Relations with Pakistan - Human Rights Watch has accused the BJP-led government of complicity in the attacks on Muslims in the state of Gujarat. Do you see a link between India's relations with Pakistan and communal violence in India? Dr. Khilnani's Response: Human Rights Watch has accused the BJP-led government of complicity in the attacks on Muslims in the state of Gujarat. Obviously, when India's relations with Pakistan are tense or bad, these can provide opportunities for communalists in India and Pakistan to try and inflame passions along religious lines. Dr. Kak's Response: All charges should be investigated and the guilty punished. Unfortunately, the media did not cover itself with glory either. Fabricated stories and rumors were passed off as fact. I definitely see a connection between the policies of Pakistan and India's communal situation. Journalists tend to trace the recent cycle of conflict to the Ayodhya agitation of the early 90s. But that is not quite accurate. One reason that agitation received huge public support was the resentment about the ethnic cleansing of the 350,000 Kashmiri Hindus by Pakistan-supported terrorists. Dr. Kak's Rebuttal: No comment. Dr. Khilnani's Rebuttal: In fact the media, especially some of the television channels, did an extremely brave job of reporting the violence in Gujurat -- despite constant and continuing harrassment and intimidation from the Gujarat government and police. Mr. Modi's government has tried to stifle any independent investigation of the role played by himself and his government in the violence. Dr. Kak is eluding facts -- events in Kashmir did not lead to the Ayodhya events. Ayodhya and the destruction of the Babri Mosque were part of a political campaign by the BJP and other groups of Hindu extremists.   See other debate topics Attacks on Muslims Halting Communal Violence Lessons of Indian History The Indian Constitution Religious Minorities The Indian Soul India in the 21st Century Relations with Pakistan The War on Terror Nuclear Weapons Nation Divided Photo Essay - Trace India's post-Ayodhya religious strife. India Timeline - Learn more about the history of relations between India's Hindus and Muslims. Human Rights Atlas - Learn more about human rights in Mexico and its Central American neighbors. Grozny Photo Essay - Take a walk through Chechnya's bombed-out capital, Grozny. Kurdistan Map - See where Iraq's chemical attacks on Kurdistan took place, and why. Chechnya Timeline - Discover the history that drives the Chechen separtist movement. Mexico Photo Forum - Respond to photos that depict Mexico's struggle with human rights abuses and corruption.

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