A constant wave of violence against minorities in India has been on the rise. From Manipur to Gurugram, minorities in India are bearing the brunt of extremist sentiments. Current Indian Prime minister, Narendra Modi is a member of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and a hard-core Hindutva fanatic. Modi’s rise to power in 2014 has given official impetus to the Hindutva extremist ideology paving the path for anti-minority campaigns. The incomprehensible development in the current situation is the dissemination of hatred against Muslims even in schools.
A video of a seven-year-old boy being slapped by his classmates on order from their teacher in Uttar Pradesh exposes the level of animosity against Muslims in India. The teacher, from her remarks, seems to be using anti-Muslim rhetoric to pump other students into fulfilling her order. The video exposes the level of antipathy disseminated in Indian society against Muslims. The status of India as a secular and democratic state does not go in hand with such incidences occurring on an almost regular basis in various states across India.
A few weeks back, a mosque in Gurugram was torched down along with the killing of a cleric. Prior to the incident, fighting broke out in the Nuh district of Haryana, amidst a procession headed by two Hindu nationalist parties, Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad. The chaos soon filtrated to nearby areas afterwards inciting attacks on Muslim shops and other businesses. Initiatives by other Hindu nationalist parties along with BJP’s extremist rhetoric depict the increasing fanatic nationalistic sentiments in India.
The incomprehensible development in the current situation is the dissemination of hatred against Muslims even in schools.
With upcoming elections in India, incidences of violence against minorities seem to be high. Using anti-minority placards to gather votes has been a persisting trend in India particularly by Hindu nationalist parties like BJP. However, anti-minority sentiments expressed in knowledge hubs such as schools and their employment to fulfil personal derision portray dwindling tolerance in India. After family, school is the next learning place for a child. Anti-Muslim sentiments coming from the mouth of a teacher, particularly in inflicting punishment on a student show the moral degradation of Indian society as a whole.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) explicitly claims supremacy of Hinduism over other religions reinforcing the status of India as a Hindu nation. This claim openly challenges the secular constitution of India. This fantasized idea of Hindu supremacy is creating deep rifts in India’s secular webbing. Incidences of violence against religious and ethnic minorities like Muslims, Christians, Dalits, and Sikhs are rampant in India.
It was just this year that Narendra Modi inaugurated a new parliament building comprising a mural map of India undertaken by Modi’s government. The striking feature resembling Modi’s mental fascination was an undivided Indian subcontinent portrayed on the map. Present-day countries of Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Pakistan and Afghanistan were merged into it. To clarify any misgivings, lawmakers from the BJP upheld the mural for representing Akhand Baharat, an undivided India, part of a Hindu far-right group’s ideological motive. This action disgusted India’s neighbours. An explanation from India was demanded by Bangladesh’s foreign ministry while Nepal’s ex-prime minister Baburam Bhattarai cautioned that this map may ignite an unnecessary and harmful diplomatic fight. The map explicitly demonstrated the extremist nationalistic sentiments ingrained in Hindu nationalist groups and infesting the current government in India under Modi.
According to an analysis by a researcher at the London School of Economics, Indian diplomacy through Indian foreign service is also at risk due to the Hindu nationalistic assertiveness of Modi’s government. A third BJP term will ensure permanent changes to how Indian Foreign Services is culturally deemed and governed. Violence against minorities in India is tarnishing India’s image globally as well as creating fear among the minorities residing there. United Nations experts have condemned the Indian government’s lazy and ineffective response to human rights violations in Manipur embroiled in serious ethnic clashes. With a constant threat from Hindu fanatics and hate speeches against minorities in all parts of India, the despair prevailing there disturbs all.
It is not known how far atrocities against minorities will be tolerated until a complete breakdown occurs. The current situation in India poses a threat to the stability of the entire region. The coalition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) is a ray of hope for the devastating foreseeable future in case of Modi’s other victory. This coalition comprising more than two dozen opposition political parties in India has resolved to contest the 2024 national elections jointly against Narendra Modi. Its major goal is to prevent the BJP from getting hold of the state’s authority for the third time. The coalition is mapping out its plan by sharing seats in various Indian states to prevent the division of votes in favour of the BJP.
The situation in India remains uncertain for minorities in the ensuing fervour from upcoming elections in 2024. It is most pertinent for Modi’s administration to put reigns on their fanatic supporters and hard-core Hindutva followers in the current scenario. Incidences such as the use of hate speech by a primary school teacher to inflict her hatred against a certain religious sect is an eye-opener for all boasting of a secular and democratic India.
The writer is a research intern at the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI)and can be reached at [email protected].