Sir — This refers to the article, “Not sedition, but also not act of innocence” (March 15) by Ashok Malik.
I agree with the views expressed in the article except the contention that successive Union Governments have been unfair to the Muslims of the Kashmir valley. On the contrary, the valley’s Muslims have been a pampered lot because of which, perhaps, they have been spoiled. In 2010, Bharat Speaks, a Delhi quarterly magazine, published a table giving various regions of India and periods under Muslim rule, right from 700 AD. This table includes the Kashmir valley as well, relating from 1326 AD to 1812 AD. Rampart conversion of Hindus was carried out by tyrannical rulers like Sultan Sikandar Butshikan (1389-1413 AD) and fanatic Sufis such as Mir Samu’d-Din Iraqi around 1500 AD.
This shows that the presence of Islam is less than 700 years in Kashmir, and in India it is about 1400 years. The crux of the matter is to develop a healthy attitude towards one’s own ancestors, who happen to be Hindus, in the Indian subcontinent. If this is internalised by followers of the Abrahamic faiths, including students, communal animosity and its attendant separatism will be a thing of the past.