Daily Times

In the 21st century, Muslims are not safe in many parts of the world.They also do not feel safe in the world’s biggest democratic state, India, which has, unfortunately, come under the rule of those who worship “saffronism” and consider itan ideology.

To portray a vivid concept of Saffronism,it is essential tolook at the background of Hindutva. It is held accountable for the actions of theextremistparivar(family) of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The term “Hindutva” has been derived from two footings: Hindu and tattva,which means Hindu principles. Hindutva was constructed in 1923, theleading proponent of which wasVinayak Damodar Savarkar(1883-1966). He promotedthe ideology of seeking hegemony of Hindus and the Hindu way of life.

The followers of Hindutva instigated hatred and violence through their extremist propaganda in order to suppress Muslim and Christian minorities to attain Hindu dominance. According to Hindutva teachings, to be an Indian means to be a Hindu. It is evident that there is no place for another religion or minority to live an independent life in Hindutva.

Another extremist minded proponent of Hindutva,Keshav BaliramHedgewar, (1890-1940), revived the vicious concept of Hindutva under the name of RSS in 1925. They promulgated the slogan “One nation, one culture, one race, one religion,” which is Hinduism.

This group contains subgroups like the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal, Shiv Sena, and a few other smaller regional groups. They are the core believers and followers of the Hindutva ideology. The RSS rose as the side growth of the Mahasabha (Indian assembly) but developed its own individuality later.

Hindutva emerged as an exclusivist racial concept that only religious communities of India that originated from the Indian soil were part of India. Setting aside the ideological impression of a secular India, Hindutva and its followers have waged strong hostility against the minorities existing in India.

Another important aspect of the birth of the Hindutva ideology was to establish hegemony of Hindus and their legacy in India. All the groups associated with the Hindutva ideology sought to establish and impose hegemony in the region on the basis of religion and race, and the same policy is being used by the BJP under Narendra Modi.

Religion and democracy have been seen together since independence in India. During the course of history, the idea of Hindu majoritarianism has been a constant. Hindutva politics has influenced the course of India’s economy, foreign policy and dynamics towards its neighbouring countries. Hindu nationalism has been playing a significant role in India’s democracy under the political leadership of the BJP. Hindutva has been used as a creed to get political control over the nation. The vivid face of Hindutva politics was seen during the Gujarat riots in 2002,in which hundreds of Muslims were massacred. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat.

Though it was a social organisation and had influenced many political parties, especiallythe BJP, RSS was the biggest Hindu based organisation. After getting the support of the BJP, the Sangh organisation started to flourish, hence becoming a threat for minorities. It poses a threat to India’s secular posture.

Many questions are raised when we look at the activities of the extremist organisation, RSS andthe political party,BJP. a) How Hindutva-led Indian politics has affected the policy formation of India towards Pakistan? b) What would be the future prospects of Hindutva-led Indian politics? One of the most important questions is how India has been compromising secularism on the basis of Hindutva.

Hindutva emerged as an exclusivist racial concept that only religious communities of India that originated from the Indian soil were part of India

India claimsto be a secular state, but it has been almostseven months since India revoked Article 370 and 35A of its constitution and brought the Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir under its jurisdiction. Kashmir has been under curfew, communication and media blackout,and atrocities against minorities is the daily routine business of the Indian forces in Kashmir under the BJP leadership.That negates the definition of being a secular state and contradicts with thebehaviour of a secular state.

Secularism does not deny the importance of religion, and it has nothing to do with law making.Religious institutions are accounted separately from the state. Secular states do not discriminate or judge people on the basis of religion or religious beliefs. Modi and the BJP leadership have gone against every tenet of secularisation. India is facing dire consequences of BJP’s Hindutva based policies in its political, economic and diplomatic spheres.

President Donald J Trump’srecent visit to India vividly depicts that for the USit is fine that Muslims are being lynched,or if they die proving their loyalty toIndia. The question of protection and preservation of human rightsare only for the west and the white supremacists.

Indian radical political elites are implementing offensivetactics for their vested interests and aims. Making it simpler,Modi’s employment of fascism and offensive realism in his policies shows his zeal towards dominance and hegemony in South Asia. In John Mearsheimer’s offensive realism, states behave aggressively, and chances of conflicts are higher because states want power. It is an intrinsic characteristic of human nature to be strong and dominant, and gain power. States ultimately face security dilemmas or security-insecurity paradox respectively.

Suffice it to say that international community has witnessed every aggressive stance taken by India. The belligerent neighbour created security problems for the whole region.At the time of the Pulwama incident, both the states were at the brink of a nuclear war. These are the repercussions of being offensive.

India has faced failure inemploying booby traps for Pakistan, either in form of hard or soft power or in the form of proxies of spies. Kulbushan Jadhav is one example. India never had the intention to cooperate with any state in the region. It tried to threatenPakistan from northwest and east in order to destabilise its economy after its huge success in the war on terror. Why India is investing billions of dollars in Afghanistan, it is evident that it is trying to construct the Mandala Circle, a profound theory and strategy of Chanakya Kautilya. But they have failed to make it happen because Afghanistan pays tribute to Pakistan for the successful truce between the Afghan Taliban and the United States. The Afghan truce could never have been materialised without the tireless efforts of Pakistan’s military and political leadership.

The writer is a freelancer