Ethnic Violence in China

The latest ethnic violence in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang, seems to be a repetition of the riots in Tibet's capital Lhasa in 2008. Some people, however, beg to differ, because they consider it to be the effect of the international Islamic influence. It is noticeable that the presence of any international Islamic force in Xinjiang is not wild imagination either. Among the foreign terrorists arrested in Kashmir, some belonged to the Muslim Uygur Community (Chinese Turks) settled in Xinjiang.

The Genesis of the Violence
In fact, the riots started with a violent demonstration of Uygurs. This was organized to protest against an industrial violence let loose June 2009. Huns are in a majority in Gwangyang, a city in South China near Hong Kong. They alleged that two Uygur laborers had raped a Hun woman, and subsequently beat them to death.

However, the distance between Urumqi and Gwangyang is so much that it cannot be compared with any two Indian cities placed on either side of the country. Such a communal flare up in Urumqi could not, therefore, have been sparked off by any such news.

At least 156 persons were killed and 100 others wounded, and the future of one of the major cities of Central Asia is at stake. Xinjiang nurses an old grudge against Chinese rule. It has been restive for a long time. Minor clashes have been reported from time-to-time.

Nevertheless, in recent years, a programme of publicity and retaliation seems to have been actively taken up. This compels a fresh interpretation of the incidents in the light of a particular ideology. This was more or less the situation in Jammu and Kashmir before and after 1980.

Attached to Kashmir geographically and about half of India in size, the Xinjiang Province occupies one-sixth of the total area of China. The country is badly dependent on it also for oil, gas and metals. The ambitious design of the West to encircle China is largely centered on southern and western provinces of Tibet and Xinjiang.

Densely populated, these two provinces occupy about one-third of the total area of China. They have always remained volatile because of the anger of two major non-Hun minority races. The Chinese leadership has been aware of this weakness.

Development of Animosity
Mao-Tse-Tung, the founder of Communist China, gave prominence to the Hun vs non-Hun tension in the list of major problems faced by the country. He advised the country's policymakers not to leave any scope for development of animosity between them.

However, with the passage of time, Huns were made to settle there. The population ratio changed, leading to increasing racial hostility. As the growth rate gathers momentum, and everybody reaps some benefit from it, tension is kept in check.

During recession, China's attempt to increase the growth rate of its economy centers on areas and races on which the government can depend. In this situation, the Urumqi riots can also prove to be a portent of a more explosive situation developing on the Chinese territory.