India is no more a tolerant country. Shove that truth inside your mouth, brain and hearts. We have never resembled Pakistan as much as we have begun to do so in the last few years. Pakistan’s old journey of unabashedly mixing religion with politics by implementing the Sharia-based political system began in 1977 when Zia-Ul-Haq the then Army Chief general , first deposed Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in an army prison and the entire ordeal that was meted out on him by the Bhutto clan (Read ‘Song of the Blood and Sword’ by Fathima Bhutto – the book that chronicles the entire life span of the modern Pakistani politics). On a sunny morning, Zia-Ul-Haq took charge of Pakistan, which began the era of religiously imposed politics – mixing religion with politics. Until that day, Pakistan represented a somewhat liberal Muslim country. It was the beginning era of a country whose public life was jeopardized in religion and the failed leadership of the county with an added flavor of earning a terrorist element; making the country volatile to terrorist organizations. While all of these happened, we Indians laughed, mocked and scoffed at Pakistan for having such orthodoxy and branded the country as a failed, rogue state since terror and public violence became a routine lifestyle but what we missed out was the anticipation that one day, India might turn out to paint its own picture with the same colors as that of Pakistan.
The days are here when we begin our day with mob-lynching a man on cow issues. The time when 50 year old Mohammad Akhlaq was lynched by an unknown crowd, the entire nation woke up to a new norm of Inida being welcomed on the behest of cow protection. Now, we see so many Akhlaqs being beaten, tortured and attacked on a daily basis and yet, we are mum sitting on the distracted agendas of the political fiasco. On the same day, at the Facebook headquarter, our PM teary eyed emotionally and his voice broke as he recalled the sacrifices of his mother had made to raise him. Imagine the plight of Ashgari Akhlaq on his son being lynched on a broad daylight on a mere suspicion of carrying beef at his house. The attack on all the religious fundamentals of following the religion on a uniform civil code only goes down to prove that India does not wants to remain a secular nation. There is a huge drama being played out in the name of killing the basic choices of following a religion. If this is not the imposing of a Hindutva rule constructed on the very basis of a Hindu rule, I do not understand what is a secular state anymore? Are we not becoming like other countries that impose those tough laws into following their own religion-based rule and end up receiving flakes of terrorism? It is obligatory to remind all of us here that the votes are being manipulated in the name of religious based laws. There are different trump cards for different states of India and it is being used based on the need and the mindset of the particular state. I have strongly observed that any country that imposes fascism as its core objective have seen its downfall right after they start implementing their religious-fascist cards. Irrespective of the agenda that Pakistan has to offer on its political front, we need to be clear-headed about moving forward in the arenas of Politics, Development and making the country great. The very poisonous hatred filled news that is being broadcast by Indian media is not only making the country’s audience to be on the dividend roads but also leaving us with fewer options to choose the right path. Is it only me who finds it too much of hatred-filled news being spread out on the social media fabrics?
A 23-year-old student of Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, Pakistan was killed and another seriously injured by a vigilante mob for allegedly “publishing blasphemous content online. Now, that is another serious event that reminds us of how tolerant or intolerant we have become as humanity on the whole. It is not new to our Indian student’s fraternity also for not witnessing any right-wing groups to attack students on the national universities and any other campuses that they feel like barging in and creating a ruckus. It is kind of so shameful and horrifyingly shocking to witness the allegations that are being made on the students of some universities. Minus the allegations and details, we all know how much of disturbance and chaos is created in the past couple of months. Not to mention the deep-rooted analysis of the recent events that has taken place in the recent times, are becoming a nation that we do not want to become? Are we becoming a religious-centric and intolerant country on the whole in the coming days? Such questions and such days have invaded us like unexpected enemies on the border!