Some Disjointed Thoughts on the Issue of Hindu Muslim Strife in India. The below points are only highlights and some important points as per me. These in no way claim to be an accurate or exhaustive account of history, which always is multi layered and has many shades.
Further, I do not claim to provide any solution to the issue. These are mere observations from my side.
1. Undoubtedly Muslim Rule in India was established by the force of the sword.
2. Undoubtedly Muslim Rule in India witnessed large scale cruelty on Hindus and destruction of temples for terrorizing the populace and loot apart from conversion of Hindu Temples into mosques
3. It also caused religious taxes to be placed on Hindus and initially barred Hindus from the highest level of governance
4. Muslim rule in general caused economic decline and India's share in the world's GDP came down right from the Delhi Sultanate times due to the loot and seize policies adopted by them as they saw themselves as invaders and conquerors.
5. Muslim rule also led to co-opting of Indian Traditional architecture into Islamic Style brought in by later architects coming in the wake of the Mughals. All earlier Muslim architecture in India was basic smash, grab and rename
6. In mid and later Mughal times some amount of accommodation took place and once the Mughals realized that there was no way they were going back to Samarkand or Ferghana, they decided to co-opt the population and treaties with Hindu princes were signed and marriages took place.
7. Some amount of stability and peace reigned and during these times Hindu Trading class became rich.
8. With the advent of British, the first to be affected and dislodged from their positions of primacy were the Muslim Aristocracy and this is one of the reasons of 1857 revolt.
9. British held the Muslims responsible and they lost the positions of authority and as the British power waxed, the Hindu trading class again became prominent.
10. With the advent of the Congress first and the Revolutionaries later, it was seen that Hindus who had reaped higher benefits of education were now more numerous in asking for freedom and hence seen as a greater threat by the British.
11. Gandhi's methods were seen as Hindu in general by the Muslims and therefore they never fully trusted him on the other hand to overcompensate for this Gandhi always agreed to more number of demands by the Muslims and thereby angered Nationalistic Hindus. End is known.
12. After Independence as Modern India became secular, more number of Hindus and Sikhs came into India then Muslims went to Pakistan.
13. One point to be pondered is that should a modern nation and its people judge a community basis what their predecessors might have done in 16th Century and if that is the case why we don't feel that kind of feeling for the English whose oppression is much recent?
14. Admittedly, the symbols of generations and centuries of Muslim oppression are very visible even today and one of the reasons why the wounds have never healed is because that the lowest denominator of the Muslim community has been repeatedly pampered by the politicians creating rift with Hindus and sharpening the rifts.
15. In fact in India, the proportion of Muslims, Academia, Military, Administration and consistently declined due to falling back in education, control of the community by bigots and their use as a vote bank. Economically also their share in India's economy has declined and per capita income declined
16. Now the point is what is the future of Muslims in India? Muslims themselves have to shed the baggage of decades perhaps centuries to come out of silos and join the mainstream on the other hand if the Muslims do are the Mainstream of India and the majority community accept?
17. A new social contract has to be drawn up between communities. This contract will have to include economic and cultural aspects.
18. On this contract will depend the quality of social fabric and the amount of open mindedness that the Indian Democracy will sustain. And on that will depend the kind of the lives children lead.
