Otherness in India

Radicalism has touched new intolerable heights in India. The campaign on the part of Hindu extremists in the state of Karnataka to drown the voice of Azaan by amplifying Hindu jingles and songs is disgusting. This simply proves that the cherished doctrine of secularism in India is on the death bed, and a sense of otherness and profiling are digging deep into the society. This intolerant culture is a grave threat not only to the peaceful survival of minorities, but also to the polity of India. The rise of right-wing Hindu groups under the patronage of the ruling BJP – and their assertiveness in state policy affairs – has changed India for all times to come. What reigns in a billion-plus heterogeneous society is revulsion, fear and segregation.

The reprehensive move found a cue from Sri Ram Sena chief, Pramod Muthalik, who played to the gallery by inciting his followers to go over the brink. It is reported that more than 1,000 mosques in the beleaguered state are under this vilification campaign, and Muslims are being pushed to the wall. Similar policies by the RSS and BJP elsewhere in the country have literally marginalised the society under the grip of Hindutva. Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar, UP, Jharkhand, Gujarat and Maharashtra are other notable states where cohesion is on decline, clashes with Muslims is the order of the day and minorities, including Sikhs and Christians, are repeatedly on the receiving end.

The Karnataka stunt is in need of being condemned, and the world community should take note of it. Pakistan’s Foreign Office has rightly pointed out the rising Islamophobia trends in India. It is an existential threat to more than 250 million Muslims in India, and at the same time haunts regional coexistence. Recourse to religious freedom is an enshrined fundamental right and what the government of India is practising today is apartheid and profiling on the basis of faith. This exclusionary activity of unleashing extremist goons on peaceful minorities is tantamount to state terrorism. And, unfortunately, India has been doing it in Kashmir for the last seven decades. It’s high time for the egalitarian sections of Indian society to come forward and call a spade a spade. This deep-rooted anti-Muslim prejudice must come to an end.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 12^th, 2022.

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