Moorthy Muthuswamy, December 2003

Wealth creation is about manufacturing technically sophisticated products that can be sold around the globe. This is what distinguishes "developed" countries from "developing" countries. This ability to trade generates wealth for the manufacturer. The requirements for high-tech manufacturing are project management and problem-solving skills brought on by higher technical education - the very same skills that are also needed to ward of any threat, both internal and external. So we see that wealth creation is a win-win situation; producing not just the wealth, but also a capable population.

India’s higher education investment in engineering and science in the 1950s’ is finally paying off by creating a population knowledgeable enough to create technologically advanced products. Starting in software industries, the wealth creation is now expanding into other areas. Many Indians have now understood the advantages of wealth creation for themselves, their families and their communities. They are now hungry for more opportunities to create wealth.

Therefore India’s future on the issue of economic development or even security comes down to this: How can a government enhance its citizen’s opportunities to create wealth?

In one of my previous papers I discussed (http://www.saag.org/papers7/paper652.html) the importance of mode of governing in nation-building. During the last fifty years the countries that have achieved prosperity and eventually democracy have done so on the basis of wealth creation and stability achieved through non-democratic mode of governing. This mode of governing ensured stability during the transition period.

Recently, the outgoing Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji asked China to "Maintain stability at all costs". He had understood the importance of stability in economic development and wealth creation. Clearly, India is rising. Given that the question to ask is what factors are retarding its wealth creation and how to solve them.

Islamic radicalism is easily India’s biggest source of instability. This instability is taking considerable resources and attention away from investing into wealth creation – such as the much-needed infrastructure improvements. It also spoils the climate to lure outsiders to invest in India.

Conclusion: Wealth creation, not democracy is the basis of building modern civilizations. A well-developed and functioning democracy is the eventual consequence of such a civilization. Therefore, wealth creation must be put ahead of democracy.

These roots of instability arising from Islam come down to medieval clerics who control its power structure. These clerics channel the masses into never-ending religious war they want to impose on non-Muslims rather than help their flock progress. This is extensively discussed in a previous publication of mine (http://www.saveindia.com/islams_weakness.htm). In this publication I also discuss the weaknesses in Islamic extremism the civilization can exploit to win the war on terror.

America is seeing the ground situation continue to deteriorate both in Afghanistan and in Iraq. This offers lessons for everyone battling Islamic fundamentalism. Where did America go wrong?

I answer this question through a letter of mine published in the Washington Times on December 08, 2003.

A new paradigm for the war on terror

I am writing to request that the Bush administration revisit the idea of pulling troops out of Iraq, where the general tide is going against America. I would like to give an alternate view to William Taylor's column ("War and impatience," Commentary, Saturday).

The virtual absence of democracy in the Islamic world points to fundamental flaws in Islam that must first be fixed before democracy can take root. The political and retrogressive preaching by most Muslim clerics does not allow for the separation of mosque and state, and leads to repressive regimes such as Saddam Hussein's in Iraq. America is already a target of these clerics in Iraq, who are doing everything to undermine America's desire to bring democracy there.

A pullback now from Iraq will probably lead to a takeover by another repressive regime hostile to American interests. But such a regime inherits an Iraq with weakened infrastructure — and a much less developed ability to create weapons of destruction. However, it is much better than the no-win situation America now finds itself in Iraq.

The root cause of fundamentalism in Islam is identified with religious institutions that indoctrinate civilians into jihad rather than provide a modern education. These institutions around the world are not only producing killers of America and its allies, but are also preventing Muslims from progressing. It is these institutions and their lead clerics that must be destroyed as enemy combatants. These clerics thrive on freedom to indoctrinate their evil ideas. Along with encouraging moderate Islamic clerics, the threat and the actual use of force on the evil ones and their institutions will effectively marginalize their ability to indoctrinate. This will create conditions for reforming Islam. This may be the new paradigm America needs to win the war on terror.

Because Islam’s power structure is in almost complete grip of religious fascists and fundamentalists, any efforts to "accommodate" or "engage" the Indian Muslim community through its "leaders" would always be a failure. We have over fifty-year history to prove this assertion. America’s debacle in nation-building in Iraq and Afghanistan is most recent example of that.

Given this grip of fascism, the aspirations of people under extremist spell, such as Kashmir valley Muslims must be taken with a grain of salt. Recently there was an "e-initiative" in Kerala whereby children in Muslim majority areas received computers and Internet connection through government grants. This required so much resources that children in other areas of Kerala couldn’t be covered under this scheme. It now appears that these computer links are used to sponsor more jihads rather than really help the Muslim community. Such is the grip of religious fascists and their selfish attitude! Similarly, enrolling more Kashmiri Muslims in the Indian military will only undermine India’s ability to defend itself.

Conclusion: Accommodation of Islamic extremism is a proven failure.

The alternative vision is given in one of my earlier publications: "If Saudi Arabia has the right to impose a proven, fascist, intolerant, genocide, and non-performing version of Islamic ideology on Indian Muslims, India has even more rights to conduct a humanitarian liberation of Indian Muslims toward an ideology of Muslim ancestors, proven to believe in coexistence and progress: Hinduism."

The use of force on Islamic extremists and their supporting communities is neither minority bashing nor is communalism. It is essential to raise the cost to the communities that sponsor Islamic fundamentalists. It is an act of self-defense and a human rights issue given that India is the only land non-Muslims can live free and secure in light of partitioning of India in the name of Islam in 1947 and the systematic pattern of marginalization of non-Muslims (http://www.saag.org/papers7/paper610.html). The policy of trying to win "hearts and minds" of populations influenced by jihad has failed. Now India must take the kid gloves off and win the internal war on terror through liberation for good.

For India to continue in its path of wealth creation, it must find ways to root out insurgencies (to free up resources), even at the expense of democratic mode of governing. America’s suggestions on diffusing Indo-Pak conflict should be given much weight only after it has come up with a proven model for battling Islamic fundamentalism successfully.