The terror attacks in Mumbai have thrown up tons of literature in the form commentaries, allegations, refusals, advices and what not. It is once again clear that everyone is using this tragedy as a platform to reinforce their own point of views.

India is trying hard to come across as the patient yet assertive victim but finding absolutely no takers. China’s newspapers are lambasting Indian administration and security, calling them fragile and trying to catch the ears of international investors, telling them India is not a safe place for their dollars. Fox news, through one of their member blogs, is calling India to “choose sides” in the global war on terror.

And of course, Pakistan is in a denial mode.. denying the existence of terror camps in their backyard, denying they had anything to do with it and sometimes also denying that India’s latest tragedy is an actual tragedy.

In fact, everybody seems to be in a denial mode. One of the best commentaries about the current issue is by Foqia Sadiq Khan writing in the Jang newspaper’s online edition. Khan also says both India and Pakistan are living in denial.

Pakistan’s denial are out in the open for all to see. Best was Urdu newspaper Nawa-i-Waqt, who alleged that whatever is happening is part of a “great game” by America, India and Israel against Pakistan.

India’s living in denial is much more complex and multifaceted. Khan talks in brief about India’s denial of the atrocities of the army in Kashmir and the denial of ill-treatment of Muslims living in India. According to Khan, Indian Muslims are in a the state of extreme poverty and deprivation.

It’s the latter observation that stuck a cord. Whilst Khan has got the picture slightly skewed with the comment about Indian Muslims living in abject poverty and deprivation, Khan is nonetheless correct if the situation is seen from ‘empowerment’ point-of-view.

There is nothing that India can claim to have done for the empowerment of the Muslim masses in India. Sure, there are special concessions by the government and the like but has it really helped the community in truly empowering themselves?

With such concessions and special status, why is there no progressive Muslim leadership even after so many years of Independence? The blame lies on India’s political divide, which over the years has not only declined to encourage such a leadership but also prevented it from developing.

Hasan Suroor, noted writer, comments in The Hindu that Indian political system has produced a class of Muslim “leaders” who, by mobilising them around issues that have nothing to do with their daily lives, have put the community in a terrible situation where they are easy targets for both Hindu fundamentalists and Jihad preaching Islamic fundamentalists.

There is no doubt that at the present moment, a Muslim finds himself consciously and unconsciously vulnerable to 2 disparate forces, each feeding the purpose of existence of the other. Yet no one seems to be acknowledging the plight. Living in denial.

The best course of action would be for everyone to wake up from their states of denials and indulge in some progressive activities.

Media on both sides have a huge role to play. Media needs to find some time from playing into the hands of certain sections who have a perpetual mistrust against the other country and help  to spread it and intensify it between the 2 countries. Then media can then do a heck of a good job in setting the stage for some progressive activities.