Gandhi was also a strong supporter of global religious pluralism.
ISLAMABAD: The Indian Citizenship law has been challenged and people have started to question the fact that the bill allows immigrants from every major South Asian religion with the exception of Muslims to get the Indian nationality. In defence of secularism, millions have waved copies of the Indian Constitution and raised posters of Mahatma Gandhi.
In October 2, 2019, India celebrated the 150th anniversary of the birth of the “father of the nation.” On that date in 1948, the pioneer of nonviolent resistance, was shot dead in broad daylight by Nathuram Godse, a staunch member of the RSS. This chauvinist group nurtured Modi and 38 out of his 53 ministers. The RSS and likeminded groups have longed for a Hindu nation since India’s independence and critics say the current ruling party works towards that goal. After its re-election in 2019, the BJP crushed the rights of Kashmir and championed a court order allowing a Hindu temple to be built on the site of a centuries-old mosque that was demolished in 1992 by a mob reportedly led by the joint group RSS-BJP and their associates.
Gandhi was also a strong supporter of global religious pluralism. He rejected the partition of the subcontinent. But his opposition to the notion of statehood on the grounds of faith also gained him the animosity of Hindutva elements. The same ideology that assassinated Gandhi is defaming his legacy en route to reshaping India’s socio-political past, present, and future.
Omar Shahkar
Published in The Express Tribune, March 10th, 2020.
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