Harvard'sSamuel Hunting-ton is famous for his thesis on the ?Clash of Civilisations?. In a simplified formulation it is this: The Cold War of economic and political ideology is no more relevant because of the disintegration of the Soviet Union. And hence, according to Huntington, it will be replaced by a new conflict caused by a civilisational divide induced by religious fundamentalism. Christians, Jews and Hindus will have to band together on one side of the divide, to confront terrorist Islamic ideology. China faces the same problems with Islam, but it has been kept under wraps and away from media glare. China will be for now a passive partner in this divide.
Confrontation, as in the Cold War, will be inevitable. If indeed Christians, Jews and Hindus do forge an active alliance, Islamic terror will be no match in the ensuing context and confrontation. Such an alliance is being facilitated ironically by Osama Bin laden and his ilk against whom it will be directed!! Osama, Zarqawi, Moussauvi, and others Islamic terrorists are already propagating that Christians, Jews and Hindus are enemies of Islam. Hindus are already targeted in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh and within our nation, such as in Kashmir and Mau just because they are Hindus. Recently, in Doda, Hindus were first segregated from Muslim residents, and then shot dead mercilessly by Pakistan based Islamic terrorists. Most of our temples and holy spots have already been targeted by these terrorists just because these are sacred to Hindus. What harm did Hindus do to Islam that they should be targeted like this? In the answer to this question lies the concept of the divide or ?fault lines? as Huntington calls it.
Close cooperation between India, Israel and US is already covertly and overtly beginning to happen partly in response to Osama'sthreats and Islamic terrorism.
Cold War hangover and vote bank politics in India however is delaying the fructification of a formal alliance. But if the Hindus consolidate into a vote bank, instead of being divided in castes, regions and languages? thus rendering each Hindu segment a smaller vote bank than Muslims? then US-India-Israel alliance against terrorism would be easy to effect and make into a natural compact. India shall not then be inhibited by any fear of voters? religious backlash.
Hindus once sufficiently consolidated should insist that Muslims in India must acknowledge that their ancestors are Hindus and that they are proud of the lineage. Those Muslims who claim that they are descended from Babar, Ghazni or Ghori have no right to be in India or at least a voter. A separate country of Pakistan was created 1947 for those Muslims who do not consider Hindus as part of their family tree. An India that is perceived as a land of Hindus and those whose ancestors are Hindus is Hindustan. The Indian identity is thus established, and Hindus , Muslims and Christians become equal legatees to the glorious continuing Hindu civilization.
The US, Israel, and India can confront and easily pacify militant Islam and it'smurderous terrorists arm by a combination of zero tolerance for terrorism, selective regime change where there is a brutal pro-terrorist dictatorship, and by commercializing new energy sources such as hydrogen fuel cells and thorium refining that will undermine the oil-financing capacity for terrorists. This three pronged approach will decimate and castrate Islamic terrorist movement. The problem is thus tractable and can be solved within a decade.
However, a new problem will arise thereafter that will confront the Hindus, namely that arising from proselytising crusading Christian missionaries under the guidance of the Opus Dei and the Vatican, and concomitantly from US-based evangelist organisations. These outfits are alarmed at the decline in Christian population and adherence to the religion in Europe. Hence, it had been decided in a conclave in Dallas in USA held in September 2005 that in one decade hence, a billion people would be converted to Christianity.
Obviously, Hindus would be a target for this conversion goal-in fact for India the goal set in the conclave by Reverend Pat Robertson is to convert a 100 million Hindus to Christianity. The Pope of Vatican who came to India in November 1999, surprisingly on the invitation of the NDA government, declared in New Delhi that Christian missionaries would work to make the 21st century a Christian one for Asia. It is significant that when the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Ms. Jayalalitha got a legislation enacted to bar forcible or money-induced conversion, the US Consul General in Chennai visited her to protest and warn her of US Congressional resolutions in this matter. Ms. Jayalalitha chickened out and withdrew the Act. Christian agenda is thus explicit and clear, and reserved for vigorous implementation once the ?civilisational conflict? is ended.
There is another factor which makes for the United States to be concerned about Hindustan once the Islamic terrorists threat has been met. It is the 200 million Indian youth just out of college and interested in research&development work. These bright youngsters might just out-innovate the Americans thus overtaking the US in it'smain USP.
Americans have stayed ahead of all others during the twentieth century by just being pioneers in technological and managerial innovation. India threatens that need not only because our youngsters are very bright and fast on the uptake, but unlike in China, function in a democratic system. The climate to innovate is much better in free societies where a questioning mind is a great asset for research and innovation. This attribute of India, which we owe to the Hindu tradition of argumentativeness and shashtratha, will put India in competition with the US. Given the hullabaloo over BPO from US to India which actually benefits US in net cost, we can imagine the howl that will be heard if India out-innovates the US. Of course we Indians have much to gain from technological cooperation with the US, and hence we must try to soften the coming blow to US lead in innovation. Nevertheless, as in the Indo-US nuclear agreement, the US goal will always be clear: how to restrain India from getting ahead in innovation. How we resolve this contradiction between being friendly with the US and at the same time resisting their booby traps in our path to innovative independence, will test our cognitive, emotional and moral intelligence to the maximum.
Once the Huntington clash of civilization is over, the clash of religions will begin?i.e., the clash between Hinduism and Christianity. It will not be a hot clash as with Islam, but a clash rooted in subversion: i.e., subvert or be subverted. To stave off being subverted by Christian foreign forces, Hindus will need a new mindset and a clear concept of identity. What these are I have written about earlier in these columns [or see my forthcoming book Hindus Under Siege?The Way out]. Hindus will also have to seek allies in this subversion game. Who can be these allies? I will write about that in my next column.
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