Aug
31
A major concern of the Buddhist Ladakhis is the population increase by Muslims in Ladakh, where the latter are in a minority, as part of a plan to disrupt the existing demographic patterns. If true, the consequences could be socio-economic as well as political in nature.
And for those indulging in such practices, the law helps them too: in India, polygamy for Muslims is allowed but not for other communities. As a result, large Muslim families are not a surprise with each wife bearing more than a couple of children. The Buddhists feel Muslims are spreading their influence in the mostly Buddhist areas of Ladakh by consciously having many more children – some men have been said to father over 20 – and buying property. The Buddhists believe the money to buy such property and support football team size families comes from the rich benefactors in the Middle East.
Of course, it would require more than just anecdotal evidence to establish a trend here. So far this has not been confirmed by the 2001 population census. Irrespective of the true picture, what may be worrying are such sentiments going around, adding further fuel to the already charged up atmosphere of Kashmir.
Fortunately, the situation seems to be nothing close to the violent relations between the Hindus and Muslims in the Jammu and Srinagar areas. Hopefully the Buddha will shed some enlightenment in Ladakh at least before things go out of hand here too.
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6 Responses to “Is Muslim population growth in Ladakh a part of a plan?”
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Would you have the same reaction if the Hindu or Christian population was on the rise in the region? A war against terror is not a war against Islam. Multiple wives does not translate into population explosion - a woman will bear as many kids irrespective. Lets not add fuel to already volatile communal sentiments that exist in India by writing such articles. Sometimes small moves have large implications.
How could a person with such a honorourable degree can think like that. I want to note my contrast ur views on the above topic. I want to give my suggestion to all hindus that they must not think that India is a land of hindus. This ancient thinking will not going to help our country. Country should come first for every citizen to india and not religion.
Hi Surya,
I agree with you - it was sad to see people thinking like this even in a peaceful place like Ladakh. Just shows this Muslim vs Rest mentality is spreading far and wide. We need a new peace order for this world to survive.
Do feel free to share your views in the future too.
Regards
Ajay
Hi Kiran,
The idea behind writing what I did was to convey what the sentiment of the region are - not my own. I am as concerned as anyone else about this inter-religion and inter-caste animosity that is becoming commonplace everywhere. I wish there was a way out of this mess we are all creating.
But as a reporter, it is my job to show the true image to the world - keeping quiet about it will not help anyone’s cause. If we do not become aware of the problems, how will we solve them?
Regards
Ajay
Quite interesting discussion! I came to know last year about the Christian polygamist groups in U.S., so polygamy is not limited to Islam only. But in U.S. since others do not approve these groups, followers are confined to only one state. So if you do not discuss or give special provisions, the way our constitution did, you are approving this. I personally feel that polygamy fundamentally is based on the exploitation of women. So my concerns are not only limited to demographic statistics in the region but also welfare of Muslim women and children.
Thank you for your blog. Recently I saw great photoreport by my friend about her travel through Ladakh. I want to travel there very very much, hopefully the next year…