Sowaiba mehmood - India self-recognizes as the big gest secular democracy. The beauty of India is its diversi- - ty of cultures and religions;79.8% Hindus, 14.2% Muslims, 2.3% Christians, and 1.7% Sikhs others are Zoroastrians, Jews, Jains, Buddhists, Baha’is, and other traditional groups, however, itsbeauty is compromised now. India was established with a secular constitution. But after BJP,the tables have turned. The previous secularism of India has beenmoldedinto Hindutva-centric through amendments and brutal policies.
BJP is aHindu-dominated party. They show hatred for minorities and much morespecificallyagainst Muslims, Christians, and Dalits. This aggressive advocation of Hindutva ideology buriedthe secularism of India into a sepulcher. BJP introduced laws and policies that exacerbate the insecurity and intolerance for minorities. UAPA, FCRA, NRC, and CAA 2019 have compromised the rights of minorities and NGOs who speak for minorities’ rights. Shelter and health care are the primary needs of a human being, but BJP is snatching these fundamental needs from minorities. BJP introduced an inhumane policy that can be referred to as the ‘Bulldozer Policy’.
The extremity of ruthlessness is, if any action of any individual is unacceptable to BJP, in retaliation, they bulldoze their properties. Muslims involved in protests against Nupur Sharma, Hanuman Jayanti & Ram Navami procession got their homes demolished. BJP has crossed the limits of exploiting humanity, they don’t provide medical facilities to the vocals of minorities in jails. 84-year-old Priest, Stan Swamy, Dalit rights activist Vernon Gonsalvez, Muslim student activist Atik-Ur-Rehman, and Adivasi-Dalit rights activist GN Saibaba, all died in prisons because of lack of medical treatment. It’s evident that BJP shamelessly violates the dignity of a human being.
They not only marginalized minorities but also their proponents and democratic-minded people. Siddique Kappan was arrested in October 2020 while covering a rape case of a Dalit girl and was not released despite getting bail in September 2022, just because he was vocal about the rights of harmless minorities. BJP has systematically introduced discriminatory policies post-2019. Policy decisions such as the abrogation of Articles 370& 35A; handed victory to Hindu nationalists regarding the historic case of Babri mosque; and 11 rapists of Bilkis Bano who murdered 14 family members including infants in the Gujarat genocide in 2002, were released on the pretext of the ‘Good Behavior’. The question is, would they do the same if the convicts were non-Hindus and the victims were non-Muslims?Hindu-Muslim differenceshave long been a bone of contention in India, but nowit has gained the state’s patronage.
The intense bigotry for Muslims can be estimated by Modi’s statement implying that Indian Muslims should be held responsible and punished for the alleged crimes committed by their ‘ancestors’. Hindu nationalistsburn mosques and make provocative slogans outside of Muslims’ belongings.
In Ramzan,neither theyallow Muslims to offer their Taraweeh prayers in mosques nor even in homes, and penetrate their houses and beat them. Similarly,churches are being demolished and Sunday prayers are disrupted and beaten up, mostly assisted by the police. United Christian Forum has reported over 460 cases of violence against Christians in 2021. Ultimately there is no religious freedom in India. The anti-conversion laws which are being practiced in Hindu majority statecreatequestion marks onthe religious freedomand the secular ideology of India. Thisaffects inter-faith marriages and to prohibit them, they amend the Freedom of Religion Bill in the Gujarat Assembly.
Moreover, 20 states consider cow slaughteringa crime. The problembegins with the implementation of this law on Non- Hindus. In 2021&22,most deaths and injuries in Jammu&Kashmir, Tripura, Rajasthan, Bihar, UP, and Delhi are reported because of cow slaughtering.BJP lynch minorities regarding cow affairs however, India itself is one of the biggest beef exporters in the world, unveiling their hate, hypocrisy, and prejudice.
It seems theydon’t protect faith but they don’t tolerate minorities. Approaching an unescapable conclusion, the beauty of India is becoming its tumor. The barbarian policies of the Modi Regime will become the termite for India. India is not a democracy anymore but an illiberal ethnic democracy. Since no country can be a democracy if it is created for one religion. Their policies consider the religious practices, food habits, homes, properties, andbusinesses of minorities as crimes that are out of the world. Indian genocidal policies don’t let minorities live.
How Hindu nationalists made Modi a prophet and consider blasphemy to say a word against him is speechless. The hate speeches of Hindu nationalists and BJP leaders to urge the public to genocide against minorities are condemnable.Here the silence of other democratic nation-states is abig question mark. If BJP continues to rule, the secular democracy will implode and turn into a chaotic state of affairs.
