ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi Wednesday said that India was falling in the pitfalls of extremism and polarisation internally while its relations with the neighbouring countries including Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Nepal had deteriorated because of its hegemonic designs.
The President was addressing a seminar, “Understanding Hindutva Mindset and Indian Hegemonic Aspirations,” organised by India Study Centre, Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI), which was also addressed by Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Shibli Faraz besides noted foreign policy experts in two separate sessions on “Mapping Hindutva Mindset” and “Hindutva: Rise of Saffron Terrorism in South Asia.”
“India is falling into pitfalls of extremism, hatred and polarization. Resultantly, it is becoming an exclusive society,” Dr Alvi said, adding that India neither cares about its own minorities nor its neighbours.
He stated that the ideology of Hindutva had totally captured the Indian society as it was becoming increasingly exploitative.
Referring to the controversial National Register of Citizens and the Citizenship Amendment Act, he said that the legislation was aimed at isolating the Muslims, which were around 15 percent of the Indian population.
He regretted the victimisation of minorities especially the Muslims in India, adding that the Muslims there had not been given due representation in the political setup.
“India is also arming itself to [the] teeth as it is procuring latest weapon systems. All of this when linked with Hindutva ideology presents Pakistan with a very dangerous situation,” he added.
He said that India had opposed Pakistan in every international forum, including the FATF and the United Nations.
He said India was pursuing a dangerous and belligerent course which posed a threat to regional peace and security.
The president stated that the chances of the reversal of current rise of Hindu nationalism were bleak at the moment.
“I am optimistic that Pakistan is at the threshold of becoming a power, but for that to happen, ensuring economic strength is important,” he asserted, adding that Pakistan was becoming an inclusive society.
He said Pakistan had successfully come out of all the challenges, and it was on the threshold of becoming a great nation.
“We can get our place in the world only through a stable economy,” he said, adding that successive governments in the past had shown irresponsibility towards the economy.
He added that corrupt people had looted the country, and they caused damages to the country by making “wrong” decisions.
In his address, Shibli Faraz stated Modi’s Hindutva ideology was transitioning India to the biggest fascist regime of the world for it was based on discrimination, hatred, and superiority.
Highlighting the indifferent attitude of the world towards India, he added that such actions have emboldened India to carry out its Hindutva designs through the Citizenship Act, atrocities in Kashmir, its attitude towards minorities, and its terrorist activities to destabilise Pakistan. He said that Pakistan presented its perspective on regional issues on the basis of facts, whereas, India distorted facts and spread false propaganda against Pakistan.
He said this had been vindicated in a recent report by the EU DisinfoLab.
He regretted that the world was acting as a silent spectator on Indian actions.
While chairing the first session, Ambassador (retired) Jalil Abbas Jilani stressed upon the emergence of Hindutva mindset and its implications for not only India’s polity but also for the immediate neighborhood.
Contextualizing the rise of RSS-BJP, Dr Khurram Iqbal maintained that the apologists of Hindutva say that this ideology was nationalistic in its view.
However, this is far from truth, he said, adding that Hindutva ideology was prone to violence, was expansionist, and was a threat to not only Muslims, but to all other minorities in India.
Former ambassador Asif Durrani noted that the RSS thinks that India has been ruled over by outsiders and thus it is time for Hindus to take over.
He further said that in today’s India, BJP was writing a new and biased history, criminalising Muslims and all non-Hindu communities.
Chairing the second session, Air Marshal Javaid Ahmed (retired) noted that a modern day version of intolerance was leading India at the moment where it had reached a point of no return. Historically, the ruling parties in India have used the existing fault-lines in the society for their own gains, he added.
Ahmer Bilal Soofi, a noted international lawyer, said that since no attempt was being made by India to conceal identities of crime venues, it became incumbent upon Pakistan to responsibly package such glaring evidence and present it to international community.
“This packaging needs to be changed from exhaustive human rights violation mantra to a more specific criminal liability package,” he said.
Khalid Rehman, director general, Institute of Policy Studies, Islamabad, was of the view that the role of the RSS ideology and consequent Indian involvement in dismemberment of Pakistan was no secret now.
He highlighted many reasons of the rise of RSS-BJP including Modi’s subsequent 12 years rule in Gujarat and post-9/11 increasing trends of Islamophobia across the globe.
Rounding up the seminar, Director General ISSI, Ambassador Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry highlighted the significance of building counter narratives and the role of think tanks in that regard.
Dr Khurram Iqbal, National Defence University, Islamabad; Ambassador Asif Durrani, Islamabad Policy Research Institute; and Khalid Rehman, Director General, Institute of Policy Studies, Islamabad, also shared their opinions on the rising intolerance and hatred towards minorities in India, especially the Muslims.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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