India is increasingly undercutting itself politically, economically and socially as it erupts in violence, mob frenzy and economic meltdown.
As if brutalities against Kashmirs in IOK and denying citizenship to millions of Muslims in Assam, were not enough, the Indian government took a major step to discriminate Muslims through its Parliament’s piece of legislation called Citizen Amendment Act (CAA) virtually completing India’s sleepwalking into becoming a “Rashtra”— a Hindu revisionist state.
At the heart of Modi government’s strategy is to appeal to its Hindu extremist political base subscribing to Hindutva Ideology of Hindu supremacism.
The Parliament’s CAA move comes on the heel of the Modi government’s NRC decision. The NRC practically deprives people who can’t prove citizenship as per its criteria hence cease to be Indian citizens costing property rights, bank accounts, government jobs, rations/subsidy, LPG connections and phone lines. To have all these facilities, the first criteria is Indian citizenship. This is why the North East of India was already inflamed since millions of Assamies, mainly Muslims were rendered stateless, identity less as a consequence of the NCR.
The CAA has further discriminated the Muslim community demonising it as second class citizens. Indian Supreme Court as already succumbed to Hindutva government by showing its partiality on Ayodhia & IOJ&K’s annexation. While on the latest CAA issue, the Chief Justice of the Indian SC said, he will take up petitions once the police brutality stops on Citizenship Act violence. The SC has degenerated to a new low. So no hope of relief within against the racist Indian government for the apprehensive minority communities.
Beset with helplessness and hopelessness, an Indian Muslim film star, Huma Qureshi, drew parallels of Modi government with Nazi Germany: “A democratically elected government that creates laws against its own people is following the Nazi Germany model clearly. This government has failed the people of this country. See what is happening on the streets. India is protesting”.
Extremism and radicalisation in India is already manifesting in vigilantism and militancy in its various parts. India’s soul taken over by the forces of darkness have already started costing its soft image of “Shining India”, curry, yoga and bollywood. Democracy, pluralism, and rule of law have been replaced with a new name calling like “Raping India”, “Fascist India”, “Extremist India” etc. Finally, India’s true image of Hindutva is coming out.
The world community is aghast over India’s communal policies against its minorities and even many voices in the US—a staunch Indian Ally—are openly threatening sanctions on Indian hardcore BJP politicians and ministers; the western policy elite is forced to rebuke Delhi government’s policies. NY Times, Wall Street and Washington Post all carried front pages on Muslims Protests. The NY Times screamed: “India, the world’s largest democracy, shuts down the internet far more than any other country. This week, 60 million people have no service”.
Today, India’s drift is somewhat reminiscent of the 1980’s Pakistan when it’s polity radicalised beyond any recognition with eventual Frankenstein of Jihadis almost taking over ideologically, politically and socially the very fabric of Pakistani state and society.
It took more then two decades for Pakistan to get rid of Jihadi mindset, the ensuing violent militancy both driven within and sponsored from outside, transition towards a normal nation state opening up to the world for tourism, business and development. For example, the recent Kartarpur and Khyber Transit Corridors are manifestations of its efforts to slam door on its chequered past and project itself as normal country at ease with itself and at peace with its neighbours and the world at large.
Pakistan identifies and acknowledges its past problems and mistakes, and is resolute in facing its present demons thus has set a course towards more brighter future; unlike Delhi which has just embarked on weaponizing state and society with the tools of bygone era, i.e, radicalising the more extreme segments under an extremist ideology of Hindutva
Many wrongly perceive the drift of India towards violent radicalisation as communalism. But communalism, however abhorrent it may be, does not believe in avenging the perceived wrong of hundreds of years before nor it promotes orchestrated violence and militancy towards other the minority groups particularly the Muslim community. It is more akin to Nazi ideology believing in purity of dominant group, hell bent to undo alleged injustice of a minority against a majoritarian “pure race”.
Unfortunately, “What’s more shocking than the state-sanctioned violence rearing its ugly head against unarmed peaceful protesters all over India, is that some people are shocked by it, [which they should not]—after all we are talking about someone (i.e, PM Modi) under whose rule (read, as CM Gujarat) housands of Muslims were hunted down and killed,’’ observed an Indian Watcher, Omar Qurashi.
(Jan Achakzai is a geopolitical analyst, a politician from Balochistan, and ex-adviser to the Balochistan government on media and strategic communication. He remained associated with BBC World Service. He is also Chairman of Centre for Geo-Politics & Balochistan)
from The News International - Peshawar https://ift.tt/2Zi4hTU
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