Hinduism responsible for absence of radical Islam in India: Chinese media

After a long two months of confrontation, the Doklam stand-off ended on August 28 with both sides agreeing to ‘expeditious disengagement’ of border personnel along the Doklam border, a week before the BRICS summit.While Chinese officials had remained mum on moving the road-building materials, it was later confirmed that the bulldozers and other road-building material have been removed from the area. In essence, status-quo has been established. 

The diplomatic victory was hailed across the world, and commentators, Indian and foreign, praised PM Modi and India’s mature diplomatic manoeuvres. The Chinese media, which had put their Indian counterparts in the shade with their over-the-top coverage, also seemed to mellow after the border showdown ended.  The Global Times, which has been particularly dripping with vitriol for New Delhi, published a piece praising Hinduism and held it responsible for the lower occurrence of Islamic fundamentalism.

The article wondered why Muslims in India have remained largely apart from ‘radicalization that has happened to Muslim groups in other parts of the world’. A long time ago, George W Bush had said something along similar lines when introduced former PM Manmohan Singh to Laura Bush saying: "the prime minister of India, a democracy which does not have a single al-Qaida member in a population of 150 million Muslims.” The piece written by Ding Gang, a senior editor with the People’s Daily and senior fellow at Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China, cited Hinduism’s ‘moderate influence’ for the lack of radical Islam in the region and also for holding the country together.

He wrote: “Like many other religions, Hinduism has its extreme side, but for the most part its more moderate side has the strongest influence. Perhaps it is this more moderate influence that has helped establish India's lasting cohesion and is one of the reasons that the country has not separated. “

The article went on to give examples of India’s syncretic culture, praising how Indians take pride in the Mughal Dynasty which ‘was established by Muslims’. The article goes on to explain how Hinduism has gone beyond being a religion and morphed into a lifestyle and social institution.

The article signs off stating: “The world has taken notice. The lack of Islamic extremists in India has helped determine its role in Asia and has been taken into consideration by the US, Japan, Russia and European countries when it comes to their Asia policies.  In the future, India is sure to continue to stand out in geopolitical significance when it comes to increasing religious and ethnic conflicts around the world.  Where China is concerned, this significance should not be ignored.”

China hints at one-on-one Xi-Modi meeting

China on Thursday gave ample indications of a one-to-one meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit next week, saying ?China will make proper arrangements."

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said: "During multilateral meetings, arranging bilateral meetings is practice. If time allows, China will make proper arrangements." 

Prime Minister is visiting China for attending the BRICS summit at the Chinese city Xiamen on September 3 and if there is a meeting between the two leaders, there will be discussions about the 71 days military stand-off border row in Doklam between two countries.

"Doklam issue is between China and India and now the issue has been resolved and this serves the common interests of the two sides and this is good for both the sides. I think that this is a basic fact and we have seen,? Hua Chunying said.

" Peace and tranquility of the border areas can continue to play a positive role for the development of the bilateral relations ,"Chunying added.

Both leaders met during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meet at Astana in June. China made it clear that it "would not be appropriate" to discuss Pakistan's counter-terrorism record during the BRICS Summit in Xiamen.
"Pakistan is at the forefront of counter-terror efforts and has made sacrifices for this. The international community should recognise the contributions and sacrifices made by Pakistan," Chunying said.
The spokesperson further stated that the relevant parties will hold discussions on stronger partnership for a brighter future and try to take BRICS route for our pragmatic cooperation in economy and people to people exchanges .