ISLAMABAD: Former ambassador Jalil Abbas Jilani on Thursday said statements by senior leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) showed that there was no hope Pakistan and India would start dialogue in the near future.

He was speaking at an international seminar, ‘Pluralism vs exclusionism: the case of rising extremism in India’, organised by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) at a local hotel.

“Even Congress, which once used to speak in favour of minorities, has adopted the ideology of soft Hindu because otherwise it will be depleted. Unfortunately, the element of hate has been increasing among the educated Indian people against Pakistan,” said Mr Jilani who was declared persona non grata by the Indian government and directed to leave the country within 48 hours in 2003.

He said while Narendra Modi was contesting to become the chief minister of Gujarat, he used posters on which his (Modi) and Gen Pervez Musharraf’s pictures were printed mentioning that a vote against Modi would be in favour of Gen Musharraf.

Element of hate is increasing among educated Indian people against Pakistan, says Jalil Abbas Jilani

“In last general elections, Modi again used the same language saying the vote against him would be a vote in favour of Pakistan and terrorism. According to a BBC report, provincial ministers in Gujarat were involved in the 2002 riots during which even a Muslim politician was killed along with over 150 people,” he said.

British-Kashmiri journalist and security expert Murtaza Shibli said ideally Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) should play a role in uniting peoples because it believed in Akhand Bharat (undivided India). But RSS believes that Muslims cannot be allowed to live in India.

“Unfortunately, Indian army is not doing the duty of state instead it is fulfilling the duty of religion in Kashmir. So soldiers believe that they can do anything to suppress the voices of freedom,” he said.

Leader of the House in Senate Raja Zafarul Haq said Muslims in the Indian-held Kashmir had persistently been repressed for over 70 years.

The hatred against the Muslims has specially escalated in the prevalent Hindutva mindset and the situation is expected to get even worse in coming months in the wake of the approaching Indian elections, he said.

Retired ambassador Abdul Basit said the recent cases of extremism in India were not really a new phenomenon instead the country’s history was full of cases where minorities had to face violence.

“Though India was quick to draft its constitution and strengthen its democracy, which was ideally supposed to give equal rights and equal opportunities to all segments of the population including minorities, the ground situation in the country is in a stark contrast,” he said.

Retired air commodore Khalid Iqbal said politicians and extremists depended on each other in India.

“Moreover, institutional behaviour is also worrying as there is an extremist mindset in the judiciary. In case of the Babri Mosque, the judiciary remained under pressure of mobs and law enforcement agencies also did not move while the mosque was being demolished,” he said.

Researcher Dr Junaid Ahmad said India, Israel and United States had been united for the destruction of Muslims. Moreover, they use their influence to ensure that such issues are not covered by the international media, he alleged.

Published in Dawn, February 23rd, 2018