This is apropos a Business Recorder editorial “The Udaipur killing” carried by the newspaper on Sunday. The newspaper has concluded its argument by saying that “They want to turn India into a Hindu state in which minority communities, in particular Muslims, are to be relegated to second class status.

This political Hinduism project can help, has helped, them win elections, but at the cost of the country’s founding ideals of secularism and pluralism that defined its democratic credentials, allowing all decent Indians to take pride in these values and the progress and prosperity they brought. BJP has only brought shame to India’s doorsteps.”

The newspaper has made a profound argument, and I can’t agree more. It is quite unfortunate that the BJP-RSS combine has only stepped up its anti-Muslim drive after the Udaipur killing as its sponsored intellectuals are spewing venom against the Muslim community in a more brazen manner than ever. They’re so bigoted that they refuse to accept the existence of 200 million Muslims in India.

Former journalist Pushpendra Kulshrestha, former army colonel RSN Singh and Dr Rizwan top the list of government-sponsored ‘intellectuals’, ‘political analysts’, etc. They are even denigrading Mohandas Gandhi who is widely known for the leadership of the campaign for India’s independence from British rule. India, under the BJP-RSS combine, is not developing at all, but regressing.

Arif Arain (Lahore)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022