By Nadeem Abbas
A BBC documentary, ‘India: The Modi Question,’ looks at “the tensions between India’s PM Narendra Modi and the country’s Muslim minority”, as well as probe claims concerning his role in the large-scale communal violence that erupted in Gujarat in the months of February and March, in 2002 that left over a thousand dead, hundreds missing. The report reveals the state level impunity created the environment for the violence to take place.
Former British Foreign Secretary Straw told the BBC that these were serious claims that then CM Modi played an active part in pulling back the police and in tacitly encouraging the Hindu extremists.
With the launching of Modi by BJP in Gujarat, the culture war heats up between Liberal and religious Hindu right, partially represented by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The right-wingers labelled as Hindutva advocate India is primarily a Hindu state and the Muslim
rulers forcefully turned the native to Islam and now they want all foreigners should either move back to central Asia or they should accept Hinduism.
Now the lynching of Muslims is common, every day, Indian Muslims find themselves under attack and living in fear, as hate speech are all but commonplace in the country.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has been a prominent force in propagating Hindu nationalism at home. Established in 1964, the organisation’s objective is to “organise-consolidate the Hindu society”. According to their official website, the VHP’s efforts are
primarily focused on issues such as Gau Raksha (cattle protection),“religious conversion of Hindus by the Christian church, Islamic terrorism, Bangladeshi Muslim infiltration” and temple construction. Hindu nationalists believe that majority mosques were built by destroying temples by the Muslim rulers.
Though liberal Hindus are raising voices against Hindutva rise but during Modi govt such voices are being labeled as foreign agents.
The political analysts believe that India is committing mistakes which Pakistan did in 1980s during General Zia regime when Pakistan’s progressive image was changed into so called Islamic state as a results Pakistan indulged in jehad and fights started between various sections as a result investors move away from the country and since then Pakistan is on the verge of default socially and economically. India’s forefathers Gandhi and Nehru laid the
foundation of India as the largest democracy of the world by promising equal rights for all minorities of the society. When Mr Jinnah was demanding Muslim state on linguistic grounds, Mr Gandhi was advocating that all nations will enjoy due rights even after the freedom from English. Owing to Mr Gandh’s assurance many Muslim scholars and writers namely Abul Kalam Azad endorsed his idea and always supported one India policy but now
after a period of 70 years, with the rise of Hindutva, political experts believe that Mr Jinnah’s apprehensions proved true that in Hindu state, Muslims rights will not be protected and it will be difficult for them to live there peacefully.
