Advani hails Gujarat win; thrashes Congress for religion-based reservations

Advani hails Gujarat win as he eyes Lok Sabha

From correspondents in Delhi, India, 07:32 PM IST

Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani Tuesday paid glowing tributes to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, the Hindutva poster boy, as he vowed to win parliamentary elections due next year.

Addressing the closing session of the two-day BJP National Council meeting here, Advani called his party's landslide victory in Gujarat last month as a 'fabulous win' even as he accused the Congress-led government of pandering to minorities.

'The Congress fought the Gujarat election as a secular versus non-secular one. It made the polls a national referendum on communalism. But the people made it clear that it is the Congress that is communal,' Advani told delegates from all over the country.

'Our Gujarat victory is a triumph of good governance and development over vote-bank politics,' he said.

Advani, who represents Gandhinagar in Gujarat in the Lok Sabha, went on: 'People ask me if Modi has become bigger than the BJP. If a young leader has achieved more than what its leaders have achieved till now, than it is a proud moment for the party.'

Sounding supremely confident, Advani - who is slowly beginning to eclipse former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee as the party's top star - thundered that the BJP was determined to return to power that it lost in 2004 in New Delhi.

'We have taken a pledge that we are going to win the coming elections,' he said, in an obvious reference to the next Lok Sabha ballot scheduled next year.

And having worsted the Congress in Punjab, Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh last year, he mocked at the ruling party: 'The Congress thinks we are going to lose in states where we are in power. That is not going to happen.'

His reference was to elections scheduled this year in BJP-ruled Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh where Congress strategists feel they have a good chance of ousting the BJP. Some reports indicate that the Congress might advance general elections to coincide with these state elections.

Advani accused Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government of playing the communal card.

'For me secularism means no injustice to anybody. How can the prime minister say that Muslims have the first right to the limited natural resources of this country? This right belongs to the poor, whichever religion or caste they belong to,' he said.

'It is the Dalits and the tribals who are the poorest and deserve reservation,' said Advani, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha.

However, Advani skirted any mention of the Ram temple, which Hindu groups have vowed to build on the ruins of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh.

He, however, reiterated BJP's known opposition to Article 370 of the constitution, which bestows special status on the border state.

'The Election Commission and the Supreme Court should have the same jurisdiction in Jammu and Kashmir (as in the rest of the country),' he said.

Jammu and Kashmir, India's only Muslim-majority state, goes to the polls this year.

Advani also accused the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government of being soft on terrorism, mentioning what he said was the delay in executing Afzal Guru, sentenced to death for the 2001 terror attack on the Indian parliament.

'The cabinet has to take a decision on the issue but there is delay thanks to vote bank politics,' he said. 'Families of the nine security men who died while defending the parliament have returned the bravery awards in protest.'

He also blasted the Left parties that prop up the Manmohan Singh government. 'They decide the policies of the government. I think this is criminalisation of Indian politics.'

Advani also came down heavily on the UPA government for refusing to set up a Joint Parliamentary Committee to debate the controversial India-US civil nuclear deal. 'Instead, they formed a UPA-Left Committee.'

Advani reminded the national council members that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) had carried out a number of development projects when it was in power until 2004.

'We lost the 2004 Lok Sabha elections as it was an aggregate of state results,' he reasoned. 'Our allies lost and so we lost.'

Tuesday's session began with the delegates passing a resolution demanding greater steps to check terrorism and also a farmer-friendly government. The BJP also said that there was a need for 'a vibrant foreign policy'

(Staff Writer, © IANS)

India eNews

The decline of Hindu Population in India

Indian Census and Muslim population growth

by Vinod Kumar

I, personally, was not at all surprised; alarmed, yes -- but surprised -- no, by the "revelations" of the Census 2001. The Muslim population growth in India at one and half times the rate of Hindu population growth rate is no "revelation" and given the Hindu mindset and priorities neither is the decline in the rate of growth of Hindu population.. The broad outlines have been there for centuries for anyone to see, if only one was willing to face the reality.

