Dr Muhammad Khan
In the contemporary world, Pakistan is a unique country where people from various religions, different casts and creeds and diverse ethnic backgrounds have freedom to live as per their beliefs and culture. This right of freedom to live and express is embedded in the Constitution of Pakistan. The basis of the Constitutional provisions are derived from the Constitution of Pakistan and the vision of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. Article 9 of the Constitution of Pakistan provides a comprehensive coverage for the safety and security of its citizens. The constitution also laid down the procedure of justice system, basic human rights and matters related to public freedom for all citizens of Pakistan.
A true interpretation of these constitutional provisions would reveal that, minorities enjoy the same rights and freedom in Pakistan as Muslims. This is despite the fact that, Pakistan is an ideological state, came into being on the basis of Two Nations theory. With such a massive and broad-based freedom for the minorities its constitution pledges, Pakistan can truly be called as an open, highly moral and ethical state. Indeed, western definition of secularism has a narrow base. In Pakistani state system, the minorities enjoy all sorts of rights and liberties as provided to Muslim population.
Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a great and visionary leader of 20th Century. It was his visionary leadership which compelled Britain, the former Colonial power and dominant Hindu leaders of British India to accept the demand for a separate homeland for the Muslims of Subcontinent. Quaid envision Pakistan as a modern democratic state, where every Pakistani can live with personal safety and security while enjoying religious freedom with basic civic facilities. In his famous address, Quaid-i-Azam clearly said, ‘you are free to go to your temple, Church and Mosque’. Today, after seven decades, the vision of Quaid is being appreciated world-wide, particularly in India, where minorities, especially the Muslims are being alienated and oppressed with discriminatory laws like Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB)-2019. CAB has now been adopted as an act of parliament; the Citizenship (Amendment) Act-2019. After its passage from the Indian Parliament, there broke-out country-wide violent protests which killed dozens of people besides wounding thousands. It’s not Muslims only, but all others minorities and the lower caste Hindus and Dalits, who have joined these massive anti amendment protests.
Besides, some of the political parties of India are also protesting against this discriminatory law (amendment) who consider this amendment and violent Hindu extremism as a threat to the very survival of India as a union. Indeed, Sikhs are already demanding their homeland and there are nine states of India which have geared-up their existing movements for the separation from Indian union. Some states have already established their governments in exile. Some political leaders of India, whose forefathers were anti-Pakistan at the time of partition in 1947, have now accepted the logics for creating Pakistan. They recognized that, creation of Pakistan was the right step and Quaid-i-Azam was a farsighted leader, who knew the hidden agenda of Hindus, even under the so-called secularism of Congress Party and Jawaharlal Nehru.
Time has proved that, founding fathers of India were indeed the architect of today’s Hindu India. Prime Minister Modi and his BJP only get the credit of implementing the agenda and vision Indian forefathers. In the garb of secularism, Nehru and his political allies provided the base of Hindu domination, now transferred into Hindutva. Unilateral and illegal annexation of Indian occupied Kashmir into Indian Union was basically the agenda of Nehru and Congress Party, implemented by Modi. Therefore, Indian Secularism and Hindutva are code names, having same agenda. This is a proof that, despite unusual and violent protests all over the India against this discriminatory amendment, the BJP Government has not budged from its illegal act and wrong-doing.
The discriminatory amendment passed by Indian Parliament, clearly reflect a narrow and extremists approach; the Hindutva based fundamentalist approach, where there is no space for Muslims. Seeing the militant and extremist Hindu mind-set, not only Muslims of India but other religious minorities and communities felt threatened. If today, Muslims are the target of RSS lead Hindutva, tomorrow it can be all other religious minorities. Sikhs have already been targeted in the decade of 1980s and 1990s. They are still under observation in this Hindu Majoritarian State. Christians will be the next target of Hindutva ideology of BJP and RSS, after penalizing Muslims. Whereas, Pakistan is undertaking gigantic projects like renovation of Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, Indian Government and its Supreme Court have allowed dismantling of the 16th century Babri Mosque. Besides, there have been hundreds of attacks on Mosques in India. Pakistan is making laws for the protection and welfare of its minorities, India is making laws for the persecution of its minorities. This is a dangerous trend, which directly threaten the regional peace which may have global ramifications.
As per preliminary investigation of the anti-Muslim incidents in New Zealand Norway, Netherland and other parts of Europe, the perpetrators had disclosed their linkages with RSS ideology against Muslims. This indicates that, Hidutva and RSS are rapidly becoming a threat for the regional and global peace. Regretfully, notwithstanding the horrifying anti-minorities incidents in India, United States and other major powers have not condemned the Indian discriminatory laws against its Muslim population. This puts a question mark on the role of major power centres towards Muslims.
— The writer, a retired Brig, is Professor of Politics and International Relations at International Islamic University, Islamabad.
