Malik M Ashraf
THE reported leak of WhatsApp conversation between journalist Arnab Goswani— who is very close to Modi government— and the CEO of a rating agency wherein Goswani revealed that the Pulwama incident was enacted by the Modi government to appease his voters and use it as an excuse to take action against Pakistan, reflects how far a disciple of RSS philosophy of ‘Hidutva’ can go to achieve his nefarious designs. An Indian Professor Ashok Swain had already declared Pulwama a drama. According to him, Modi did the same in Pulwama as he did in Gujarat in 2002 to garner votes.
Enacted before the ensuing elections, it did help Modi to register landslide victory. So the biggest beneficiary of this inhuman and dastardly act was the BJP. Taking lives of your own soldiers and citizens through an orchestrated action to reap political advantage and blaming it on the perceived enemy, is an act of ultimate barbarity to say the least. Modi lost no time in blaming Pakistan for the incident. Pakistan vehemently rejected the Indian allegations advising India to refrain from the blame game and come up with the evidence to prove its claims about her involvement in the incident which was never provided because none was available.
The revelations made in the conversation between Goswani and CEO of the rating agency have not only vindicated Pakistan but have also unmasked the treachery of the Modi government to mislead his own masses as well as hoodwinking the global community. The foregoing leave no doubt about the fact that Pulwama incident was used to win elections and to commit aggression against Pakistan which showed its ugly face on 26 February 2019 when India sent its planes to attack imaginary terrorist camp at Balakot. It nearly brought the two nuclear powers to the brink of an armed clash but the restraint shown by Pakistan and the intervention by some friendly countries defused the situation. Nevertheless India continues to maintain her hostile posture towards Pakistan manifested through daily violation of ceasefire agreement along the line of control.
The ultimate objective of ‘Hindutva’ is to make India a purely Hindu state and establish Indian hegemony in the region. The Modi government unraveled its anti-Muslim credentials through the enactment of National Register of Citizens that deprived 1.9 million Muslims of Asaam of their Indian citizens followed by the enactment of Citizenship Amendment Bill that ignited country-wide protests against the move during which the goons of BJP killed 50 Muslims in Delhi under the nod of approval of the law enforcement agencies. The move earned scathing criticism by the international human rights organizations and global community.
But undeterred by the ensuing criticism, Modi made another anti-Muslim move by ending special status of India-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K) and its annexation to the Indian Union followed by laws designed to change demographic features of the state by allowing the Indian citizens to settle there and buy property. Modi on the eve of Independence Day of India boasted that his government had achieved in seventy days what the previous governments could not do in the last seventy years, fulfilling the dream of Vallaby Patel of ‘Akhand Bharat’. Since 5 August 2019 eight million people of IOJ&K have been under siege and the Indian security forces continue with their killing spree and abuse of human rights with impunity. Reportedly 300 Kashmiris have been killed since then and there seems no end to the ordeal of the hapless people of the state.
The redeeming aspect of this whole episode is that India has failed to sell her narrative that what it did in IOJ&K was her internal matter. The UNSC in its three informal meetings held in the backdrop of the Indian actions in IOJ&K has reiterated that the solution to the Kashmir dispute needed to be found in conformity with the principles of the UN Charter and the relevant UN resolutions. The latest rebuke to the Indian stance has come from a debate at the Westminster last Wednesday in which ten UK parliamentarians belonging to different political parties and a minister participated. They were all unanimous in their opinion about brazen violation of human rights in the valley and the need for resolution of the conflict through self-determination.
The actions of the BJP regime have imperilled peace and security of the region. Pakistan has been warning the world community and the UN about the likely consequences of India pursuing the supremacist RSS ideology of ‘Hindutva’ likened to the Nazism which spelt disaster in the world by pushing it into World War II. But regrettably the powers that can put pressure on India and dissuade her from pursuing the disastrous course remain criminally oblivious to the permeating situation and are rather responsible for encouraging the Modi government to persist with its agenda. Even the UN remains helpless in view of their indifference to initiate any move to implement its resolution on the Kashmir dispute.
It is indeed a worrying situation requiring immediate intervention of the UN, the global community and more so the strategic partners of India before it is too late. They must understand that the confrontation between the two nuclear powers would also harm their strategic and commercial interests in the region. India also needs to understand that it would not emerge unscathed in case of armed clash with Pakistan. India by her actions is jeopardizing peace and security of the region and the chances of a shared economic prosperity. It also desperately needs course correction in its own interest.
— The Islamabad-based writer is former Director Administration, Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation.
