PAKISTAN is passing by means of a difficult time. A divisive and polarising politics, financial uncertainties, and the persevering with risk of violent extremism are a number of the fault lines that impede the nation’s path to stability.
India, however, appears to be politically steady and economically nicely-off. However, if one have been to scratch this veneer of stability, we might see severe fissures showing in Indian society. As the nation continues its march in the direction of turning into a Hindu state pushed by its Hindutva ideology, a number of fault lines have emerged in Indian society, which have deepened up to now one decade beneath BJP rule.
The first fault line is the rising discrimination towards minorities, notably Indian Muslims. Prof Christophe Jaffrelot on the Centre for International Studies and Research in Paris, just lately carried out an intensive research on the plight of Indian Muslims beneath the Hindutva regime.
Based on ethnographic research and interviews of victims, Jaffrelot discovered that the illustration of Muslims in India’s civil service, police or authorities jobs was far decrease than the proportion of their numbers (14.5 per cent of India’s whole inhabitants). Muslim illustration has drastically come down within the nationwide and state assemblies beneath BJP rule. The variety of Muslim graduates is declining, notably in northern India. Sadly, Indian Muslims have been solely in a majority in jails.
Indian Muslims are anxious about saffron vigilante teams and the rising intolerance in the direction of Muslim icons. The try to convert Indian-occupied Kashmir from a Muslim-majority right into a Muslim-minority space can be a part of the broader discrimination towards Muslims. Clearly, India is rushing away from a secular, pluralistic democracy in the direction of a Hindu majoritarian raj.
Space for minorities continues to shrink in India.
The second fault line is the persevering with discrimination towards the Dalits, the low-caste Hindus; the system seems to favour the Brahmins, the higher-caste Hindus. The caste system has been an integral aspect of Indian society over millennia. It was formally abolished in 1951, however the social hierarchy continues to dominate Indian society. The Brahmins sit atop this hierarchy, which incorporates Kshatriyas (warriors), Vaishyas (retailers), and Shudras who’re speculated to be labourers, and are typically referred to as ‘achhut’, ‘untouchables’, or ‘Dalits’. The scheduled castes (Dalits) or scheduled tribes (Adivasis), which collectively represent over 25laptop of India’s inhabitants, endure systemic social isolation and marginalisation, dwell in slums, and are obliged to do menial jobs.
Under a research supported by The Gates Foundation in 2017, it was revealed that of all these employed within the sanitation and cleansing work in India, 90laptop belong to Dalit sub-castes. In most instances, they’re underpaid, and never offered important protecting gear. According to a CNN research carried out in 2020, Dalits have been probably the most weak victims of the Covid-19 pandemic due to their susceptibility to viruses, as that they had little to no entry to training and well being companies and have been on the backside of the financial hierarchy.
There are exceptions, such because the late Dr Ambedkar, who regardless of dealing with discrimination in youth as a Dalit, rose to change into the ‘father of the Indian constitution’. He strongly advocated for abolishing the caste system, and later transformed to Buddhism, ostensibly to be a part of a extra egalitarian faith. Rajesh Saraiya, the richest Dalit, runs a profitable metal enterprise. But these are exceptions.
The third noticeable fault line is the rising divide between north and south India. The main grievance for the southern states (Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh) is that they contribute extra to the Union price range than they obtain, whereas the northern states, notably UP and Bihar, obtain far increased returns. In many respects, the southern states have excelled over northern India. These states have a higher diploma of non secular concord, are economically doing higher, excel in offering IT companies, and revel in decrease inhabitants development, which over time has lowered their illustration within the Lok Sabha. There is rising chatter about the potential for these states forming a rustic of their very own, which just lately evoked a heated debate within the Rajya Sabha.
Since 2014, the Modi regime has been steering India in the direction of the trail of a Hindu majoritarian nation, the place area for minorities together with Muslims and Christians is shrinking, whereas low-caste Hindus proceed to undergo. The reply to whether or not they can ever reverse these discriminations just isn’t but obvious. However, it’s clear that these fault lines might probably create appreciable commotion inside Indian society if constructive motion just isn’t taken to deal with these societal distortions.
The author, a former international secretary, is chairman, Sanober Institute, Islamabad.
Published in Dawn, March third, 2024
