Lets understand the fundamental difference between Hinduism and Jihadism. Right from the advent of Jihadi ideology, the Jihadists have slaughtered people else where (whether it was India or Iran or Europe or Africa) OR have slaughtered themselves. This clearly indicates something is very wrong in the basic structure of Jihadist ideology. Lets find that out based on the below 3 comparative examples.

First, Lord Jagannath at Puri and Kabba shrine at Mecca:

  1. Many centuries back Ganpati Bhatta (from western India where Lord Ganesha is mostly worshipped) visited Puri, a town is eastern India where Lord Jagannath is revered and worshipped. When he paid a visit to the temple, he found Jagannath in his own form. He got disappointed and headed to his hometown. On his way back, he met an old person. He asked Bhatta “why are you disappointed?“. Bhatta narrated his story. The Old man then said Bhatta “Go back again to the temple and you will see Jagannath is the form of Lord Ganesh“. Bhatta went back to the temple and to his surprise he saw Lord Jagannath taken the form of elephant God (Lord Ganesh). From that onwards, on the very same day Lord Jagannath takes “Hathi Vesa” every year to commemorate the incident.
  2. Many Centuries back, the people of Mecca worshipped many Gods and Goddesses(more than 300). A person from within, wanted all to worship only one God and throw away others. He is driven away from Mecca. Several years later he comes back with a huge army, captures Mecca. And then his followers destroy the idols of all Gods and Goddesses in Kabba. They slaughter all people who did not stop worshipping their owns Gods or Goddesses.
  3. What’s the difference in above two incidents? In the first incident, the faith of Ganapati Bhatta was duly honored and respected unlike the second case where the people who did not subscribe to one particular faith were slaughtered.

Second, India and Pakistan:

  1. The Indian subcontinent was divided to form India and Pakistan. The West Pakistan (current day Pakistan) adopted Urdu as it’s official language. In East Pakistan (current day B’desh) people spoke Bengali. Form the day one of creation of Pakistan, the military dictatorship tried to suppress and eliminate Bengali. Urdu was imposed on Bengali speaking people. The people of B’desh could not use Bengali in their official communication, Bengali was stopped to be taught in schools, and many steps were taken to eliminate the Bengali language. What happened? People revolted and finally B’desh got separated.
  2. Lets come to India. The 8th schedule of Indian constitution lists the languages that can be used officially in India. It originally consisted 15 languages, now it contains 22. Article 345 of constitution allows states to adopt any language they want from this list to communicate. Any MP can speak in one of these languages in the Parliament, and the translations would be made available instantly in Hindi and English to others who cannot understand. Article 350B of constitution makes provisions for protection of Linguistic minorities. Plus India is united by English which gives a feeling to all Indians that no particular language is being imposed on other. And states have independence to choose their language of communication and education.
  3. If we compare both, we see that Pakistan broke down and may break down again for not being inclusive and respecting others’. But, India as a nation is thriving in spite of diversities.

Third, No democracy in Islamic nations:

  1. There are 57 Islamic nations. Not a single one is a democracy. Jihadism believes in one ideology – right to rule by virtue of conquest. This is what is exactly Taliban saying – since they have captured Kabul by force, they are the rulers. There are either no elections (Syria) or they are rigged (Egypt or Iran).
  2. Lets look at US or India. US expanded mostly by Purchase. Whether it was Louisiana or Alaska or Texas, they purchased the lands and people settled there. In case of India, the Kings or people merged with India of their free will. The Govt is elected. In US there is a limit on the number of terms a person can serve as President. India also has seen 6 PMs in last 30 years.
  3. In nutshell, Jihadism believes in ideology “One person should rule by force” where as Hinduism believes in ideology “All sections in society should be represented in the ruling strata”

Based on the above examples, the fundamental flaws of Jihadi ideology is:

  1. The ideology doesn’t allow to take every one along. It lacks “Empathy” i.e. the skill of looking form the other person’s perspective.
  2. The ideology believes in suppression of people and their feelings for achieving the goal.
  3. The ideology doesn’t believe in all sections in the society be given the right to rule.

These are reason why Jihadists either slaughter others or in absence of others, they slaughter themselves.

DISCLAIMER: The author is solely responsible for the views expressed in this article. The author carries the responsibility for citing and/or licensing of images utilized within the text.