Plight of Indian minorities in BJP’s tenure
AFTER North Korea and South Korea, if the two countries are named in terms of the most strained relations, then perhaps Pakistan and India will appear at the top.
The case of these two countries also looks like Koreas. Just like Pakistan and India, South and North Korea were once on the same page.
The relations between Pakistan and India were very good at the beginning but due to the Kashmir issue, 1965 and then the war of 1971, it became so bitter that the visible improvement in the relations turned into deterioration. The Kargil War was the last nail in the coffin of bilateral relations.
Perhaps overtime, Indian leaders have come to realize that the key to success is to keep criticizing neighbours and this formula was used skilfully by India to criticize Pakistan.
On one side, there is the writ that neighbours are very important for any country and one must keep good relations with neighbours and on the other side, there are no serious efforts to improve relations between these two countries.
If anyone ever see Indian media, it is sad to see their anchors shouting at Pakistan to an extent they want to take the hatred towards the government.
In this context, the BJP is playing the Hindu card very skilfully. This game of unintentional hate ends in disaster. Unaware of the consequences, the systematic targeting of Muslims and minorities in Modi’s India today is hardly an example in the past.
The manner in which the Bharatiya Janata Party has used religious cards in politics has given it immense political benefits and is now moving forward with the same agenda.
Extremists are now left to scatter minorities. Muslims in particular have become easy target for extremists. Hardly a day goes by that no Muslim is martyred in India because of religious bigotry.
It can be seen that everything is happening under a systematic plan. A closer look at the situation reveals that Muslims were kept away from government jobs under a regular plan. In India, Muslims make up about 18 to 20 percent of the total population, but their share in employment is barely 4 to 5 percent.
A large number of them are employed at lower levels. When the overwhelming majority of Muslims fed up with this situation, started doing small businesses, now and then their businesses are destroyed by making excuses.
Their settlements are attacked and their property set on fire. It has become common for mobs to kill a person simply for being a Muslim. This act can clearly be termed as economic massacre of Muslims. After this, preparations for the siege of “Urdu” have also been completed, while targeting Pakistan is India’s everlasting hobby.
Now, it is known that the political opponents of the BJP are openly saying in talk shows that if the words Pakistan, Muslims and terrorism are removed from the politics of the BJP, then their whole politics will end.
On the other hand, if we talk about Pakistan, there must have been some unfortunate incidents with the minorities, but then concrete steps were taken at the government level to improve the situation. In this regard, a very active role was also seen at the judicial level. Last year, when a temple was set on fire by angry mobs in Karak district of KP, the government and the high court took immediate action.
The temple was restored within a few days as a result of a court order. Not only that, the court also ordered that the cost of rebuilding the temple be recovered from the burners.
Similarly, a tragic incident took place in Rahim Yar Khan area of Pakistan after which the government took immediate action. Hundreds of people involved in both incidents were also brought to justice.
The immediate response of the government and the judiciary to these two incidents has led to the realization that not a single minute will be spared in the protection of Pakistani minorities.
The way of taking concrete steps to protect minorities is certainly commendable.
It would be good to try to promote religious tolerance at the individual level as well. However, as conditions for minorities in Pakistan are admirable, the situation in India is highly deteriorating.
It is also important to understand that one’s own interests are being pursued under the guise of religion. In most cases, the agenda is political but the gathering is given a religious name.
Dozens of such examples will be found in India these days. Whether it is registration of treason cases against Kashmiri students celebrating Pakistan’s victory or attack on Muslim settlements, open front against Urdu or expression of hatred towards Muslim actors and artists, Narendra Modi attacked Muslims in India which is getting tighter with each passing day.
Indian government is well aware that no country in the world can dare to lose such a large middle class market, so there is no question of international pressure.
For this reason, the rogue horse of religious extremism has been left unchecked for the Hindu Vote Bank, which is trampling on everything.
The biggest political benefit of such an approach is that it distracts the public from inflation, law and order, faltering economy and other issues.
So far, the Modi government is playing this card well, but everyone knows that the end result is not only a defeat but the country and the state including the society will also be destroyed in this fire.
—The writer is contributing columnist.
