Wrongly blaming Indian Muslim backwardness for terrorism

The terrorist attacks in Mumbai have dominated the news and rightly so. Once they were over, analysts and writers started publishing opinion articles. Many of them criticize the Indian security establishment while even more criticize the marginalized state of India’s Muslims. Let’s discuss both of these.

It appears to me that writers dwelling on the backwardness of India’s Muslims think that all Indian Muslims are belligerent and harbour terrorist tendencies because of their social status. While this may be the cause for the general Muslim dissatisfaction and might be the root cause of riots, terrorism is a totally different ballgame. Many terrorists that are involved in planning their malevolent designs have higher degrees and are therefore eductionally sophisticated enough to orchestrate terror. An ordinary Muslim cannot by any means walk into hotels/hospital/railway station, start shooting indiscriminately and then hold hostages while fighting the police. Therefore, a blanket condemnation of the Indian society for the status of its Muslims seems like childish fingerpointing.

There are so many other things than terrorism where the backwardness of Muslims play a role in their cause, such as riots and the nature to form vote banks. It is well known that educated people usually stay locked indoors during times of riots or general disturbance and that it is the mostly uneducated poor that is directly involved. Similarly, I wonder if educated Muslims vote for the parties that promise higher Haj subsidies or reservations in education and jobs. I would wager that educated Muslims vote based on more secular policies. I stress on education because that is the key to economic success in the modern world. Thus, I wonder how the poverty and illiteracy of Muslims played a role in the recent Mumbai massacre and targeting of American and British tourists.

It will definitely only benefit India for its Muslims to be educated and economically well-off. The majority of India’s Muslims are admittedly poor and illiterate. Op-Ed articles have been famously criticizing the Indian government for discrimination. If any, there is only a lot of special treatment for Indian Muslims by the political parties. Some states even have reservations for Muslims for education and employment. How India is still a secular state is a puzzle. The Muslim community can certainly, however, use a lot of help. For one, India could stop subsidizing the Haj pilgrimage, which no other country does, and instead provide meaningful incentives in education and the economic sector such as setting up schools, banks and other social welfare organizations in Muslim-dominated neighbourhoods. Whereas, this should not be done by providing reservations, reducing the merit-level for Muslims or by any other partisan treatment.

Thus, while Muslim backwardness is not desirable and their upward mobility will do a lot of good to India, it doesn’t seem to be even remotely linked to the causes of terrorism. Your thoughts?