Spirit of Islam, May 2013

In this article I suggested that the people of Kashmir and Punjab should accept the political status quo. That is, instead of opting for the path of clash and confrontation, they should exploit the opportunities, which presented themselves for progress and construction along peaceful lines in fields other than politics, as had happened in Japan. This suggestion also meant adopting the way of non-violence in a scenario of political confrontation. When you stand in the Himalayan foothills, you will see torrents of water sent down by the ice melting on the mountain tops. On the way, the fastflowing water repeatedly meets obstacles in the form of boulders. These hamper the flow of the water, but the water does not attempt to break the stones in order to follow a straight course. On the contrary, what it does is avoid the stones and find its way around their sides, and eventually reaches the plains. This is the way of non-violence. To put it another way, non-violence is non-confrontation. In this world, the non-confrontational approach is the only right approach. Nonconfrontation does not mean cowardice or accepting defeat. It is in actual fact, the same strategy which is known as ‘buying time’. That is to say, avoiding wasting one’s time in futile activities and directing all one’s energy towards result-oriented activities. Following a policy of non-violence means that when man is faced with an unpleasant situation, he should not react negatively but should rather react positively. Such a policy is the result of wise planning. All the successes of this world stem from wise planning. Without wise planning, there can be no success. Maulana Wahiduddin Khan editor@thespiritofislam.org