Heal The World

It is indeed noteworthy that Eid celebrations throughout India were muted, with Muslims wearing black armbands to protest against terrorism. The Imams of Jama Masjid and Fatehpuri also condemned terrorist “jihad,” calling it a crime against all people.

We therefore have a situation tailor-made for liberal politics and the moral idea that we all seek to survive through free markets.

This is an idea that can unite Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Parsees, Jains and even Buddhists. But let us begin with Hindus, the majority, and Indian Muslims, the world’s biggest minority. These communities must be united. This must be the goal of liberal politics.

We have had enough of “divide and rule,” ever since the partition of Bengal in 1905 by that idiot Curzon. It is an important historical fact that the Indian Muslim League was set up in 1906 – in Dacca. Since then, the country has been divided into three parts – but the Hindu-Muslim problem remains. Only a principled liberalism can heal the body politic and unite all faiths.

Both Hinduism and Islam are religions based on free markets. The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was a trader, as was his wife Khadija. The first Muslims were all traders. There is a story told that when these first Muslims arrived at Medina, the Prophet asked the citizens of Medina and his followers to “fraternize in Allah.” The Medinians rushed to share their belongings with the new arrivals – but they refused, saying in one voice, “Show us the way to the market, and we will earn our keep by working.” The Prophet is on record saying, “He who makes money pleases Allah.”

Similarly, Hinduism discovered the idea that honest profits that accrue to an individual are also beneficial to the whole of society: Shubh Laabh. We have an entire caste group of traders. Traders formed a separate “varna” in Hindu society of old. Indeed, Hindu traders are among the smartest in the world. In London they say: “A Bania can buy from a Jew and sell to a Scot and still emerge with a profit.” All the corner shops in London are owned by Hindus and Muslims from this sub-continent, so much so that there is an Asian rock band in England called Cornershop.

Of course, Jains, Sikhs and Parsees are all people whose lives are based on the morality of free markets. Parsee are all urban traders, and their surnames – like Daruwallah and Bandookwallah – are based on the urban “division of labour.” There is a market inside the compound of the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Almost all Sikhs earn their living through markets – Manmohan and Montek being exceptions to that general rule. Non-theistic Jains are all invariably businessmen of high quality. And if we look at Buddhists – the Tibetans have become the biggest traders in woolen sweaters throughout India. Their momos and thukpas are now household words in every city. And, with freedom, undoubtedly their great rice beer, chhung, would become famous as well.

Liberal politics in India should therefore work towards uniting all the people, of all the faiths, in the idea of free trade and free markets.

Away with socialism!

Away with divide-and-rule!