Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
India, lately, has been in the spotlight after a number of incidents involving clashes between inter-religious groups. Observers consider discriminatory policies to be the cause of conflicts that often break out.
Recently, two Muslims beheaded a Hindu tailor for allegedly supporting the spokesman for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Nupur Sharma, who allegedly insulted the Prophet Muhammad.
At that time, Sharma mentioned the relationship between the Prophet Muhammad and his wife on television.
Following Sharma’s comments, demonstrations spread across almost all corners of India. Many citizens are demanding that BJP politicians be punished as soon as possible.
The beheading incident began when the victim voiced support for the prophet’s insult. Since then, he has received frequent death threats.
One day, two assailants came to the shop where he was sewing. They disguised themselves as customers and then attacked the victim with a large knife.
A moment later, the police rushed to the scene. The government also deployed additional personnel to ensure security.
To prevent the conflict from spreading, the authorities also apply strict rules such as lockdown. These include curfew rules and restrictions on internet access.
Responding to cases of beheading Hindu tailors and conflicts that often occur recently, International Relations observer from the University of Indonesia, Yon Machmudi, does not see any signs of radicalism or terrorism in India.
“What exists is the bad relationship between Muslim and Hindu groups triggered by religious sentiments from the political elite in India,” said Yon when contacted CNNIndonesia.com on Thursday (30/6).
He assessed that the trigger for communal conflict in India was discriminatory policies, which did not embrace all groups. Thus, acts of violence and acts of revenge often occur beyond reasonable limits and are horrific.
This phenomenon, continued Yon, was not triggered by a terrorist network but rather as a local incident due to an acute communal conflict.
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