The BJP’s season of ill will

Narendra Modi accomplished a unusual feat by schmoozing corporate America but shunning the General Debate of the United Nations on its 70th anniversary. That way, he did not have to share the podium used by Nawaz Sharif to deliver an important address. The Indian side scheduled their foreign minister’s speech at the UNGA after Sharif so as to reject his proposals. However, they used their immediate right of reply by sending a junior diplomat on stage.
Sushma Swaraj eventually rose to make the incredible claim that there was no problem in Kashmir other than that of Pakistan’s occupation. She cut aside Pakistan’s four-point formula and the offer of resuming dialogue by asserting that there was only one point – terrorism – to be discussed between the two countries. If one needed any confirmation of the frost in India’s Pakistan policy, it was in abundant supply at the United Nations headquarters.
Yet, there are optimists in Pakistan who think this phase too will pass. Khurshid Kasuri is leading the civil society vanguard who think that Modi will eventually agree to talk to Pakistan. It just so happens that the Modi team has been following an action plan that appears to be lacking a chapter on engaging Pakistan in a constructive manner.
Well into the second year of its term, Modi sarkar continues to pursue its three-point agenda that is first and foremost aimed at turning India into an economic power house. The second priority is to transform India into a country where Hindutva would be the hallmark of patriotism and the minorities put in a place of subservience. The third is to destabilise Pakistan internally and isolate it internationally.
The ideal of transforming India into a great economic power has hit the rock of a centuries-old mindset – also because it became subject to genuine concern about the risk of making the rich richer. The Gujarat model that Modi promised to replicate in the entire nation has been faulted for woefully lacking in human development. He has been portrayed as business friendly but, as prime minister, people question if Modi is also people friendly.
Critics claim that as CM, Modi was proactive but as PM, he has become reactive. Some say that, instead of helping to resolve pending problems of investors, the government is only looking at projects such as bullet trains. Though big corruption has declined, the bureaucracy is scared and not taking decisions. Ministers are largely powerless because every file goes to the PM Office. The prime minister works 17-18 hours a day but apparently there is no delegation of authority.
Modi convened a meeting of billionaires at his residence on September 9 to motivate them for investments. Despite these efforts, investors – Indian as well as foreign – are not convinced.
Hindutva, the second most important plank of Modi’s platform was inserted in the BJP manifesto by reiterating the party’s stand to explore all possibilities within the framework of the constitution to facilitate construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. It also repeated the intention to take up with all stakeholders the abrogation of Article 370 guaranteeing Jammu and Kashmir a special status. Steps are to be taken to return Kashmiri pundits to the land of their ancestors with full dignity and security. It vowed to deal with insurgency with a firm hand.
Official tolerance for acts of Hindu extremism, leading to violence in numerous cases has caused strains in Indian society not seen since the massacre of Muslims in Gujarat state. Under the BJP-RSS nexus, India is now set in a direction that if pursued can lead to disintegration within society. Claims of being the world’s largest democracy will sound hollow if the tendency to suppress minorities is not checked.
Kashmir’s Muslim majority is feeling the heat of the ongoing drive to establish Hindu domination in the valley. Modi’s first year in power was marked by extraordinary efforts to push the BJP as a coalition partner in the Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir. Though the People’s Democratic Party of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed emerged as the leading party with 28 seats in the state assembly of 87, the BJP finished second with 25 members. The National Conference and its former ally, the Congress, were restricted to 15 and 12 seats respectively.
The BJP forced its entry into the coalition even though it has ideological differences with the Kashmiri parties, particularly over its intention to remove Article 370 of the Indian constitution which gives J&K an autonomous status. Modi attended the oath-taking ceremony as the BJP became a coalition partner in J&K for the first time. Contentious issues like Article 370 have been deferred but not dropped. However, the two parties remain poles apart on a host of other issues. In the final analysis, the two parties represent the interests of their Muslim and Hindu constituents.
Ideally, Modi might like to consolidate his image as a leader of all Indians. But he is also a lifelong supporter of Hindutva. The forces that pushed to have Modi as prime ministerial nominee keep a close watch on his moves. A three-day meeting between the RSS and the BJP to review the working of Modi government was held on September 2-4.
The latest religious census, which indicated a slight decline of Hindu population to below 80 percent and a marginal increase in Muslim population above 12 percent was discussed at the meeting. The RSS spokesman asserted that upper caste Hindus, “through their lack of interaction with the weaker sections of the Hindu society were allowing the leaders of other religions to exploit them to change their religion.”
The RSS-BJP nexus is leaving no doubt about their aspiration to assert India’s Hinduness. This attitude can only lead to greater disharmony in a country as diverse as India. Secularism is the way to keep Indians united. Injecting Hindutva can only bring more trouble. One recent example is the beef ban in Kashmir.
There was a complete shut down in Indian-held Kashmir on September 12, to protest against a high court decision to implement a 83-year-old law banning beef in the state. The Hurriyat spokesman said the Kashmiris would reject the court order, saying that “it will be very, very hard for government to impose this law here”.
The BJP’s move to deprive Muslims of beef is symptomatic of an overall plan to assert Hindutva. However, Kashmir being the only Muslim majority area, the issue can further mar the chances of any rapprochement with the Kashmiri people. It also reflects the BJP’s preference for strong-arm tactics to control J&K rather than seeking a long-term solution of the territorial dispute with Pakistan taking into consideration the aspirations of the Muslim majority.
There is a distinct possibility that the Kashmiris who have been ruthlessly oppressed by Indian forces for decades will only become more determined to resist Indian occupation and intensify their struggle in the period ahead. The BJP and their RSS mentors have the option of reviewing their policies or risk the worsening of tensions between the two countries.
The situation is very different from the period of the previous BJP prime minister A B Vajpayee, who acted as a visionary and a peacemaker within and without India. Considering the diversity of faiths and politico-economic agendas in a huge country like India, the present flux leads to one basic question. Which of the two – Modi and India – will change the other more in the remaining years of Modi’s five-year term?
The Jammu & Kashmir High Court has now given a landmark ruling, rebutting the Indian claim of the disputed territory being a part of India. It has further ruled that Article 370 of the Indian constitution accepting a special status for J&K is beyond abrogation, repeal or amendment.
The third point of Modi’s agenda, aimed at pursuing warrior diplomacy towardd Pakistan, will be treated in a follow-up article.
Email: saeed.saeedk@gmail.com