The BJP’s politics

Reportedly, a 55-year-old Muslim man was lynched by a Hindu mob in Bihar in India for allegedly stealing a cow. This is not an isolated incident but in fact a continuation of the pattern of violence unleashed by the BJP government against the Muslim minority in India.

The mindset of the ruling BJP against Muslim and other minorities is amply reflected in the hate-mongering comments of Vikram Saini. a BJP MP who referring to the incident said “those who are unsafe in this country are anti-nationals and do not deserve to be there. Give me a ministry and I will attach bombs on their posteriors and blast”

The BJP government, headed by Narendra Modi, has been pursuing discriminatory policies against Indian Muslims and other minorities, inspired by the RSS ideology of Hindutva, a form of extremist Hindu nationalism which explodes the myth of the much-touted Indian secularism. Hindutva essentially wants an India that is for Hindus – to the exclusion of all other communities and religions. That philosophy adequately explains the incidents of violence against Muslims and Christians under the Modi government.

In fact even during the previous BJP government, anti-Muslim and anti-minorities policies were either pursued at the official level or extremist elements were encouraged to pursue the RSS ideology. Who can forget the demolition of Babri mosque in 1992 and the consequent riots in which 1000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed? Or incidents like the Samjhota Express attack and the Gujarat pogrom?

The recurring episodes of violence against communities other than Hindus have assumed alarming proportions under Modi. Muslims are particularly being targeted. In fact, Modi used anti-Pakistan and anti-Muslim sentiments as a tool to expand his vote bank during his election campaign. Banning cow slaughter in various states like Maharashtra and Haryana and the killing of a fifty-year-old man Muhammad Akhlaq in Utter Pradesh by a Hindu mob in 2016 – on the suspicion of storing and consuming beef – are the consequences of the communal politics of the Modi government. Threats to Pakistani artists in India by Shiv Sena, the attack on Sudhendra Kulkarni who headed the Observer Research Foundation, and the assault on an independent Muslim lawmaker from Kashmir by Hindu extremists in Mumbai are also irrefutable testimonies of the communal politics pursued by the BJP.

These are dangerous signs for things to come. Notwithstanding the fact that the communal politics and philosophy of Hindutva have been rejected by a vibrant majority of Indians, the Modi government continued to pursue the RSS philosophy faithfully. As a backlash to those policies, the BJP was defeated in Delhi and Bihar in the state elections which were held shortly after the general elections won by Modi.

Annoyed by the communal politics of Modi, and in protest against the rising culture of intolerance and assault on free speech, 50 Indian intellectuals and writers returned their literary awards in 2016, reiterating that by pursuing such policies Modi was defacing the secular face of India. The Modi government has confronted such resentment within India for its discriminatory and oppressive policies. In the state elections held on December 11, 2018 Congress defeated the incumbent BJP governments in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh and also emerged as the single largest party in Madhya Pradesh; this victory for the Congress has been attributed to the communal policies of the BJP.

In pursuance of philosophy of Hindutva, a deliberate attempt is also being made by the BJP government to change the demographic features of Kashmir by pursuing a policy of settlement of Hindus in the valley as well as a move to repeal Article 370 of the Indian constitution that gives special status to Kashmir. In defiance of UN resolutions and the commitments given by the Indian government regarding a plebiscite in Kashmir, a ruthless reign of terror has been let loose to suppress the freedom movement of the Kashmiris.

Since the current uprising against the Indian occupation in the backdrop of the extrajudicial killing of Burhan Wani, nearly 800 Kashmiris have been killed and thousands have been either maimed or injured by the pellet guns. During 2018 alone, 500 people were murdered by the Indian security forces.

India is acting like a war-like state with a defined objective of establishing its hegemony in the region and practising communal politics within the country as per the RSS philosophy. By remaining oblivious to the treatment being meted out to the minorities in India and the reign of terror let lose by the Indian security forces in Kashmir, the world community is actually encouraging the Modi government to continue to pursue the course it has chosen for itself.

Blinded by their strategic and commercial interests in the region, they are showing criminal indifference to the dehumanised policies of India and the killing spree in Kashmir, not realising the consequences of such an attitude. The unmitigated hostility shown against Pakistan by the Modi government and India’s refusal to initiate a dialogue with Pakistan to resolve disputes between the two countries, including the core issue of Kashmir, are actually pushing the region towards perennial instability.

Kashmir admittedly is a nuclear flash point which can not only endanger peace and security in this region but also could put world peace at peril. Under the prevailing circumstances, it is incumbent upon the UN and the world community to work for the implementation of the UN resolutions on Kashmir.

India also needs to realise that it cannot suppress the freedom movement in Kashmir through the barrel of the gun. The Indian state’s policies are bound to have a boomerang effect, harming Indian interests as well. The solution lies in settling the disputes between the two countries, including that of Kashmir in line with the UN resolutions. The bilateral mechanism evolved through the Simla Agreement has failed to make any headway and the situation warrants the intervention of the UN and other world powers to play their role in de-escalating the tension between the two countries as well as looking for a real solution to the Kashmir dispute.

The writer is a freelance contributor. Email: ashpak10@gmail.com