BJP’s Hindutva politics and Indian military thinking

Since Modi’s BJP has come to power, the Hindu nationalist ideology has penetrated into the ranks of all state institutions, especially the Indian military, which is now leaning towards the Hindutva-driven politics of the BJP. The Indian military owes its loyalty to the Hindu extremist ruler of India, whose policies have entered a deeply contentious phase.

India’s domestic politics is characterised by a “delusional mindset” which has also influenced the Indian military leadership. In recent years, Indian military’s fallacious remarks about Pakistan and war-provoking statements reflect that the institution supports Modi’s Hindutva-driven political agenda and foreign policy goals. In 2019, when the Indian government revoked Article 370 of the Indian Constitution and removed the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, India’s Army Chief General Bipin Rawat was repeatedly involved in provoking war through irresponsible statements, endangering the peace and stability of the already volatile region under the influence of the Indian government’s war-mongering policies. Continuing this negative trend, last month, yet another proactive statement was issued by Indian military leadership, targeting Pakistan with baseless allegations. This time it was India’s Northern Army Commander, Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi, who said that the Indian Army is ready to execute orders like taking back Azad Kashmir. The top military official’s threatening remarks came in response to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s recent statement which hinted at taking parts of Azad Kashmir.

Dwivedi’s allegation about the presence of terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir and his delusional claim of readiness to take action against Pakistan show that they are following in the footsteps of their political masters, who want to impose their hegemonic designs on regional countries, particularly Pakistan. Also, it is an attempt to divert the world’s attention from the Indian army’s frequent brutalities and human rights violations against innocent Kashmiris, who have been striving for their fundamental rights, including the right to self-determination, for seven decades.

In an attempt to achieve its sinister goals in Kashmir, the Indian government has, over the years, been involved in false-flag operations and making fallacious statements. From fake surgical strikes to mischievous propaganda campaigns and baseless allegations, it is quite obvious that the Indian government and military leadership act in utter desperation emanating from their complete failure to break the will of the Kashmiri people and impose their hegemonic ambitions on the region, particularly Pakistan. In addition, it is a failed attempt to hide their continuous atrocities against the Muslims in Jammu and Kashmir as well as the Muslim minority in India and their human rights record, about which the United Nations has repeatedly expressed deep concerns.

India has been involved in blame-game politics against Pakistan for a long time. Every time, it has been the Indian government that has hatched conspiracies to halt the negotiation process between the two countries, putting regional peace at risk. The Indian military has always supported the aggressive strategic policies of its government, disregarding the consequences of such an aggressive military doctrine.

The Hindu-nationalist ruler of India has been deliberately creating war hysteria against Pakistan. In line with the regressive ideology of their political masters, the Indian military is involved in war-provoking statements, forgetting that any escalation beyond a certain point could trigger an all-out war between the two nuclear-armed coun. The Indian Army should avoid irresponsible rhetoric against Pakistan and come out of the delusional mindset promoted by the BJP.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 17^th, 2022.

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