Intellectual capacity of Pak society solution to Hindutva: Alvi

ISLAMABAD: A two-day International Conference on ‘Institutionalization of Hindutva in India: A Regional Security Perspective’ was organised in Islamabad on July 6-7, 2021. President Dr Arif Alvi inaugurated the conference with his keynote speech.

Speaking to the audience, the president emphasised the impact of human biases on state policies and elaborated upon Islamophobia, racial segregation, underpinning genocide, and demographic changes in the Indian-occupied Kashmir.

He said the solution to the excesses of Hindutva lies in building intellectual capacity of all sections of the Pakistani society. Prof Dr Lubna A Ali spoke about the death of democracy in India due to institutionalization of Hindutva based on exclusionary politics that led to the transformation of Indian state and society in fundamental ways.

Prof Arie W Kruglanski, University of Maryland, USA, explored the psychological genesis of Hindutva and described the three pillars of radicalization: need, narrative, and network. He highlighted the demonization of Muslims and rewriting of history underpinning the Hindutva narrative.

In the conference, Prof Qiu Yonghui, Sichuan University (PRC), Prof Mohd Mizan, Naif Arab University for Security Sciences (KSA), Dr Shanthikumar Hettiarachchi, University of Colombo (Sri Lanka), Nishchal Pandey, Director CSAS (Nepal), Michael Kugelman, Wilson Center (USA), Prof Omid Babelian, University of Tehran (Iran) and other eminent academicians, scholars and ambassadors deliberated upon the growing Hindu nationalism in India and its impact on the region. The conference was attended by national and international academics, scholars, researchers, policy makers, media personnel and civil society and the media.