Daily Times

Secular India was the dream project once every moderate and progressive Pakistani envies of its success on the eastern neighborhood of its border. The idea of secular India more often reverberates in every nook and cranny of Pakistan’s polity from parliamentary debates to the vendor-wala talks always tend to seek the guiding formula for a successful democratic transition in Pakistan. Why democracy succeeded in India and failed in Pakistan was the most frequently asked question among the most informed circles of the country.

The plethora of comparative research had been conducted in Pakistan aimed to make comparisons of the sociopolitical structures of two neighboring nations, legions of books were written reflected the remarkable consolidation of democracy in Indian social fabric, editorials appeared almost every other day taking considerable spaces in county’s largest newspapers evolving around Indian polity, prime time debates on News channels and students debated the issue in educational institutions suggesting the way forward Pakistan ought to develop following the Indian transition to democracy and learn to establish democratic institutions following the Indian Model.

The democratic equilibrium had been so perfectly placed in India that no institution, no matter how powerful and big it is has ever tended to supersede its due role enshrined in the constitution. India, however, continued to rank amongst the world’s most successful democracies and to its size the largest democracy of the world. Pakistan, an arch rival neighbor with its own deferred dreams of democracy just looked at the improved credentials of India with each passing day as the most reputable democracy not just in the region but the world.

Stable Indian political system further buttressed by the explosive economic growth with one of world’s top largest GDPs, multiculturalism and diversity, vibrant civil society, and religious harmony turned India into a great force to be reckoned with. Indian ambitions in aerospace and itsgrowing competitiveness in the field of cutting-edge technology from the Silicon Valley to the gulf region helped strengthened its economic, strategic and diplomatic footings across the world.

The West remained kind towards the largest and the most credible liberal ally in the most dynamic region of Asia and kept throwing its full weight behind India by means of strategic and economic deals, even in some cases laws were amended to appease India as the nonproliferation concession has been extended to India through Indo-US nuclear deal, other involved Indo-US Logistics Support Agreement, Indo-Japan nuclear deal, endorsing Indian bid to join the elite club of Nuclear Supplier Group, to support Indian quest to become the permanent member of UN Security Council and permitting strategic space for India to make its ways of influence in Afghanistan.

The long-contested territorial dispute with neighboring Pakistan vis-à-vis Kashmir which cause nuanced to New Delhi for long time no longer troubled India and seems to be lost in the deafening roar of Indian soft power of Information and technology, glamour of Bollywood and high brand value of Indian Premiere League worth $5.3 billion in 2017 alone.

India, however with perfect subtlety some what managed to expunge the agenda of Kashmir from the International memory. The Kashmir of late was buried under the Indian economic might and seems to no longer have the issue to be concerned with. Pakistan’s fractured foreign policy also contributed a great deal to put the issue of Kashmir on the backburner.

While India has been making wonders to make its space as an emerging power house in the comity of nations at the same time things took a dangerous turn. And in 2014, instead of a Star, this time Hindu Populist, Narendra Modi was born. The nation that looked so confident secular, civic and tolerant have changed the mood altogether and the secular India which has largely been viewed globally as the rising power seized to exist at once and the secularism was replaced with Hindu nationalism.

Today’s India led by the forces of instability is nothing short of a Hindu-nationalist dream and has become the face of Hindutva ideology seeking the Hindu supremacy to convert India into the Hindu Republic of Akhand Bharat

Shortly after the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under the premiership of Narendra Modi took charge of a country and a new chapter of Indian politics has just begun. The nation was held hostage by the forces of extremism ever since. The country had seen an unprecedented growing climate of intolerance and violence. The division following the communal lines was beginning to appear.

A period followed of arbitrary government threatening and harassing those critical to the policies of the ruling party. The civic space largely seemed to shrink to the degree that outspoken voices like Gauri Lankesh who termed the BJP’s government, “fascist and communal politics” were assassinated soon after. The phrase anti-national appears to be the most effective tool touting against all those who refuse to kowtow the state narrative. The women journalist considered to be critical to the ruling party threatened with the rape and assault by the radical Hindu nationalists.

Increased mob lynching and cow vigilantism in the first term of BJP drew the sharp attention of the international community including the U.S. state department and United Nations Human Rights Chief Michele Bachelet issued warning to India of its “divisive policies” and raised serious concerns for endangered prospects of minorities specially Muslims living under the Narendra Modi’s government.

Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal lambasted the government policies saying, that the country is being converted into religious orthodoxy and its secular non-violent fabric being distorted. Following the growing culture of lynching and vigilantism, the law and order situation was largely undermined all across the India. Modi’s economic agenda also fell apart as his bad governance turned the Asia’s third biggest economy into the worst performance economy growing at its slowest pace in over six years.

A strong anti-Muslim prejudice was being manifested in the only Indian administered Muslim-majority territory of Kashmir and chaos was imported in the valley. Modi however systematically fuelled the insurgency in the semi-autonomous region through the masculine approach involving the tightening grip of the valley through the naked force of power. The mantra shortly after began to backfire resulted in an increased civil unrest in the valley and anti-Indian sentiments grew stronger which led to the Pulwama attack.

Instead of reorienting his hard approach towards the people of Kashmir in the valley, in the backdrop of Pulwama attack, Modi conveniently shifted the onus of attack on Pakistan, however manipulated the national sentiments into electoral strength in order to win the forthcoming election. The narcissist, Modi therefore launched the airstrikes against the nuclear South Asian rival ignoring the fact that a small nuclear war would be an unprecedented catastrophe for the region.

In retrospect, it has been unprecedented in secular India to exploit the national security and the Indian armed forces to advance the political agendas. The Indian democratic institutions, once the pillar of the state stand helplessly and watch the institutions politicized and seemingly losing the credibility.

Despite many failures to deliver and to pervert the Indian ambition of rising power, the people of India unscrupulously granted yet another lease of life to the Hindu Nationalist forces reminded of American president Franklin Roosevelt who once said, democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy is education.

Modi however emboldened by his heavy mandate, ultimately played with the fire by revoking the semi-autonomous status of Indian Held Kashmir to which Shashi Tharoor described as legislative Authoritarianism. Modi’s consequential decision over the issues of Kashmir which remained dormant for decades has gone global in just a short respite of time. The two nation theory which was drowned in the Bay of Bengal long time back resurrected vigorously.The leadership in Kashmir whose ancestors acceded to the India believing that Pakistan was determined to become a theocracy now greatly regrets decision their forefather made.

Today’s India led by the forces of instability is nothing short of a Hindu-nationalist dream and has become the face of Hindutva ideology seeking the Hindu supremacy to convert India into the Hindu Republic of Akhand Bharat. The Modi’s Hindutvaideology that pursues the Hindu dominance over other minorities has the strong implications. India has to bear the political, social and cultural consequences in years to come. The Indians defending today the self-destruction of their own culture, economy, society and the prospects of livelihoods will soon realize the lasting damage Modi did to the Indian democracy. This for surewas not the India Progressive Pakistani envies.

The writes can be reached at ranasarfraz3417@gmail.com