STEREO TYPING HINDUS OR MUSLIMS IS DOWNRIGHT STUPIDITY
http://mikeghouseforindia.blogspot.com/2014/04/muslim-vote-could-impact-outcome-in.htmlI have been screaming it
out loud for a long time, and the exact same words are repeated by Analyst
Yashwant Deshmukh, "Despite their ability to fairly impact the election outcome,
Muslims in India should not be looked at as a monolithic body because they do
not decide in unison which party to vote for." Indeed, this is the view of Most
Muslims. Muslims value individuality, I always remember - My mother and father
voted differently in the elections, and did not raise an eyebrow over the
difference, that is a value I have come to cherish and is a part of my
pluralistic being.
It is downright stupidity
for a few members of BJP and Congress to claim that Hindus or Muslims are with
them, they are not. I read non-sense like 800 Million Indians will vote for
Modi… where were these folks born? It is dead wrong to assume that Hindus,
Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists and Dalits are monolithic. - There
is something missing with such thinking - on an average neither BJP nor INC will
have 50% of support from either Hindus or Muslims. People vote as individuals,
but the birds of the same feather flock together creating false
impressions.
Thank you Deshmukh Saheb for beefing it up, "“Based on our research, voters, both Hindu and Muslim, vote for the candidate they think will serve them best rather than voting along the communal or ethnic lines,” Deshmukh said.
Who is not playing a vote bank? The politicians are equal opportunity cheaters! The BJP appeals to the fundamentalist Hindus about Ram Mandir to garner their votes as a vote bank, the Congress does its own game and others do theirs. It is part of the politics. Muslims do not vote en-masse exclusively, just as Hindus, Sikhs or Christians don't - they all vote for the candidate that is less flawed and perceived to be just and fair. In the US elections - 85% of Indians voted for Obama, similar trends were with most minorities or immigrants. Indians are not a vote bank, they are smart voters like Muslims in India - they vote for the best. Right now, Muslims are in a dilemma who to vote for, and as the interviews with street vendors to political analysts, they will make up their mind.
We need to grow up and accept the verdict of the people, whatever they decide we have to honor their vote, and I urge this to hard core BJP-ites and Congress-ites.
Mike Ghouse
http://www.MikeGhouseforIndia.blogspot.com
Muslim Vote Could Impact Outcome in Indian Elections
NEW DELHI — As India's multi-phase
election continues, the country’s Muslim minority could have a
significant impact on the outcome of the vote in the biggest democratic
election in world history.
Muslims are uneasy about the popularity of the prime ministerial
candidate of the Hindu nationalist, Bharatiya Janata Party, Narendra
Modi.
The Imam of New Delhi’s Grand Mosque, Syed Ahmed Bukhari, urged Muslims
to vote for the Congress Party, that currently is the ruling party in
India.
Polling began this week in the first phase of voting that will continue over the next five weeks.
Muslims make up about 13 percent of the Indian population and in some
constituencies the Muslim vote can play a key role in deciding the
winner, analysts say.
Recent interviews with Muslims near the Grand Mosque showed division among voters.
Muhammad Anis, who sells fruit on a hand-drawn cart, said he will see who he likes before deciding who to back.
Another vendor, who gave his name as Haji, said that while he has a lot
of respect for the Imam, he will – like most people – vote for the
candidate he thinks is the best.
Analyst Hilal Ahmad researches voting trends among Muslims in India.
“It is impossible to even think that 180 million people make a unanimous
decision and vote along the same lines,” said Hilal Ahmad, who
researches voting trends among Muslims in India for the Center for
Developing Societies of New Delhi.
Analyst Yashwant Deshmukh said there are about 35 constituencies where
Muslims make up approximately 30 percent of the electorate.
“Then there are another 150 constituencies where Muslim population is
close to 10 percent of the total voters,” said Deshmukh, the founder of a
company called CVoter. “Which means, in the House of 543 seats, there
are about 200 seats where Muslim vote can somewhat affect the outcome.”
But Deshmukh said that despite their ability to fairly impact the
election outcome, Muslims in India should not be looked at as a
monolithic body because they do not decide in unison which party to vote
for.
“Based on our research, voters, both Hindu and Muslim, vote for the
candidate they think will serve them best rather than voting along the
communal or ethnic lines,” Deshmukh said,
He added that surveys have proven that Muslims cannot be swayed by anyone to vote for any particular party.
Researcher Ahmad said his institute found in previous surveys that 96
percent of Muslims considered poverty, unemployment and education as
their major issues.
But experts say it is difficult to find a pattern of voting among Indian Muslims.
In the last elections in the state of Gujarat, four in 10 Muslims voted for Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
Modi is viewed by many in India as a controversial figure because of
what happened during one of the worst sectarian riots in country’s
history in 2002, when hundreds of Muslims were killed in the state of
Gujarat. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat then and critics say he
did little or nothing to stop the violence.
Deshmukh said the fact that Modi received significant Muslim votes in
Gujarat shows however that Muslims will vote for who they think can best
serve their constituency despite the violent past.
Still, analysts say it will be hard for Modi’s party, BJP, which has
emerged as the biggest challenger to the ruling Congress Party, to woo
Muslim voters nationwide.
Throughout the campaign Modi has campaigned on the economy and development and has tried to distance himself from the riots.
http://www.voanews.com/content/muslim-vote-could-impact-outcome-in-indian-elections/1890765.html
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