Khushwant Singh was exactly right

Whatever Narendra Modi is doing to India at this point in time, Khushwant Singh had foreseen it. In his book 'The End of India', written in the wake of anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat, he had foreseen Modi as reincarnation of Hitler. Some of Singh's words merit repetition: "Every fascist regime needs communities and groups it can demonize in order to thrive. It starts with one group or two. But it never ends there. He also wrote, among other things, that "a movement built on hate can only sustain itself by continually creating fear and strife. Those of us today who feel secured because we are not Muslims or Christians are living in fool's paradise." But not many took him seriously then as the RSS kept prospering, catapulting the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) into power in 2014. That was the beginning of the end of so-called secular, liberal, inclusive India. What Modi had done to Muslims of Gujarat as chief minister as prime minister he set about doing the same to Muslims all over India, including the Occupied Kashmir even when it was a semi-autonomous state. Having placed it under his heels he went for Muslims in Assam, and also opened the door to arrival of Hindus who he said faced persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Can Modi still hold on to power when drunk with this hate-filled hemlock? The entire Indian landscape is rife with protests against his amended Citizenship Act and NRC as conscientious Hindus and members of other religious communities find India lurching to RSS brainchild Hindu rashtra. Over the last one week, the protestors are on streets, to be met with merciless handling by police. On Thursday, three persons were killed and several injured as protests erupted in at least 10 states. In Mangaluru, where curfew has been imposed, two persons died in police firing. In Lucknow, one person was killed by police, while in Delhi hundreds were taken into custody.

If people are on streets protesting the two new pieces of anti-Muslim and anti-minorities laws at least five states have refused to abide by them. Even when Home Minister Amit Shah is insistent that he and his government are "firm like a rock" the Modi sarkar's marriage with power appears to be on the rocks. The violence now buffeting India is not a normal protest against misgovernace; it is consequential to the future of India as a viable state. That the situation is profoundly grim is a fact that has found its best expression from about a dozen insurgencies that are already raging there. Moreover, there is Occupied Kashmir now seething with post-curfew uncertainty. Externally, even India's close strategic ally, the United States, has asked New Delhi to "protect and respect the right of peaceful assembly". The statement has come in the wake of police violence against students of Jamia Millia Islamia a week ago. Last week, the State Department had noted that "religious freedom and equal treatment under law are fundamental principles of our two democracies". Should Amit Shah and the ilk persist on being firm as rock the protests are bound to ignite religious tensions, with calls for foreign intervention. It may also trigger outflow of refugees from India to the neighbouring countries, and if history is an evidence Pakistan is going to be their prime destination. Sensing this probability, Prime Minister Imran Khan has already expressed his country's inability to host them. And he has also taken a leaf out of Khushwant Singh's book in this regard.