India’s unending efforts to malign Pakistan are no secret. The government in New Delhi leaves no stone unturned to portray Pakistan as a rogue country without even bothering to look at its own track record, and as to how it is currently dealing with the fissures of communalism at home. What is happening in Udaipur and elsewhere, as Hindu fundamentalists go on a rampage, categorically signals a societal decay. It is an undeniable fact that the sitting political dispensation’s recourse to Hindutva has played havoc with the social fabric of the Indian society, and is ultimately posing threats to regional peace and security. Thus, the blame-game on Pakistan is unwarranted, and Pakistan’s Foreign Office has rightly taken a strong cognizance of the issue.
Indian insinuations linking a Pakistani group to the suspects involved in the murder of a Hindu tailor — who put social media posts in support of the BJP spokeswoman making blasphemous remarks about the Holy Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him) — seems to be a ploy to avoid backlash at home. This is not the first time that New Delhi has tried to find a scapegoat across the border, as this reflects the BJP-RSS vendetta against the Muslims of India, as well as Pakistan. India’s policy to externalise its internal chaos by pointing fingers at regional states is worrisome, as apart from Pakistan, other countries in the neighbourhood like Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and even Maldives are off and on accused of having a bone in India. This is sensationalism at work to buoy extremist Hindu vote banks at the altar of communal harmony and, of course, regional discord.
A stock-taking of what is happening now for years in India reveals that it is the foul-mouthing of RSS-inspired extremist elements that is throwing communal peace to the wind. In doing so, these fanatics are least bothered about the sacrosanct sentiments of other religions, and it has become a fashion to ridicule Islam, in particular. This neo-Islamophobia at work in India is not out of a knee-jerk reaction but part of a detailed plot to fan violence and a sense of perpetual otherness for attaining vested political interests. The victim is the so-called secular system in India, as well as the heterogeneous population that is inching towards marginalisation.
The ruling BJP is responsible for the mess. Had its spokesperson not been spitting fire against the basic tenants of Islam, this situation would not have occurred. It is the government that is pampering extremism. The protests across the state, and in Udaipur, by Muslims were meant to condemn the inflammatory comments and they did so in a peaceful manner. The killing of a Hindu and a video going viral is hybrid warfare against Muslims of India and Pakistan. The point is that India stands cornered in the Muslim world after the recent Islamophobia media trial, and blaming Pakistan was meant for distraction.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 1st, 2022.
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