E-Paper
Why no Indian Muslim is in Al-Qaeda
One reason is the absence of American influence on Indian policy, writes Amulya Ganguli.
Why are there no Indian Muslims in Al-Qaeda? There are no easy answers. But there are two probable reasons. One is the assurance of a level-playing field for all citizens in India because of the success of the democratic system. The other is the absence of American influence on Indian policy all through the Cold War years and, to a large extent, even now.
To start with the second, it has been observed that a majority of the terrorists come from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Egypt and some of the North African countries. What is common about these countries is the lack of a genuine democracy, despite the adherence to form, and longstanding virtual patron-client links with the US. What is more, these two factors are interconnected.
A basic reason why the military or feudal autocrats control these countries is that the US propped them up to serve its economic and diplomatic interests. It was either the presence of oil or their utility as frontline states against the Soviet Union that guided the Americans.
As is known, Osama bin Laden, a Saudi millionaire, was an American ally when his band of fundamentalists fought the Soviets in Afghanistan. It is the cynical use of these countries by Washington that built up a reservoir of resentment among large sections of their people against the US.
This anger may have become all the more intense because there were no democratic outlets — no Parliament, Opposition parties, a free press and a free judiciary — to let off steam.
The difference between India and these countries is obvious. India's 'noisy democracy', as an American newspaper recently put it, ensures that all segments of public opinion — anti-US, pro-US, neutral — are routinely aired.
Besides, during the Cold War, India was regarded by the US and the West as being in the anti-American camp despite its claims to be non-aligned. This perception gave India a certain dignified status in the eyes of its own people since the Western world was still seen as being engaged in a colonial enterprise.
The pro-American countries seemingly lacked this sense of self-esteem, as was evident from the title of one of America's favourite dictator Ayub Khan's book, "Friends, Not Masters". The Pakistan president's grouse was that the US tended to behave like a viceroy. The result was that while the governments of these countries were pro-American, most of their people were not.
But even more than India's neutrality in foreign affairs (which was resented by the US as the revelations of the recent Nixon-Kissinger transcripts show), what has saved the Indian Muslims from falling into Al-Qaeda's trap is its vibrant, multicultural democracy. Its value is now understood by the world even more than before because of the terrorist threat.
During the 60th anniversary celebrations of the end of World War II in Moscow, President George W Bush introduced his wife Laura to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with the words that he was the leader of the "most fascinating democracy in the world" and pointed out that Al-Qaeda hadn't been able to recruit a single Indian Muslim.
