Wajeeha Bilal
Portraying afight against oppression as eternal or as religious makes it appear
obscure in a way that makes it impossible to solve. As much as we know about
history, religion has not been able to solve conflicts over territories.The
obsession to control Palestine has been an existential war for Israel as it
promises security to the people against the real inhabitants of the Arab land.
Similarly, India’s constant battle over Kashmir apparently assures the
oppressors of their domestic and international identity. Kashmir and Palestine
are often considered as two identities striving for their right to exist and
gain freedom from oppression. Both are Musim-densed lands, but it is not
necessary to be a Muslim to understand the spirit of their struggle, you just
need tobe a human to empathize with the oppressed. Both Indian and Israeliarmed
occupation of these regions dates to 1947-48,with a constant threat to security
and peace.
The war between Israel and Palestinebreeds from Britain's heinousdesertion of
the Palestinians.The UK along with France incised a hefty part of the Arab world
after the downfall of the Ottoman Empire, with little regard for demographics.
The creation of Israel was an import of the European Jewish problem to the
Middle East resulting in the homelessness of many Palestinians, with Israel
fighting theneighbouring Arab states for its forceful existence.
As for India, control over Kashmir is more than just a matter of geo-political
rivalry. The conflict began after the Britishers left, following the partition
of India in 1947 and it remains one of the primary causes of territorial
instability, intensified by three wars between India and Pakistan. India under
Nehru was trying hard to stick to secularism against Pakistan’s identity and
Kashmir’s annexation to India would have proved that. For secular India, it was
a way to prove that a Muslim majority region could be a part of it, by negating
Pakistan’s claim of a two-nation theory prior to independence.
Apart from their historical betrayal by the Britishers, thesimilarities between
Netanyahu and Modi are extremely coercive. They both have used their powerful
positions to manipulate and influence the media. Modi like Netanyahu has planted
techniques of dispute amongst communities for his political benefits.They live
on breaking the populace and dividing them on ethnic and religious basis, using
the tactics to their political gains. However,the tactics are not always
beneficial as the elections carried out in critical Indian states lately proved
that facts are not always manipulated through power.After the recent ambiguous
elections, the Israeli prime minister wanted to eliminate the dogma of
corruption charges.He needed to destroy the probability of an alliance by the
Israeli Arabs and Jewish parties that could go against him.Thepolice assault on
Muslim worshippers at Al Aqsa mosque and missile attacks on Gaza, resulted in a
continuous violencethat has wrecked any vision of reconciliation. The
politically induced Arab-Jewish violence in Gaza is like the aggressive
nationalism in India under Modi.The political ideology that Modi has promoted
through Hindu extremismdefies diversity and commends violence. Through these
violent, ethnic, and religious tactics, Modi and Netanyahu have marked
themselves as advocates of sectarian extremismby demeaning the helpless. In
2017, Mr Modi became the first Indian prime minister ever to visit Israel,“We
have waited 70 years for you,” Netanyahu told Mr Modi in Tel Aviv. Netanyahu
also made the first visit by an Israeli prime minister to India in fifteen years
and planned to make another quick visit before Israeli elections. They both face
the electorate’s verdict at about the same time and exert forceagainst uprising
charges. Victory cannot be guaranteed where a political demise is in store for
the two. Mr Netanyahu is besieged by corruption accusations and Mr Modi by
political and public unrest yet what unites them is their desire to stay in
power through a brutal and violent manipulation.
These problems are not many centuries old as they rose in the British mandatory
period but unfortunately, any effort to solve them often degenerates into
Islamophobia,racism, and anti-Semitism. There is also a western support for
Israel, which helps it in getting away with any kind of violence.Any analysis of
Israeli state violations against Palestinians is wiped away by using the
Anti-Semitic ticket. The forceful existence of modern-day Israel is justified in
the west on moral grounds for the unfair persecution of Jews in history. And
sadly, the ruling party of India perceives the idea that connecting their nature
to the Jewish establishments will help them ride along the Israeli Foyer in the
West.
The matter of Palestine and Kashmir was handed over to the UN by the Britishers
after the colonial era, but the issues have still not been resolved, leading to
the instability of western and southern Asia. Hundreds of thousands of people
have died in these conflicts and millions have been injured. Palestinians and
Kashmiris have every right to oppose and resist their foreign oppressors.
We, as Muslimsknow for a fact the effects of biased religious logos and do not
believe in extending these unfair attributes to other sects. The Palestinian and
Kashmiri crisis are aggressive ethno-political conflicts over land and
demographics. The Palestinians and Kashmiris have a legitimate authenticity on
their sidewith a hope for a normal lifeand dignity. For more than seventy years,
the freedom fighters of the occupied lands of Kashmir and Palestinehave been
struggling for identity and sovereignty. Let us hope that by understanding the
fact that this is not a constant religious war, we will be soon witnessing the
end of these conflicts.Let us help our brothers and sisters in their fight
against oppression and cruelty, through care, prayer,and cooperation.
(Wajeeha is a freelance columnist. She has authored "The Conscious Ego", "The
Beautiful Present")