India has gotten itself into a quagmire, brought about as a result of years of fear-mongering and discriminatory policies on the international stage. As the South Asian country tries to cement its perception in foreign affairs as an economic giant capable of leading the region, its government’s bigoted and hateful policies are finally catching up to it.
The backlash heard across the world to the ruling BJP’s leaders’ Islamophobic statements was just the tip of the iceberg—multiple Arab countries have called for a boycott of Indian goods and questioned the Indian foreign ministry in their countries over these statements. More importantly, Indian Muslims have used their constitutional right to assembly to conduct country-wide large protests against the rampant Islamophobia and discrimination perpetrated by the government.
India’s response has not been surprising—to save face on the international front, while crushing dissent internally. To the Arab countries, the Indian government has meekly suggested that the offensive comments made were fringe, whereas internally, the Indian state has mercilessly targeted the Muslim community who raised their voices against the condemn-worthy statements. The Indian government has actively sought to punish and intimidate Muslim activists, with the government in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh bulldozing a young Muslim woman’s house in an act of vendetta, and the Indian police killing two and arresting hundreds in retaliation to protests.
The world cannot turn a blind eye to India’s approach of espousing sensibility and peace on the international front while crushing dissent and targeting minorities within its own borders. The Indian government’s targeting of Muslims occurs at the same time as the formation of the ITU2, a new bloc which includes the United States, India, Israel and the United Arab Emirates, which means effectively this grouping includes at least two countries with a record of actively persecuting the Muslim population. It is hoped that the Muslim world’s new zeal that spurred in the wake of the Islamophobic statements doesn’t die out and this bloc is called out for being severely problematic.
The backlash heard across the world to the ruling BJP’s leaders’ Islamophobic statements was just the tip of the iceberg—multiple Arab countries have called for a boycott of Indian goods and questioned the Indian foreign ministry in their countries over these statements. More importantly, Indian Muslims have used their constitutional right to assembly to conduct country-wide large protests against the rampant Islamophobia and discrimination perpetrated by the government.
India’s response has not been surprising—to save face on the international front, while crushing dissent internally. To the Arab countries, the Indian government has meekly suggested that the offensive comments made were fringe, whereas internally, the Indian state has mercilessly targeted the Muslim community who raised their voices against the condemn-worthy statements. The Indian government has actively sought to punish and intimidate Muslim activists, with the government in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh bulldozing a young Muslim woman’s house in an act of vendetta, and the Indian police killing two and arresting hundreds in retaliation to protests.
The world cannot turn a blind eye to India’s approach of espousing sensibility and peace on the international front while crushing dissent and targeting minorities within its own borders. The Indian government’s targeting of Muslims occurs at the same time as the formation of the ITU2, a new bloc which includes the United States, India, Israel and the United Arab Emirates, which means effectively this grouping includes at least two countries with a record of actively persecuting the Muslim population. It is hoped that the Muslim world’s new zeal that spurred in the wake of the Islamophobic statements doesn’t die out and this bloc is called out for being severely problematic.
