3rd term for Modi to have serious implications for minorities

Islamabad: Participants of a roundtable discussion were of the view that a third term for Prime Minister Modi will have serious implications for religious minorities in India.

The discussion was held at the Institute of Regional Studies (IRS) here Wednesday. President IRS Jauhar Saleem referred to some recent incendiary statements of leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to highlight the anti-Muslim stance of the party. He maintained that while it is easier for a hardliner political party to resolve outstanding issues with other countries, the BJP seems reluctant to normalise relations with Pakistan.

Former Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry observed that India was showing growing tendency towards Fascism under the BJP. He added that instead of wanting to leave a legacy of peace in the region, Narendra Modi was aiming at regional domination.

Dr Serena Hussain from Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations, Coventry, UK, said that BJP’s policies were leading to worrisome extremist trends among Indian diaspora communities as well.

James Manor, Prof Emeritus of Commonwealth, School of Advance Studies, University of London, maintained that the polarising rhetoric of the BJP during its election campaign was a sign of weakness and cautioned against taking a BJP victory in the election for granted.

Pakistan’s former ambassador to China Naghmana Hashmi related the rising religious fundamentalism in India to a global wave affecting America and Europe. Dr Hamid Iqbal, Department of International Relations, National Defence University, shed light on the ideological discourse of Hindutva polarising the Indian society while Modi’s economic policies were adversely impacting the middle class.

Farzana Yaqoob, former Minister for Social Welfare and Women Development, Azad Kashmir, argued that India was obsessed with Pakistan which could lead, once again, to use anti-Pakistan sentiments as an election campaign slogan like it did in the past.

Urooj Raza Sayyami, Political Assistant to the Chief Minister of Punjab on Human Rights, highlighted the measures introduced by the Modi government to control and manipulate the print and electronic media. Commentator Dr Hassan Bokhari opined that BJP was focusing on divisive rhetoric because it resonates with the Hindu electorate.