Rise of ‘Hindu India’

A country born of a two-nation theory, carved out of India and later suffering dismemberment by the hands of India, the fears of Pakistan and its perceived predicaments are understandable, but what is not obvious is why India, a much larger country, must have a hostile antagonist in the form of Pakistan?

It is no secret that the central fulcrum of the entire Indian state remains to be seen as based on an anti-Pakistan ideology ever since the inception of the two countries on the map of the world. However, this has turned into an obsession coarsely acquiring a pathological dimension under the present Indian regime, which thrives on hyper-national and ‘Hindu India’ identity.

With the dramatic advent of BJP, whose legal progenitor happens to be the extremist RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) into Indian politics, and later taking over the reins of power ten years ago of the country (after having had two short stints in power in 1996 and 1998) mainly owes its success using the bogey of Pakistan overwhelming the national discourse in the most shattering manner. However, with the taking over of Modi, 2014 onwards, India saw a sea-change, wherein intellectual obscurantism and religious bigotry were baptized as nationalism, in the process destroying all vestiges of pluralistic ideals and stifling all voices of sanity.

Modi, a gifted demagogue with the bellicosity typical to RSS, making use of his demagogic firebrand speeches and his particularly honed skills in manipulating the press while playing his favourite game of ‘crying Pakistan’ succeeded in hyphenating ‘Pakistan-China’ to his advantage by exciting the emotions of ordinary people.

Any country and its people, notwithstanding the collective wisdom, can be roused by demagoguery and sensationalism to fear imaginary flights from enemies and invasions by outsiders. The sensational school quite naturally produces the demagogic party, and the theological school becomes, quite as naturally, ‘absolutism,’ for in philosophy, it is by skepticism that it undertakes to restore theocracy. He is seen full of braggadocio constantly about his accomplishments and popularity, which he uses as a cover to hide the deeply hidden agenda of ‘Hindutva’ while, in the process, pulverizing all minorities, in particular the Muslims.

As the elections are drawing near, the bogey of Pakistan comes in handy; after all, what could fetch more votes than the firebrand speeches and widespread clamouring against Pakistan?

The narrative on terrorism in India is perforated with accusations and suspicions of waging proxy wars and sponsoring terrorist activities on its soil. The BJP, along with the perfectly synched media, has lauded such concerns every now and then, but the intensity and nature of these messages have increased in recent times. Indian print media is pursuing an all-out confrontational policy towards Pakistan. The spectrum of issues raised in Indian print media conspires to malign Pakistan. Mumbai attack still tops the media’s agenda-setting list to divert the attention of the masses from issues more egregious at home, such as Manipur, Punjab, Kashmir, etc. What they do not recognize is that Pakistan, ironically, is also the worst victim of terrorism. In the period from 2000 to 2019, cumulatively, 80,000, including both civilians and security personnel, were killed in terrorism-related violence in Pakistan. The fact that Pakistan has suffered much more than India – isn’t it enough testimony—what benefit could Pakistan possibly yield from terrorism? Today, Nathuram Godse of RSS, who murdered Mahatma Gandhi, is being celebrated as a hero of Hindu India. The proponents of Indian muscular nationalism who want only a military solution for Kashmir might close their eyes to the killings of some 100,000 Kashmiris and their unending sufferings that constitute the worst form of state terrorism under the garb of nationalism. Can they ignore the gargantuan and un-estimated costs of stationing nearly 6 lacs military, paramilitary, and police personnel for over 35 years? Amidst the cacophony and jingoism by Indian media, the issues of terror incidents such as Samjhota Express and Kulbhushan Yadav, where India has been proven perpetrating and colluding with the terrorists, get vanquished. Pakistan has been providing undeniable evidence of Indian meddling in its internal affairs and using terrorism through non-state actors supporting, aiding, and abetting Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and BLA terrorist activities in Balochistan in addition to carrying out worst state terrorism and violating human rights in Kashmir and more recently in Manipur. One of the reasons why India seems to have her way so completely is due to the fact that Pakistan, following 9/11, has been perpetually beset by many internal and external challenges, besides her media’s defensive approach and its failure to respond with the same noise and clamour.

Perhaps one of the best pictures of Pakistan and possibly representation, if one terms it so, of its realistic stance has come from none other than Mr. Mani Shankar Aiyar (Indian Consul-General in Karachi for four years) in the recent interview by Karan Thapar for The Wire.

“In an extensive interview, Aiyar presents a picture of Pakistan that is just not different to, but almost the polar opposite of, everything Indians have been told about and led to believe of Pakistan. He shatters the false misconceptions and outright lies that colour the traditional Indian perception of our western neighbour… Many of his stories will astound Indian viewers because they speak of a Pakistan we know nothing about. They portray a country that far from being narrow and fundamentalist is fun-loving, welcoming of Indians and Hindus, and where Islamisation has not impinged on the rights of people… a country he has visited 40 times in the last 40 years… considers his second home after India,” says Thapar.

However, during the concluding remarks at the end of the long interview, Aiyar, with a pinch of grief and consternation, admitted that, as of now, he had started to realize that the feelings of the Pakistani people, whom he regarded as not only ‘loving’ but termed them as the biggest ‘asset of India’ were slowly turning rancorous. The reasons for this indignation, according to him, are the pestilential policies pursued by the Modi Government in the last ten years of his rule.

The scenario now is less murky. India, thanks to the warped minds of the BJP stalwarts, has turned into a country steeped in bigotry. Whether it would ever be able to retrace its steps to the pluralistic path is open to conjecture.