ISLAMABAD: Eminent journalist and filmmaker Amna Khaishgi on Tuesday said India’s social polity had got a rude shock with the advent of RSS and BJP, and the fraternity that was there in yesteryears has eroded.

“The Mandir politics and issues of marginalisation have hurt the BJP vote bank, and its influence is waning,” she said while addressing the ‘Distinguished Lecture Series’ at Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI) on the topic titled, ‘India and GCC in Modi 3.0 Power Play’.

She said Pakistan needed to tap its immense resource-base at home and abroad, and should sooner than later be part of the international dispensation that is out with a clout to influence regional and global affairs.

While narrating her rich bonding and experience in the UAE, and with the Indian diaspora, she remarked that India has carved out a special place for it, and the dynamics were not merely state-to-state or diplomatic related, but ingresses deep in social fabric, economic ventures and big-money politics.

She specifically mentioned the religious-stride that India has made in the UAE, as well the growing celebrity influence in Saudi Arabia that outclasses all other dynamics of state-centrism.

Talking about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third-term, she was of the view that as a politician and leader of BJP, he was gradually losing his political capital, and a conglomerate of “Hindu Establishment” was on the rise.

Amna Khaishgi made eloquent referrals to ‘Hindu Establishment’, and pointed out that it has made inroads in the UAE and Gulf States, and was in the driving seat in terms of political currency, corporate monopoly and businesses.

She was of the view that the crown princes of Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia were two other legendary personalities who had struck a special chord with India, and the future of business revolved around New Delhi and Indians.

She regretted that Pakistan cannot make its presence felt, and has literally failed in tapping the common denominator of religion, societal oneness and cultural affinity in winning over Muslim leaderships in the Gulf.

She called for putting the cards together in the UAE and other Gulf States to reorient Pakistani potential in labour and services for a great and competitive bargain.

Published in Dawn, July 31st, 2024