Pakistan’s Foreign Office acting timely has “categorically rejected” the claims made by the Indian law-enforcement agencies that a Pakistani organisation is linked to the suspects named in the alleged murder of Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur, India, who was killed by two Muslims for his alleged support for Nupur Sharma, who uttered blasphemous remarks against the Holy Prophet, Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him) in a TV show. The Indian media said that one of the two alleged killers visited Pakistan in 2014, and might have established links with a religious organisation there. The world should understand the fact that Pakistan is itself a victim of widespread religious extremism across the country and the government with law-enforcement agencies has swooped crackdown on the outfits spreading sectarianism and hatred. The state acted swiftly when religious maniacs lynched a Sri Lankan citizen in Sialkot and another local man in Khanewal. The Indian killing should also be seen from a different perspective rather than an India-Pakistan rivalry. Religious extremism has become an established menace in both India and Pakistan, but the difference is that religious extremists and militants have state patronization in India, whereas in Pakistan, such outfits have widespread public support, but the state always acts against them.
By no means the callous killing of Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur in Rajasthan by two Muslims can be defended as an act to protect their faith. Such acts taken by individuals in India will neither serve Islam nor their community which is already facing the state-covered prosecution. The irony is that the main culprit, Nupur Sharma, who created the contention between the two communities, remains free from legal action only because of her association with the ruling party. The suspected killers merit no sympathy for the way they shot the footage of the violence on camera and later circulated it on social media, all these acts could have triggered communal violence in India, where the Muslims are already in vulnerable conditions under the Modi-led BJP government. Right now, the situation is very tense in Rajasthan, where a curfew has been imposed even though the criminals have been arrested.
Violence either in India or Pakistan cannot be condoned at any cost. The sad part, which the world must see, is that the Indian state is a vital perpetrator and since the day the BJP came to power in 2014, its state organs and followers have been after the Muslims and other minorities. They call for collective punishment of Muslims and they have resorted to doing so in several parts of India, such as Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Assam, where BJP governments are taking action against Muslims just because of their faith. Such actions have created a visible disenchantment among Muslims. In the modern world, violent ideologies like Hindutva cannot and should not sustain. The world must note that minorities in India have been at the receiving end of the state actions and highhandedness and they have not been able to get any support from local courts and international communities. If India is lost to the extremist Hindus, that would be a great loss to the citizenry living in India who are losing faith and hope in the rule of law.
