Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) chairman Ghulam Nabi Azad has sparked a controversy by saying that a majority of Indian Muslims have converted from Hinduism, reported news agency PTI. Explaining his statement, he said that an example of this can be found in the Kashmir Valley where a majority of Kashmiri Pandits converted to Islam.
“Some BJP leader said some (Muslims) have come from outside and some have not. Nobody has come from outside or inside. Islam came to existence just 1,500 years ago. Hindu religion is very old. Around 10-20 of them (Muslims) must have come from outside, some were there in the Mughal army,” Azad said as reported by PTI.
“All other Muslims converted from Hinduism in India. An example of this can be found in Kashmir. Who were the Muslims in Kashmir 600 years ago? All were Kashmiri Pandits. They converted to Islam. All are born into this religion,” the former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir said.
The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister was addressing a gathering in the Doda district.
Taking a dig at the use of religion for votes, Azad said, “Whoever takes refuge in religion in politics is weak. Religion should not be used as a vote bank in politics. Voting should not be based on Hindu and Muslim names.”
However, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti took a dig at Azad and said, “I don’t know how far back he went (in time) and what knowledge he has about his ancestors. I would advise him to go way back and maybe he will find some apes there in the ancestors.”
Meanwhile, senior BJP leader Kavinder Gupta agreed with Azad’s remarks and said the people used to practise Hinduism before “invaders” brought in other religions.
“The timeline given by Azad about the inception of Islam in India is true,” said Gupta, a former deputy chief minister.
-With agency inputs
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Updated: 18 Aug 2023, 07:15 AM IST