ISLAMABAD: The extremist agenda of the government of Narendra Modi was a “real and present threat” to regional peace, Prime Minister Imran Khan said Monday, observing his Indian counterpart remained silent on a recent Hindu religious event calling for genocide against Muslims in the Hindu-majority country.
In December, participants of a three-day event in the holy city of Haridwar, in northern Uttarakhand state, called for the mass killings and use of weapons against Muslims, sparking outrage and prompting demands for action which went unheeded.
A speaker at the gathering told the crowd that people should not worry about going to prison for killing Muslims, according to a video that went viral.
“Even if just a hundred of us become soldiers and kill two million of them [Muslims], we will be victorious […] If you stand with this attitude, only then will you able to protect sanatana dharma [an absolute form of Hinduism],” the woman said.
But Modi has maintained a characteristic silence that analysts observe is interpreted by his radical supporters as a tacit signal of protection.
The police, who readily detains rights activists and comedians on charges lacking evidence, have been slow to take action.
Even opposition political groups have been restrained in their response, an indication of the degree to which right-wing Hindu nationalism has gripped the country since Modi came to office in 2014.
“The continuing silence” of the Modi government on the matter “begs the question whether the BJP [government] supports this call”, the prime minister wondered. “It is high time [the] international community took note [and] acted.”
The continuing silence of Modi govt on the call at an extremist Hindutva summit in Dec for genocide of minorities in India, especially the 200 mn Muslim community, begs the question whether the BJP govt supports this call. It is high time international community took note & acted
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) January 10, 2022
Khan observed that under the government of the radical Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), “all religious minorities” in that nation have been “targeted with impunity by Hindutva groups”.
“The extremist agenda of the Modi govt is a real and present threat to peace in our region,” he warned.
