ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi on Wednesday said India, with the help of Israel, was trying to have its hegemony in South Asia.

“Being part of nexus with Israel, India is bringing demographic changes in the Indian illegally occupied Kashmir and procuring weapons with a craving to become a super power,” the president said in his keynote address at a seminar on ‘Understanding Hindutva Mindset and Indian Hegemonic Aspirations’ organised by the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad.

He said by pursuing Hindutva ideology and marginalising the minorities, India was creating an exploitative society and falling into pits of extremism and polarisation.

“India is on very dangerous course. They have left secular proclamations aside. We recognise India as a developing fascist state,” he added.

The president said the seminar coincided with the anniversaries of 1971 tragedy of Pakistan’s disintegration and terrorist attack at Peshawar’s Army Public School with both the happenings linked with the three factors of love, hate and phobia as the main driving force behind any ideology.

He said looking through the prism of bias, the Modi regime was eying for desired results by creating an exclusive society contrary to Pakistan, which had supported its poor population with a vision to create an inclusive society.

He said India, which once was the most prosperous country in British era, now stood atop for its wealth inequality in the society.

Dr Alvi said Indian hegemonic aspiration and Hindutva mindset would also have implications in the region, particularly Pakistan’s defence strategy.

He said being part of nexus with Israel, India was bringing demographic changes in the held Kashmir and procuring weapons with a craving to become a super power.

No nation without including all segments of the society could never succeed, he stressed.

Referring to an Indian journalist M. J. Akbar’s book, the president said the Indian Muslims were the most downtrodden in India.

He said Indian Muslims were never given proper representation in politics and the political parties gave tickets to people who had no say in their areas or the community.

The president said despite biased policies, Modi did not lose his popularity because he was playing the card of racial supremacy. It always took time to subside the mindset of racism and that it would also continue in India as it took around 15-20 years to get rid of Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s racists approach.

Calling India a belligerent state, the president said the neighbouring countries, including Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka, were unhappy with Indian policies.

He said even the national institutions like judiciary compromised their neutrality to support the supremacist ideologies.

The president said Hindutva was a total capture of India that had created huge imbalance in the society just for sake of its desire to become a super power.

He said at every international forum, India always portrayed Pakistan as a terrorist state. He urged think tanks to play their role to guide and even help modify the government’s policies.

He said it required economic strength to become a great nation.

Referring to Pakistan’s high moral standing by hosting millions of Afghan refugees, the president said the country was on the course to become a great nation as in future the world would be looking for the nations with having room for morality in their policies.

Earlier, ISSI Director General Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry gave the audience an overview of the views expressed by several renowned scholars and diplomats during the daylong seminar.

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2020