India v. Pakistan
...a lost its own Muslim people. On the very same day India got independence, a new country was formed. Since then, India and Pakistan have been rivals. But, it still does not mean that the two countries fight because of the religious differences. In fact, the whole war is over a piece of land- Kashmir, because of its scenic beauty and fertile soil. Both countries are fighting to get it. Hence, Kashmir is the root cause of the conflicts that are going on between the two countries. One of the biggest factors that establish the idea of Hindus v Muslims instead of India v Pakistan is the media. India has a huge diversity of religions. But the fact is that Islam is still practiced in India with the same respect as any other religion. When forming rules and regulations, it does not favor or degrade either religion. But when any kinds of conflicts arise between India and Pakistan, the media, immediately brings in the two religions and tries to create problems between them. For instance, just a couple of months ago, there was a lot of turbulence going on between India and Pakistan. Instead of highlighting the main issue, the media talked about an issue that had been buried a long time ago. It was when the British had burnt a Muslim mosque, and tried to blame it on the Hindus and made the Muslims believe that the Hindus had done it. It provoked the Hindus, and they caused problems at the Muslims’ religious holiday. So, the bottom line is that the hatred is not in the hearts of Hindus for Muslims or vice versa, but it is being “created”. Also, the news and media affect the views of other countries towards this, because they do not live over there, and so, they do not know the truth. They only have to rely on the media for that and believe on what it tells them. Let me mention an incident that reflects the unity between all the religions in India, whether it is Hindus and Muslims; at times of difficulties, they become simply Indians. There was an earthquake recently in India, during the times of turbulence between Hindus and Muslims because of the mosque issue. But, forgiving and forgetting all of that, they helped each other in the best way possible in rebuilding the loss that India had suffered. A perfect example that I can give, is my own personal experience. When I came to the United States, people would ask me if I was from Pakistan, and then they would apologize when I told them that I was from India. But, honestly, I do not get offended at all because of it. My roommate, Ibtesama, and me, have been close friends since high school. She is a pure Muslim girl and I am a pur...