In broad terms, the Muslim population in India has been growing in geometrical progression vis-à-vis Hindus who have been growing in arithmetical progression. And with the improvement of educational and economic level of the Hindus, the disparity has become even more pronounced. To put it in broader perspective, Muslim population has steadily grown from 13% in 1800 to 16% in 1850 to 20% in 1900 to 25% in 1947 and anywhere between 30 to 33% today taking into account the geographical area of pre-partitioned India. These statistics are available from various sources.

The high rate of Muslim population is not unique to India alone. Barring the isolated case of Indonesia, Muslim population growth outpaces almost every other group in just about any country in the world.

Almost ten years ago, I had analyzed the 1961 and 1991 census. The growth disparity even in the two were almost identical to one between the 1991 and 2001. Between 1961 and 1991 Muslim population had grown by 133.66% as compared to Hindu growth of 89.24% -- the Muslim population growth being 150% of the Hindu population growth.

To bring it up to date -- Between 1961 and 2001, in absolute numbers, the Hindu population has grown from 366 million to 827 million - a growth of 126% while the Muslim population in the same period grew from 47 million to 138 million -- a growth of 193 per cent. The Muslim population growth was consistent at about 50 per cent higher than the Hindu population. What is more alarming is that Hindu population growth rate has declined from 25% in the previous decades to about 20% in the decade preceding the Census while the Muslim population growth , if not increased, as the initial data had indicated, it has almost remained constant, and if declined, only marginally so. It is still a high of around 30%. The hoopla caused by census 2001 release just goes to show the hypocrisy of politicians of all hues. The controversy regarding the lack of census in J&K and Assam in 1991 and 1981 respectively, while it may satisfy the appetite of the secularists, is insignificant in broader terms.

So of the striking features of Muslim population are:

The lowest growth rates of Muslim, while still higher than that of the Hindus, are in the south. Tamil Nadu recording the lowest with 13.7 per cent followed by Kerala (15.9), Andhra Pradesh ( 17.9) and Karnataka (23) while the largest Muslim population growth has come from what are border states of Assam, Meghalaya, West Bengal, UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and J&K.

Even more alarming is the fact that the percentage of population in the age group of 0-6 years was maximum among Muslims at 18.7 per cent as compared to 15.6% among the Hindus and 15.9% the national average. With further declining population growth rate among the Hindus, the percentage rate of Muslim children in the lower age bracket is only likely to go up. This is a significant 20% above the rate among the Hindus. The Muslim population percentage in the age group 0 - 6 is 15.8% as compared to 13.4% overall.

This is indication of the shape of population mix in the future. With higher rate of Muslim population growth it will only increase.

Some have put forward the argument that the Muslims being minority feel threatened and hence they need to increase in numbers, holds no water. Muslim population growth in India has been actually slightly less than in Pakistan where no threat to Muslims exist. Between 1961 and 1998, its population (96.28 % Muslim) grew from 43 million to 132 million - a growth of 207 per cent -- at the annual growth rate of 3.092%. The annual growth of Muslim population in India between 1961 and 2001 has been 2.7367%.

High Muslim population growth is in fact a part of a greater global plan to make Islam the dominant religion in the world by sheer demographics. In all fairness to Muslims, their religious leaders and most rank and file are quite open about why the Muslims want to increase their population at a faster rate. As many Muslim leaders have pointed out they are not interested in "quality of life" -- they are interested in "the quantity of the Muslim population". In the aftermath of Census release when one Muslim leader called for Muslims to practice birth control, other Muslim scholars rebuffed him and called for more children of Islam and some women groups have publicly protested against the proposed family planning.

This strategy has paid off. Muslim population growth, specially in North Africa, has filled the vacuum of declining birth rates in Europe. Demographers for several years now have been predicting that at the latest by the end of this century, Muslims will outnumber non-Muslims in Europe and it will become an extension of Arabia. Some have even called it Eurabia. Their strategy is simple -- take over the world by demographics.

