Daily Times

It is the sheer hypocrisy of India that it tries to act as a propagator of peace, but the reality is that India damages world peace through its actions. There is a huge difference in India’s sayings and actions. On paper, India tries to become the main supporter of peace, but the reality is altogether different. India is a state that damages world peace, and there is much evidence of this reality.

On October 28, 2022, voting was held in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in which Israel was urged to abandon its illegal nuclear weapons. The resolution was supported by the countries of the Arab League, including Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, and Tunisia. The resolution was also supported by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Palestine. Many countries, including Pakistan, cast votes against Israel for possessing nuclear weapons in violation of international law. This resolution was voted on by 152 countries, representing 79 per cent of the world’s population. These countries also passed a resolution in which Israel was urged to abandon its nuclear weapons and become part of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Israel was also urged in the same resolution to give an excess of its nuclear weapons to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for monitoring. Five countries, including America, Canada, and Israel, voted against the resolution. As many as 24 countries abstained from the voting process. They included most of the countries from the European Union, NATO allies, and India. In 2019, both America and Israel also voted against the resolutions in which it was urged that the Middle East should be free of nuclear weapons. India also exposed itself by abstaining from the voting process. India did not vote against them because it did not want to jeopardize its relationship with Israel. Similarly, India doesn’t want to harm its relationship with the Arab countries, so it preferred to abstain from the voting process. India has indirectly supported Israel and its aggressive policies that are now being applied in India-held Kashmir. India is repeating the same episode in Kashmir that Israel did in Gaza. Recently, another resolution was also moved in the United Nations against the visit of an extremist Israeli minister to Al Aqsa Mosque. The visit was arranged against the wishes of Palestinians. The resolution to condemn the illegal occupation of Israeli forces in Palestine was passed with a majority in the United Nations. Pakistan, the UAE, China, Russia, and some other Muslim countries voted in the favor of the resolution. As many as 87 votes were cast in favour of the resolution while 26 were cast against it and 53 countries abstained from the voting. India also abstained from voting, further exposing itself to the world. The role of India in world peace is now in doubt as it didn’t condemn the atrocities of Israel in Palestine. India is repeating the atrocities of Israeli forces in occupied Kashmir. It has turned the entire occupied state of Kashmir into a jail, which is a violation of human rights.

The Modi government has turned Kashmir into the world’s largest prison, where human rights are being violated daily. The daughters are not safe. Mothers are not safe in Kashmir since Modi took the reins of India.

India is also religiously following the ideology of Hindutva against Muslims. In the Indian state of Uttarakhand, attempts are being made to displace the Muslim population from the state. A large number of bulldozers have been sent to Uttarakhand state to displace 50,000 Muslims living there. The international community must take action against India, where the minorities are not safe and nuclear weapons are also in danger. A few months ago, a missile was fired from India and landed in Pakistan, but no damage was caused by it. India had termed the incident an ‘accidental launch’ while also terminating its three air force officers. It is sheer negligence on the part of India to deal with such sensitive weapons that may cause the deaths of millions of people.

Now, the time has come for the international community to take prompt action against India’s irresponsible behaviour in handling nuclear weapons. How is it possible that a missile was fired at a neighbouring country, but the high officials remained unaware of anything? Only low-ranking officials were made scapegoats to downplay the incident. It is the right time that international organizations should stand up and take stern action against India for violating basic human rights. How can they forget India’s human rights violations in Kashmir since Modi’s arrival?

The Modi government has turned Kashmir into the world’s largest prison, where human rights are being violated daily. The daughters are not safe. Mothers are not safe in Kashmir since Modi took the reins of India. Now, the Modi administration is mishandling nuclear weapons while endangering world peace. The butcher of Gujarat has become a threat to world peace due to his narrow-minded policies, and therefore it is time for all the international institutions to stand up against Modi in the larger interest of global peace. The international community must play its role in preventing nuclear weapons from reaching the Hindutva goons.

The writer is an old Aitchisonian who believes in freedom of expression, a freelance columnist, entrepreneur and social activist.