(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
On Tuesday, India lit candles on the occasion of the annual Diwali celebration, the Great Light Fest. The holiday came just three days after 59 innocent children, women and men were killed by bombs in New Dehli on Saturday.
The terrorist attacks did not come out of the blue. Hundreds of Indians have lost their lives in terrorist attacks in recent years. The interesting thing is how Indian society – the media, politicians, the people – react to the attacks on civilians in shopping streets in their own capital. And here both Europeans and Norwegians generally have a lot to learn in a rational approach.
India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was clear in his condemnation of the terrorist attacks
Pakistan spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam, in turn, assured that Pakistan will pursue any responsible terrorists who may be in the country. This exchange in itself testifies to the new climate of cooperation between India and Pakistan, which has also been instrumental in strengthening the devastating earthquake a few weeks ago.
It can be assumed that the terrorist attacks were intended to destroy the ongoing approach to Kashmir, this border area became a conflict when the British divided India and in 1947 left the area after its occupation. But India's leaders chose to keep calm. Interior Minister Sri Prakash on Tuesday stated the following to the world press:
"There are some terrorist organizations that do not want relations between the two countries to improve. But they will not succeed in their intentions. "
The most impressive is the stoic security that rests on multicultural India. The Indians have elected a Sikh as prime minister, a Muslim as president, a Catholic as leader of the ruling party and a Hindu as leader of the opposition party. And Tuesday's Diwali celebration, which is really a Hindu festival of light, was celebrated or also celebrated by residents of other of the country's many religions. So too, the upcoming Muslim Eid celebration is recognized as an official holiday of the secular Indian Republic.
Thus, the holidays are an opportunity to gather the 1,1 billion inhabitants of India. Or as the Indian commentator Aruni Mukherjee wrote a few days ago:
"The victims of these attacks have no religion, no race, no political standing. In this hour of testing, Indians must celebrate Diwali and Eid with as much enthusiasm and excitement as they can muster to show that their lifestyle will not be forced into a compromise. ”
It is not the citizens' background that is decisive, but their minds. The important thing is not where you come from, but where you want to go. India shows that criminal acts do not have to create increased problems for the minorities.
The contrast to the Netherlands, which Ny Tid also depicts this week on the occasion of the one-year anniversary of Theo van Gogh's murder, is striking. In Europe, there will only be single incidents before the historical minority hostility returns. May Indian wisdom and rationality become part of our emergency preparedness knowledge.
DH
