LAHORE - The groups advocating radical Hindu nationalist policies have got emboldened by the BJP’s meteoric rise to power in May, 2014, NPT Chairman Rafique Tarar said yesterday.
The extremists heralded the disintegration of India by laying aside the founding fathers’ calculated ideal of secularism, the NPT chairman held during his presidential address at a special sitting with the topic “The current riotousness of the Shiv Sena, the cunning designs of India and our response”.
He went on to add: “The current spate of violence and riots has shaken the very foundations of the egalitarian and pluralistic society that India has always been boasting of. The victimisation and persecution of other communal minorities by the members of the Hindutwa-oriented organisations under the umbrella of the BJP has once again established the truth of the Quaid-i-Azam’s two-nation theory.”
The event was jointly organised by the Nazaria-i-Pakistan Trust and Pakistan Movement Workers Trust at the Aiwan-i-Karkunan-i-Tehreek-i-Pakistan. Other speakers included the NPT vice chairman Dr Rafique Ahmad, Prof Attaur Rehman, Brig (r) Liaquat Ali Toor, Maj-Gen (r) Rahat Latif, Farooque Khan Azad and Begum Mehnaz Rafi.
Tarar further observed that Islam has taught us to deal with minorities justly, fairly and even generously, while Hinduism is totally devoid of any such religious sanction. The peace and progress of the Southeast Asia, and the whole world of course, depends on the equitable solution of the Kashmir issue, he added.
The former president of Pakistan acclaimed the four-point formula presented by the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in his UN address. He also praised the noble endeavours of Army Chief General Raheel Sharif for the eradication of extremism.
Dr Rafique Ahmad referred to the eternal conflict between the body and spirit, mundane and spirituality. This new phenomenon of intolerance and riotousness on part of the BJP, its political wing RSS and numerous other radical Hindu nationalist organisations calls for deep analytical study and the framing of an effective policy and its implementation, he observed.
Prof Attaur Rehman referred to the current spate of violence perpetrated by the radical Hindu nationalist groups as part of an overall western strategy to degrade and humiliate the Muslims. There has emerged a demand for a beef-ban in India, while in France, the Muslims are being asked to eat pork, as the schools and restaurants won’t have beef or mutton on their menus, he said.
Brig (r) Liaquat Ali Toor observed that Bal Thackeray founded the Shiv Sena, an organisation consisting of Marathi-speaking thugs (criminals). “The British also fought against them. The two-nation theory of the Quaid-i-Azam has proved to be true once again. The lynching of a Muslim for allegedly eating beef, the demolition of the Babari Masjid, the murder of those who criticise the Hindu false beliefs and superstitions, all go to prove the veracity of the two-nation theory,” the speaker said.
Maj-Gen (r) Rahat Latif observed that Pakistan has a battle-hardened army which has always come up to the expectations of the nation. “Our nuclear capabilities and miniature nuclear weapons cover every corner of India and our delivery system is one of the best in the world,” he added.
Farooque Khan Azad opined that Indian PM Narendra Modi might prove to the “Gorbachev” of India and cause its disintegration.
Begum Mehnaz Rafi observed that the Liaquat-Nehru Pact guaranteed the fair treatment of the minorities in both the countries. “The recent developments in India prove that it is no longer a secular state. Our Foreign Office must take appropriate measures to ensure the safety of the 180 million Muslims in India,” she stressed.