Daily Times

India’s Republic Day (26 January 1950) marks the date on which the Constitution of India came into effect replacing the Government of India Act (1935) as the governing document of India. Thus, it is celebrated every year with zeal and fervor. The main Republic Day celebration is held in the national capital, New Delhi, at the Rajpath, where the President of India takes the salute. Military contingents march past, a display of India’s arsenal, fly-past and aerobatics by various air force squadrons complete the display.

While this year India will be celebrating numerous achievements under the Narendra Modi government, its people will also bemoan several failures under the BJP watch. The achievements range from making India go digital to enhancing its diplomatic outreach, cleanliness drives, efforts to creating more employment opportunities and tackling sensitive issues like the triple Talaq (divorce under Muslim laws).

2019 is the year for General Elections in India and the Modi government will bend backwards to highlight its achievements in a bid to be re-elected. Indian voters will decide who they elect to govern them but a brief look at the various acts of the Modi government which brought grief to the people of India also need to be mentioned.

The biggest disappointment has been the violation of the Indian Constitution. India’s secularism, which was one of its pillars of strength, was desecrated when the BJP government, lashed out at Indian minorities, wreaking havoc on them while promoting Hindu supremacy. Draconian Laws like the “Ghar Wapsi” program, which called for lower class Hindus, the Dalit who had converted to Islam or Christianity to escape religious discrimination at the hands of upper caste Hindus, were ordered to return to their original faith or face chastisement. Muslims partaking of Beef or selling cow meat were lynched and killed in the name of “Gau Rakshak” (Preservation of Cows). Popular Kashmiri leader Burhan Wani was assassinated on 8 July 2016, when unarmed Kashmiri youth held protest rallies, they were fired upon by pellet guns. Over 250 people have been slaughtered so far while over 3500 have been permanently blinded.

The biggest disappointment has been the violation of the Indian Constitution. India’s secularism, which was one of its pillars of strength, was desecrated when the BJP government, lashed out at Indian minorities, wreaking havoc on them while promoting Hindu supremacy. Draconian Laws like the “Ghar Wapsi” program, which called for lower caste Hindus, the Dalit who had converted to Islam or Christianity to escape religious discrimination at the hands of upper caste Hindus, to return to their original faith or face chastisement

Failing to secure a victory in elections in the Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK), BJP dissolved the constituent assembly and installed the Governor Rule, to abrogate Article 370 of the Indian constitution which gives autonomous status to the state Jammu and Kashmir. Its abrogation will pave the way for amalgamating IOK into Indian territory. Another heinous agenda of the BJP government has been to resettle Hindu Pundits and armed force veterans in IOK in violation of the Indian Constitution, which forbids the permanent settlement of citizens from India into Jammu and Kashmir. The aim is to change the demographics of IOK, so that if the UN Resolutions on Kashmir are followed and a plebiscite does take place then Muslim majority will be turned into a minority. Most Hindus in IOK will willingly vote for accession to India.

The BJP government has been incessantly bombarding across the Line of Control, killing hundreds of Kashmiris and Pakistani soldiers in a bid to pressurize Pakistan. There have been numerous instances of false flag operations in India, where military installations have been attacked while Pakistan has been blamed for the heinous assaults. A fake surgical strike operation was also launched by Indian Special Forces against imaginary targets living in Pakistan. The veracity of the attack was exposed by Indian media itself.

India conceded the initiative to Pakistan Moreover, Pakistan decided to open the Kartarpur Corridor for Sikhs to visit their holy sites on occasion of the 550th anniversary of Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh faith. Indian intelligence agency RAW had established training centers in Afghanistan to destabilize Pakistan. Attempts to sabotage China Pakistan Economic Corridor and incite Balochis to rebellion was exposed by RAW operative Kulbhushan Jadhav. The rise of Taliban has neutralized Indian efforts because if the Taliban regain power in government, they would perceive India with animosity since it sided with the Northern Alliance, which was inimical to the Taliban.

There has been concerted effort to change the names of cities and venues having Muslim names with Hindu ones. This move has also not been received favourably by most Indians. The harsh treatment of the Indian minorities has been viewed with disgust by Indian and international intellectuals. Over fifty-eight Indians returned their government awards in protest. Around thousand international academics and litterateurs have sent a petition to Narendra Modi to cease the undue persecution of Indian minorities.

This Republic Day, Narendra Modi will have to carefully weigh his options prior to the elections. Does he want to win votes by energizing the Saffron Brigade to continue its hate campaign against Indian minorities to woo the Hindu extremist vote-bank or adopt a moderate approach. The choice is Modi’s to select what legacy he wishes to leave behind.

The writer is a retired Group Captain of PAF. He is a columnist, analyst and TV talk show host

Published in Daily Times, January 26^th 2019.