Modi-led Terrorism against Muslims on ‘International Radar’
By Sajjad Shaukat
In his book, “Politics Among Nations”, renowned thinker, Hans J. 
Morgenthau opined that external policy of a country should be moulded in accordance “with the exigencies and circumstances of time and place”, otherwise, there will be “failure of the foreign policy.”
But, without bothering for the reaction of the international community, Indian extremist Prime Minister Narendra Modi-the leader of the ruling party BJP has continued sponsoring terrorism against the religious minorities especially Muslims.
In the recent past, while addressing the Nation and the Indian Parliament about the tensions with minorities in India in passing CAA, Prime Minister Modi said: “In India, live like Indian Hindu. Any minority, from anywhere, if they want to live in India, to work and eat in India, they should speak an Indian language like Hindi Gujdrati, Punjabi, Bengali any South Indian language and should respect the Indian laws. If they prefer Sharia Law, and live the life of Muslim’s then we advise them to go to those places where that’s the state law…India does not need Muslim minorities. Such minorities need India, and we will not grant them special privileges, or try to change our laws to fit their desires, no matter how loud they yell “discrimination”. We will not tolerate disrespect of our Vedic Hindu Sanatan culture…The Indian customs and traditions are not compatible with the lack of culture or the primitive ways of Sharia Law and Muslims….When this honorable legislative body thinks of creating new laws, it should have in mind the Indian national interest first, observing that the Muslims minorities are not Indians.”
Premier Modi had got a land sliding victory in the Indian elections of 2014 and 2019 on the basis of anti-Muslim and anti-Pakistan slogans. Therefore, since Modi came to power, he has been implementing anti-Muslim and anti-Pakistan agenda. Besides persecution of Indian Muslims, Modi has also accelerated war-hysteria against Pakistan and instructed Indian forces to continue shelling across the Line of Control (LoC) and Working Boundary, which have killed many innocent civilians inside Pakistani side of Kashmir and other nearby villages.
In fact, Modi is promoting religious fanaticism and the ideology of Hindutva (Hindu nationalism) which is the genesis of Hindu terrorism particularly against Muslims.
In this respect, in its recently released annual report, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recommended that the State Department should designate India as Country of Particular Concern—pushed for imposing targeted sanctions on Indian government agencies and officials responsible for severe violations of religious freedom by freezing those individuals’ assets and/or barring their entry into the US under human rights-related financial and visa authorities.
The USCIRF report said: “In December 2019, parliament passed the CAA…for non-Muslim migrants already in India from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan by treating them as refugees fleeing religious persecution…The CAA…in conjunction with NRC…is a goal outlined in the BJP’s manifesto…this potentially exposes millions of Muslims to detention, deportation and statelessness…cow protection had been promoted by the BJP and the RSS…Lynch mobs, often organised over social media, have attacked minorities—including Muslims, Christians, and Dalits…Since the BJP came to power in 2014, there have been over 100 attacks…often with the police’s complicity, Hindutva groups also conduct campaigns of harassment, social exclusion and violence against religious minorities…in August last year, India stripped the Muslim-majority occupied Jammu and Kashmir of its autonomy and imposed security measures, including restricting freedom of movement and assembly, cutting Internet and phone access, and arresting Kashmiri leaders, including religious leaders”.
It is notable that under the guise of coronavirus, Indian rulers have been imposing various kinds of restrictions on the Muslims. Modi’s government and the health ministry claimed that Muslims are spreading this virus. Hindu extremists have set off a series of assaults against Muslims across the country.
In this context, Western media reported: “Indian authorities had linked cases of COVID-19 to Tablighi Jamaat had held its annual conference in Delhi in early March. Muslims have been beaten up, nearly lynched, run out of their neighborhoods or attacked in mosques…Hindu extremists are scapegoating the country’s entire Muslim population for deliberately spreading the virus through “corona jihad, Indian hospitals segregates Muslim and Hindu coronavirus patients…In what many are calling a case of “apartheid” during a global pandemic…made separate wards for Hindu and Muslim patients. It is a decision of the government”.
The reality is that under the guise of COVID-19, India fanatic entities are pushing Indian Muslims out of informal sector jobs. Muslims are facing a new form of concerted, deliberate economic marginalisation through blatant lies linking the community to the virus. Muslims are being shut out of the formal sector; many Muslims depend on the informal sector and self-employment for their livelihood. These zealots are instructing the Hindus not to buy anything from Muslims’ shops.
In this connection, the Gulf News wrote: “India’s carefully cultivated Gulf policy has been at risk of unraveling over the past fortnight, with the OIC, the Kuwaiti government, a UAE royal princess, and the Arab intelligentsia decrying hate speeches by Indian nationals accusing the Tablighi Jamaat of deliberately exacerbating the coronavirus pandemic as well as a crude tweet by a BJP MP on the sexual impulses of Arab women…it seems that the warnings of the Indian mission have fallen on deaf ears as the list of Indian expats facing action over vile Islamophobic remarks on social media keeps getting longer. At least three more have been suspended after their offensive posts were brought to the attention of employers by social media users. The men join nearly half a dozen hate-mongers who have similarly landed in trouble in recent weeks”.
In this regard, Al Jazeera wrote: “Did those who commit crimes against Muslims in India…think that Muslims will remain silent and do not move politically, legally and economically against them? a statement by the general secretariat of the Kuwait Council of Ministers said…people in the Gulf countries felt outraged over the way Indian Muslims were being blamed for the coronavirus pandemic…the assault by the RSS–the BJP’s parent body–on Muslims is unacceptable and have labelled it a “terrorist” group that should be banned in the Gulf…Kuwait has appealed to the OIC to intervene in India to tackle anti-Muslim sentiment in the country”.
Meanwhile, taking cognizance of Modi-led religious discriminatory policies, the White House has unfollowed Premier Modi on Twitter sending the micro-blogging site into a frenzy over a possible souring of ties between the world leaders. It also unfollowed the Twitter handle of Indian President Ram Nath Kovind, the Prime Minister’s office, as well as, the Indian embassy in the US.
And regarding the spread of COVID-19, WHO head of emergencies, Dr Michael Ryan repeatedly said that “we are assured that this virus is natural in origin.”
Notably, COVID-19 which has affected the entire world does not see race and religion, or borders before targeting any country. But, it is regrettable that in the pretext of coronavirus, Modi-led terrorist outfits BJP, VHP and RSS are leading Hindutva supremacists against Muslims in the occupied Kashmir and across India. In fact, it is primary part of Modi’s belief system to persecute the Indian Muslims. Nonetheless, Modi-led terrorism against the Muslims is, now, on ‘international radar’.
Sajjad Shaukat writes on international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants, Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations
Email: sajjad_logic@yahoo.com
