The BJP government’s recent admission concerning India’s failed strikes in Balakot has come at a time when the election debate India has become deeply polarized on ethnic and religious lines. BJP’s government recently admitted that Indian airstrikes in Pakistan didn’t kill any civilian or soldier. This is surely going to cost BJP’s government at the polls: the latest admission is another setback for Modi’s government that has been appeasing right-wing Hindu nationalists by making claims of punishing Pakistan.
While this vindicates Pakistan’s longstanding position, there are fears that the government of the BJP is going to push ahead with its agenda of targeting minority communities in India not only to conceal its recent military failure with Pakistan but also to prove that the party truly stands with the idea of right-wing Hindu nationalism.
Understandably, after the last month’s military debacle with Pakistan, Modi’s only way forward is to further endorse Hindu extremism in Indian politics and make the election a choice between Hindu identity and other minority communities particularly Muslims. There is enough evidence to support this argument that a consolidated effort is being carried out by BJP to color the ongoing election as a choice between the Hindu population and the rest. Some of the recent claims made by BJP’s politicians actually amount to proposing genocide and ethnic cleansing of minority communities living in India, particularly Muslims. “We will ensure implementation of NRC in the entire country. We will remove every single infiltrator from the country, except Buddha, Hindus, and Sikhs,” said BJP’s president Amit Shah in an apparent swipe at Muslims.
BJP has long been accused of carrying an anti-Muslim agenda. Moreover, it’s very seldom that the party’s position to bring Hindu nationalism at the center of Indian politics is criticized by the country’s courts or other institutions. On the other hand, BJP and its support base have sought to label its critics as “anti-nationals -effectively as anti-Indian – or as in league with Pakistan.
The ongoing election in India has also shown that parties and leaders that have talked about Modi’s agenda of dividing India into religious lines have not only been targeted by the BJP but institutions in power have accused them of mixing politics with religion. It’s ludicrous that recently the Congress’s leader, Navjeet Singh Sidhu, was issued a notice by the Election Commission for his appeal to Muslims to vote unitedly to defeat Modi. On the other hand, however, BJP’s electoral promises to ‘consider a Muslim ban in India’ and its leader’s claims of destroying Babri Mosque have not received any notices from the Election Commission. “I myself demolished Babri structure in Ayodhya. I stood up on the structure, demolished it. It was a national shame.
Clearly, fear and violence are a new normal in Indian politics which is a worrying sign as right-wing populism is taking over democratic and progressive politics globally. There are also fears that BJP will double down on its efforts and debates to undercut Muslim minorities role in Indian politics
I myself finished off this national shame. I am proud of it,” said BJP’s leader, Sadhvi Pragya Thakur. In any civilized country people like SadhviPragya who openly claim massacres of minority communities should be rotting behind the bars. However, in India, she is not only contesting an election but has also confessed her crimes proudly and hopes to attain votes with the claims of destroying structures of another religious community.
At this juncture, it’s important to note that even after a military crisis, the Indian government couldn’t reject Pakistan’s offer to continue the Kartarpur corridor process. Arguably, while Pakistan is interested in reviving peace talks, the country has also successfully neutralized India’s hostile agenda by remaining committed to an initiative which is important for around 20 million Sikh population in India. Even if the Indian government wanted to cancel the Kartarpur initiative, they couldn’t for doing so not only cost them at the ongoing polls but also create fissures in Indian politics on religious and ethnic lines.
However, it’s expected that India may halt the process after the ongoing election cycle is over in the country. Indian minority communities such as Sikhs need to see the real face of the BJP which is even using an issue like Kartarpur for political gains. It’s important that India continues the process when the new government comes in as the process is important for regional peace and stability.
Clearly, fear and violence are a new normal in Indian politics which is a worrying sign as right-wing populism is taking over democratic and progressive politics globally. There are also fears that BJP will double down on its efforts and debates to undercut Muslim minorities role in Indian politics. Regardless of who wins in India, Modi’s majoritarian politics is expected to bring doom to India democratic identity.
The world needs to take note of the rising Hindu nationalism in India which is a threat for regional peace and security.
The writer is a freelance journalist and a correspondent for The Diplomat, based in Lahore