snare

Nathan Newman nathanne at nathannewman.org
Tue Feb 7 15:45:37 PST 2006


----- Original Message ----- From: "Doug Henwood" <dhenwood at panix.com> -Nathan, the counter-examples you point to range from the alarming to -the repulsive. Calling India essentially Hindu would be a very -controversial position for lots of Indians.

And yet, that was the message of the British when they split Pakistan off from India. The British took religious differences and declared them the basis for nationalistic divisions over borders.

So to repeat, there's nothing odd in modern history about a religious-nationalistic mix in Israel as opposed to the many other nations where such mixes are at play.

-And I do wonder how the -BJP would react to Hindus migrating to India from other countries and -claiming a piece of their essential Hinduness, whatever that is.

They'd no doubt love it. They worry quite a bit about birth rates of Hindus vesus muslims: http://www.asianpacificpost.com/portal2/4028818207ce7b2e0108079cf6970600.do.html "Hindus pressed to have more children "

"K.S. Sudarshan, who heads the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), the ideological parent of the Bharatiya Janata Party which led India until last year, said a higher Hindu birth rate was vital to check a "population imbalance."

The RSS holds considerable sway among the large, conservative Hindu population, especially in impoverished northern India. It has often expressed concern about what it calls a higher growth rate among Muslims, especially in areas bordering Nepal and Bangladesh where India says illegal immigrants, mainly Muslims, infiltrate into the country."

-- Nathan Newman



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