Political pundits of "secular hue" in India lost no time in linking the high rate of Muslim population growth to Muslim backwardness -- both economic and educational; and if not directly so, at least by implication that it is the fault of India -- read Hindu -- government that the Muslims of India are backward. Muslim backwardness, though not a subject of this paper is not unique to India. Muslim backwardness, both economic and educational, as studies have shown is prevalent in the UK and Europe also. See http://vinodkumar.voiceofdharma.org/articles/backwardness.htm

The myth of linking high population growth with lack of education has been amply demolished by the census itself. Muslim literacy of 59.1% in India is really not that much lower than those of the Hindus at 65.1% and in some states, it is even higher than those of Hindus. Even in those states, the Muslim population growth is still higher than those of the Hindus.

For example in Kerala, the Muslim literacy rate is 90 per cent and still their growth rate is 16 per cent in comparison to state population growth of 9.4 per cent. Similar is the situation in many states like Maharashtra, Gujarat and some others.

An impression is created in the media that the Muslims in India are victims of discrimination by the Hindus. No political commentator has bothered to inform the people that literacy rate of Muslims (59.1%) in India is considerably higher than those of Muslims in Pakistan at 43.92% (1998 Census).

Now the question arises what are long term implications of growing percentage of Muslim population for the Hindus? Many secularists like to downplay what it means in the future specially since the highest population growth rates have come from the border states.

The growth of Muslim population cannot be seen in isolation. It has to be looked upon in conjunction with exploding Muslim population in Pakistan and Bangladesh. Mass migration of Muslim population to India from Pakistan and Bangladesh in the future cannot be ruled out.. Already 10 - 30 million -- accurate figures are hard to come by -- Muslims from Bangladesh over the decades have settled in various parts of India. This will only worsen the situation in border states which already have a higher percentage and growth rate of Muslim population.

There is no better guide for the future than the past.

What has happened in the past?

As a result of Muslim invasions from the West and northwest, areas lying on way of Muslim invaders and long occupation and mass conversions of the Hindus to Islam at the point of the sword, the Hindu states of Baluchistan, NW Frontier, Punjab and Sindh became Muslim majority states. Afghanistan became completely Islamic. Bengal on the East also became predominantly Islamic -- for reasons not subject of this paper.

The net result was that Islamized areas adopted Alien culture and turned hostile to national Hindu ethos and culture -- ultimately ending up as separate Islamic states of Pakistan and Bangladesh. The fear expressed by some Hindu groups on the exploding Muslim population in India are not misplaced. Similar future for areas that become high Muslim dominated areas cannot be ruled out.

There is already a secessionist insurgency going on the in only Muslim majority state of Jammu and Kashmir where almost all the non-Muslims have been expelled. To claim Pakistan is fomenting trouble is to state only half the truth. The insurgency has much support from the local Muslim population.

What can India do?

The results of Islamization are evident from looking at what Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh are today. If India and the Hindus do not want to go the same route, the immediate things India should do prevent exploding Muslim population are:

- Without any further delay implement Uniform Civil Code for all religions across India.

- Implement and enforce strict birth control measures.

- Strict border control to stop any illegal immigration of Muslims from Bangladesh and eventually from Pakistan.

- Abolish article 370 and make the State of J&K open to all Indians.

These are the preliminary steps that should be taken immediately.

And above all, propagation of hate against other religions in the name of religion should be made a crime.

Any "romantic" and "sentimental" ideas regarding reunification of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh should be summarily dismissed. Such action would result in Islamization of India within the next few decades.

If India wants to preserve its culture, ethos and integrity, these are the minimum first steps that should be taken immediately.

Publication of Census 2001 is a timely reminder of the Muslim population explosion. Hindus can afford to ignore it only at the peril of survival of their own civilization.

Kashmir Hearld