Muslims in the region
In the recent Indian election, Indian Muslims voted massively for the ruling Congress Party despite their reservations about the Congress. This was mainly because they were stunned by Taliban slaughtering fellow Muslims in neighbouring Pakistan and they wanted a strong government to face such extremism spilling over to India. Slaughter of fellow Muslims by the Taliban must have made them apprehensive that Islamic extremists may also make India their target with disastrous consequences as happening in Pakistan.
As Zafar Hilaly, a former Pakistani ambassador, recently wrote in Lahore's Daily Times: "Created as a homeland for Muslims, Pakistan is ironically being destroyed in the name of Islam. In the course of a few months, the writ of the federal government has ceased to exist in four of the seven tribal agencies that comprise FATA, and is being seriously challenged in the remaining three. ... A discredited provincial leadership, an incompetent federal government, a confused public and, not least, an army ill equipped to fight this war make up a lethal mix, presaging disaster. ... Under the circumstances, it is small wonder that impoverished and angry segments of the population had turned to Islam for deliverance, and into the waiting arms of religious charlatans that promised not only a living in this world but also a glorious life in the next; visions of a new dawn; the privilege of being God's warriors chosen to visit retribution and mayhem on His enemies, in this case the state [of Pakistan]."
Pakistan tried to appease the religious zealots by allowing the Taliban to impose their version of law in Swat. But after a spate of bombings and beheadings by the Taliban, it is now trying to dislodge them from the Swat Valley. But with Taliban deeply entrenched in the mountains, it will be a long fight before the fanatics can be brought under control.
Indian Muslims must have been terrified at the sight of the Taliban slaughtering fellow Muslims in the name of Islam. They know the terror can spill over to India with its large Muslim minority. They wanted a government which is strong enough to face the threat of Islamic extremism spreading from Pakistan. They were also impressed by the way Prime Minister Manmohan Singh tackled the Mumbai attacks by terrorists based in Pakistan. This is why they voted so massively for the Congress.
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