Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reportedly said that he will make a decision about the future of the contentious religious site of Ayodhya next month. At least this is the message conveyed by one of the leaders at a rally organised by the far-right Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) over the weekend.
In real terms, this could result in a presidential ordinance effectively circumventing the Supreme Court (SC) verdict on the matter; which was due to be delivered back in February of this year. And now the pressure is on. With elections looming large, the religious right, spearheaded by the VHP and Shiv Sena, have thrown down a dangerous gauntlet to the Modi government: re-election will be dependent on the building of a Hindu temple on the site of a 16th mosque that was razed in 1992; backed by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) among others. Thus the PM and all his (wo)men appear committed to doing the needful in order to return to power. Including stirring up communal strife.
Many on this side of the border will see this as further evidence of the world’s largest democracy’s inherently anti-Muslim bias. And while far-right religio-nationalism has certainly thrived under the Modi premiership, the political leadership here in Pakistan as well as civil society and the media would do well to resist either finger-pointing or else outright gloating. Not least because this will not serve the cause of Muslims across the eastern front. Moreover, for this country to earn any legitimacy in this regard will necessitate putting its own house in order first. And this is sadly lacking.
Indeed, on the same day that the VHP and its cohorts attracted a 50,000-strong crowd — here in this country men like Khadim Rizvi and members of his religio-political party Tehreek Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) spent the day in protective custody. All in a bid to prevent the group’s rally that was scheduled for Sunday from going ahead. And while we at this newspaper hope that this was undertaken to quietly prepare for the departure of Asia Bibi and her family — it must nevertheless be noted that the TLP was not booked for inciting religious hatred and murder; or, indeed, sedition. Thus if what occurred over the weekend had been a competition in bigotry waged between India and Pakistan’s respective state institutions — the latter may just have come out winning.
