Dr Muhammad Khan
INDIAN Parliament has finally approved the Citizen Amendment Bill-2019. It will take the shape of an Act after being signed by the President of India in the next few days and will be implemented thereafter. As per this bill, Indian citizenship will be non-Muslim illegal immigrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. This is the 4th Agenda Indian BJP led Government is implementing since it has re-assumed the power in May 2019. The 1st agenda, Indian Government implemented was undoing the Special Status of the India-occupied Jammu and Kashmir and annexing it with Indian Union as union Territory against the international law and UN resolutions. It was aimed to deny Kashmiris their basic right of self-determination. It is worth mentioning that Kashmir is a Muslim majority state and Kashmiris never wanted to be part of India. The 2nd Agenda, the Indian Government has implemented is the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam state. This Act of India left 1.9 million residents, a majority of whom were Muslims without citizenship. The 3rd Act of India was the prejudiced decision of Indian Supreme Court in November 2019 about the Babri Masjid. The Supreme Court of India gave a verdict for the construction of Hindu temple on the site of historical Babri Mosque, constructed in 16th century mosque and demolished by RSS in 1992. It was a decision against Muslims and in favour of the Hindus. The 4th Agenda, implemented by India is the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill-2019.
This bill indeed, aims at “granting citizenship to non-Muslim illegal migrants from neighbouring countries and driving out Muslim “ghuspetis (intruders). The ultimate intent is to implement a nationwide-National Register of Citizens.” Once passed, it will surely protect non-Muslims and harass Muslim citizens. The process is already being implemented since BJP Government came into power in 2014. Indeed, today’s India has been converted into a Hindu State, contrary to the so-called Secular State mantra, the successive rulers of this South Asian giant have been projecting since last seven decades. The idea of converting India into a Hindu state is not only the idea of Modi and his team, led by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and other Hindu extremist organizations, but indeed, in the guise of secularism, Hindutva was the agenda of founding fathers of India. The Hindutva Movement, started in 1923 is indeed, “fascist in the classical sense”. It is all about Hindu nationalism, rather the Indian nationalism; a concept of Hindu homogenised society with specific Hindu culture, an extreme form of ‘ethnic absolutism’. The prominent Indian leader, Mr Rajeshwar Singh has clearly announced that by December 2021, we “will finish Christianity and Islam” from India, since this state is for Hindus only. This movement started towards beginning of 21st Century and later on December 18, 2014, Rajeshwar Singh, declared on national television news channels that his organization had set a 2021 deadline to cleanse India of “alien Islam and Christianity”.
Rajeshwar Singh is being backed by BJP and all other Hindu religious organizations and even proponents of secularism did not stop him from doing all this. The BJP has otherwise devised a strategy of ‘Ghar Wapsi’ programme, aims at, conversion (reconversion) of all Muslims and Christians in to Hinduism. This activity is facilitated by Vishva Hindu Parishad and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, making use of all means which include use of brutal force like killing and other means of frightening. In fact, India is truly following the philosophy of its classical realist forefather, Chanakya (Kautilya). It is worth mentioning that Kautilya was the ideal of first Indian Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who used to call him as Indian Machiavelli’. Nehru used to study his famous book; Arthashastra, which deals with power politics; as a dedicated routine. Nehru equated Arthashastra with ‘The Prince’ of Machiavelli, rather found the former more comprehensive. Today, the Indian hegemonic design in South Asia and surroundings is part of the same strategy. Within India, the Hindutva has become a major attraction for converting non-Hindus into Hinduism.
The prestigious Washington Post has truly analysed that Indian decision of sudden takeover; indeed, a reoccupation of the State of Jammu and Kashmir, aimed at ‘fulfilment of a long ideological yearning of Indian leaders to make a predominantly occupied Muslim population surrender to Hindu population and Hindu rule. “Kashmir is both a warning and a template for even the integral Indian State” where there are insurgencies for separation from Indian Union. They can be brought under Delhi’s thumb in the name of “unity.” This Indian fascism is also a warning for the regional states and the world as a whole, as it was done by Nazis under Adolf Hitler. Unfortunately, Prime Minister Modi is behaving as Hitler and his BJP (RSS) as Nazi Party of Hitler. Upon passage of this bill, the US Commission on International Religion Freedom (USCIRF) has asked for the sanctions against Indian Home Minister Amit Shah and his team members. The bill and its passage by Indian Parliament is even being condemned with India, Rahul Gandhi, called the bill an attack on the Indian Constitution. He said, “Anyone who supports it is attacking and attempting to destroy the foundation of our nation.” The prominent Indian political leader Mr Shashi Tharoor said “The passage of this bill by Indian Parliament is against the basic principle of Indian Constitution.” He also confessed that this bill is indeed, “a victory of Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s thoughts over Mahatma Gandhi.” Let’s salute the father of the nation, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Allama Dr Muhammad Iqbal who gave us the State of Pakistan. The international community, however, must be worried of what is happening in India, a country of 1.3 billion people.
— The writer, a retired Brig, is Professor of Politics and International Relations at International Islamic University, Islamabad.
