This is in reference to Mr. Ted Manuel’s letter (Voice, July 5). Although Mr. Manuel is correct in stating that only Japan has the moral authority to condemn nuclear proliferation, he has erred on one count.
There is no “religious rivalry” between India and Pakistan. Such erroneous statements are a direct result of faulty reporting by Western media, including the Tribune.
Tribune writers have mentioned Hindu-India and Muslim-Pakistan in many reports covering the nuclear explosions. Although Pakistan is an Islamic country, India is not. Just like the U.S., India always has been a secular state where there is no state-supported religion, and freedom of religion is guaranteed by the constitution. In India at least 20 to 25 percent of the population is not Hindu. Many prominent people in India, including the scientist leading India’s current nuclear program, are Muslims.
Calling India a Hindu nation is as insulting to the people of India as calling the U.S. a Christian nation is to Americans.
