The ugly face of Hindutva

As the worst ever anti-Muslim violence in Delhi – which has already claimed more than 40 lives and caused injuries to hundreds – continues under the approving nod of the leaders of the BJP and the Indian police, as also corroborated by reports in the international media, the world remains as indifferent as ever to the unfolding catastrophe set in train by the Hindutva philosophy of the RSS.

The burning of houses of the Muslim community, desecration of a mosque and unrestrained attacks on Muslims, represent the ugly face of the racist and supremacist ideology of the BJP. What is happening in New Delhi is also the vindication of the prediction made by Prime Minister Imran Khan in his address to the UN General Assembly where he had warned about the likely repercussions of this ideology, and sought the intervention of the world community before it was too late. He very rightly likened the RSS’ philosophy to Nazism.

Referring to the killings in New Delhi, while addressing a special ceremony to commemorate the first anniversary of Pakistan’s response to the Indian aggression last year, the prime minister again urged the world community to take notice of the Hindutva ideology of India which is based on hatred and racial superiority against minorities. The PM said that the international community needs to take note before it’s too late – adding that the Indian rulers have chosen the path of self-destruction.

Alluding to several happenings in different parts of the world, including Nazi Germany, Rwanda, Myanmar and Bosnia, PM Khan said that history shows that only bloodshed follows the kind of racist, totalitarian and fascist ideology that has been adopted by the RSS in India. He continued that the Hindutva philosophy prevailing in India is spreading hatred against Muslims and Christians and its next target would be other Indian minorities.

Later in a tweet the prime minister said: “As I had predicted in my address to the United Nations General Assembly last year, once the genie is out of the bottle, the bloodshed will get worse. Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir was the beginning: now 200 million Muslims in India are being targeted. The world community must act now”.

History is witness to the fact that such hate ideologies not only spell disaster for others but also ultimately lead to the destruction of the country practising them. The death and destruction caused by Nazism during World War-II and the devastation faced by Hitler’s Germany is a stark reminder of this irrefutable reality.

Mere expression of concern by the UN and the world community, without taking the initiative to dissuade India from doing what it is doing and removing the root cause of the conflict in Kashmir and the anti-Muslim riots gripping India at the moment, is not going to help. The indifference shown by the world community to the happenings in IOK where 80 million people are under siege since August 5 last year will encourage India to continue with its oppressive actions in IOK and targeting Muslims in India, of course with disastrous consequences for India itself. The saner elements in India and the opposition Congress Party are justifiably opposed to RSS ideology and the policies being pursued by the BJP government, seeing it as a move to divide India.

The move by the Modi government to end the special status of IOK by repealing Article 370 of the Indian constitution, bifurcation of the state into two regions and making it part of the Indian union, constitutes an affront to the UN and the world community which, under the UN resolutions on Kashmir, are under obligation to ensure the exercise of the right of self-determination by the people of Kashmir to decide their future. India was surely emboldened by the apathy of the world community to the plight of the people of IOK as well as by the way powers like the US and its allies are blinded by their strategic and commercial interests and fail to see the humanitarian disaster unfolding in the region.

India is not only continuing with its killing spree in IOK but has also adopted a threatening posture towards Pakistan, more so since Modi became prime minister of India as is evident from the continued violations of the ceasefire agreement and the way the Indian Air Force aircraft entered Pakistani airspace on February 26 last year. The incident could easily have escalated into a full-fledged war between the two countries.

Pakistan not only showed remarkable restraint against that serious provocation but as a goodwill gesture and due to its faith in the need for regional peace also returned the captured Indian pilot. The downing of two Indian planes and hitting targets on the other side as a defensive measure also conveyed a strong message that the Pakistani armed forces were fully capable of thwarting any aggression against the country and their bravery and commitment to this national cause was beyond reproach. They deserved an unqualified appreciation and gratitude of the nation for making the enemy eat dust.

Peace and regional security are absolutely essential for Pakistan as well as India with regard to changing the economic profile of their respective countries and pulling the teeming millions on both sides of the border out of the perennial ‘poverty trap’. Both cannot afford a military confrontation with each other and they have no choice but to remove the causes of conflict that has marred relations between them for the last more than seven decades.

The Indian leadership needs to realize that by delaying the resolution of the Kashmir dispute they are not only jeopardizing the future of their own country but also of the entire region. The sooner this realization sinks in, the better for the entire region and beyond. Those powers which are turning a blind eye to the happenings in Kashmir and the anti-Muslim actions of the Indian government must also realize that their strategic and commercial interests in the region would be better served in a peaceful regional environment. Now is the chance to make a move. Prime Minister Imran Khan is absolutely right in repeatedly urging the world to act now.

The writer is a freelancecontributor.

Email: ashpak10@gmail.com