India which once took pride in its secular image and being the world’s largest democracy has over the past few years only shattered this idea through its state-sponsored terrorism against its minorities, particularly Muslims. Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led India since 2014 has actively worked to spread the Hindutva ideology either through its frequently launched pogroms under the RSS banner or through its silence over persecutions of Indian Muslims. In its latest attempt to suppress Muslims, the state of Karnataka has banned hijabs in schools. Hundreds of Muslim girl students have been deprived of their fundamental right to education as they are forced out of university campuses due to their hijab.
Videos of RSS goons wearing saffron colored scarfs protesting against girls in hijabs have been doing the rounds on social media platforms over the past few weeks with one showing a group of men harassing a burqa-clad woman for entering campus. All this in a country that boasts about its ‘respect’ for women. What is worse is that the anti-Muslim hatred in India has spread so far that even Muslims from the privileged class are not protected against it.
Case in point: India’s biggest Muslim superstar Shahrukh Khan, who was recently accused of ‘spitting’ on the mortal remains of singer Lata Mangeshkar. Khan was only performing a dua at the singer’s funeral. It is difficult to fathom that the neighbouring country with a Muslim population of 200 million is unaware about a Muslim ritual. Or is it only looking for opportunities to pounce on Muslims?
The Modi government’s criminal silence over the recent controversies and many more before it – from lynching of Muslim men for allegedly eating beef to prohibiting Muslims from performing namaz on state-owned lands – only exposes its extremist Hindutva agenda. The founder of the Genocide Watch has warned the world of a Muslim genocide in India. But the flagbearers of human rights choose to look the other way. The UN as well as the West have also remained silent over the hijab ban in India. Nonetheless, Pakistan has urged the world to speak up as the foreign minister recently said: “World must realise this is part of Indian state plan of ghettoization of Muslims.” Millions of Muslims in India and Kashmir are looking at the world for support. It must speak up before a Rwanda-like genocide is repeated.
