Academic’s comments devoid of truth
THE opinion column, “India’s treatment of Muslims, migrants puts lives at risk during Covid-19” (the POST, May 27 – 31), by Jay Ramasubramanyam, a doctoral candidate in law and legal studies at Carleton University, makes for unsupported and biased reporting.
India has the lowest infection rate per capita in the world. It has a population of 1.35 billion. As of May 28, there were 158 333 confirmed Covid19 cases and 4 531 deaths.
The Citizen Amendment Act does not affect any Indian Muslim. Lies are being spread by all the agents of Pakistan, which has persecuted minorities of all religions.
Muslims who want to return to India can do so by applying for citizenship. Under Article 370, corruption and terrorism in the state have been curtailed and more than 15 million were being denied benefits of legislations meant for the entire country.
Terrorism in the state has been reported as the lowest.
Kashmir has always been part of the sovereign state of India and not Pakistan. The mistakes of Nehru and Gandhi were corrected.
The genocide of the 600 000 Kashmiri Pandits in 1990 is conveniently ignored. There is no evidence that any minorities (Muslims) were discriminated against in any way.
The movement of migrant workers was challenging, understandably, but food and cash transfer benefits (7 500 rupees/R1 749) a month were provided by the governments.
Various NGO organisations such as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) provided essentials ration kits to more than 11 million families, more than 100 million food packets were also provided, including health services and water.
Ishrat Mohammad, a pregnant woman, was on her way to Uttar Pradesh from Gujarat with her husband, Noor Mohammad.
The RSS assisted them and provided her with an ambulance when she went into labour, and delivered, her baby.
The Tablighi Jamaat event at the Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi in March has wreaked havoc in the country, yet the government did not stigmatise the Muslims for the spread of the disease, the attack on health workers and bad behaviour.
Your veiled reference to dissidents being rounded up is because of the criminal justice system.
Those involved in damage to properties and loss of lives in the Delhi riots have to be accountable in any civilised country.
You have hatred and bias towards the ruling party of the world’s largest democracy, while you enjoy the benefits of a First World country like Canada, presumably under some scholarship.
The reference to minorities is specifically aimed at Muslims while there are many other minorities.
Are you being paid to play the victim card?
Vote Bank and appeasement politics are not being used by the ruling party like the Congress.
There is no misrule and looting of state coffers in India.
However, it is worth mentioning that the Narendra Modi government has provided the world’s largest scholarships to the Muslim community.
The government is working on skills development so that the youth of this community can earn their livelihood.
Recently, this government increased the number of Haj quotas. Therefore, how logical is it to say that Modi is anti-Muslim?
Why do Muslims in Nepal support a secular Hindu government instead of a communist or leftist government?
Indian Muslims, estimated to be more than 200 million, have more freedom than in any of the 56 Islamic countries in the world.
The last bastion is India, so they want to Islamise it with radical Islam. Muslims in India will choose better than to listen to the paid political agents of the Congress or by Pakistan, leftist and Naxals.
The opinion is, therefore, devoid of substance or truth. Paid journalists are erupting everywhere and are called “pressitudes”.
The Modi government has been able to manage the pandemic better than most G20 countries and this has led you to write this nonsensical opinion piece.
RAM MAHARAJ
President South African Hindu Dharma Sabha Reservoir Hills