the BJP strikes back
When following Indian politics, I often ask myself; How much can the Bharatiya Janata Party get away with before causing international uproar? The answer, pretty much anything…
Modi and the BJP party aim to change the name of India to Bharat, named after Bharata who in Hindu scriptures is ancestor of Pandavas and Kauravas in the Sanskrit epic. Although not official, when President Droupadi Murmu refers to himself as ‘The President of Bharat,” it's clear this name change is a top priority for the BJP. Will this name change actually go through…probably not. However it's a great time to look at how India treats its most afflicted minorities.
One of the primary reasons for this name change is because many see the current name as a reminder of British rule. Bharat, in Hindi, means India-so the British would refer to their new addition to a vast collection of colonies ‘India,’ the English version. So many may argue that by renaming the country to Bharat, India ‘takes back what's theirs’ and completely distances themselves from British rule.
However this argument completely ignores the context of the time period, when Hinduism was the dominant religion and had a strong reign over all of India. At this time, Catholics, Sikhs, Muslims and other religions were all generally persecuted and lower in the caste system.
So by changing the name of India to Bharat we return to this time period where Hindus are superior to all other cultures and religions-exactly what the BJP party aims to do.
Right now the BJP will do everything in their power to denounce all other religions, and establish Hinduism as supreme. In 2021, after several states established anti conversion legislation, Hindu nationalists would attack and burn Christian churches, books, schools, assault pastors, nuns, and even children. Between January to November of 2021, there were 39 cases of reported violence against christians in Karnataka alone.
Furthermore, since the induction of Prime Minister Modi anti-Muslim sentiment in India has heightened, resulting in constant abuse persistent even to this day. Although India’s constitution includes nondiscrimination clauses, there is no specification on the separation of state and religion. As a result, Modi has been able to instill discriminatory policies excluding or downright targeting the Muslim minority.
In December of 2019, parliament passed the Citizenship Amendment Act, which allowed for Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Bhuddhist, and many other minorities migrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh to fast track to citizenship. Many dispute this policy on the grounds that it excluded Muslims. The BJP contested that this policy was meant to grant citizenship to migrants fleeing abuse in Muslim countries. However this logic was a guise for later implemented legislation.
The National Register of Citizens was established for the state of Assam as it bordered Bangladesh and was intended to be a means of determining whether or not residents were citizens of the country as many migrants would come to Assam either fleeing persecution or for a new life. This program had been established in the 1950s, but was mostly inactive. However, after the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act, Assam conveniently updated their registrar. Migrants in the previous ethnic groups were fine as they were granted means to obtain citizenship. However the 2 million Muslims in the state of Assam, were not granted accessible means of obtaining citizenship, so when Assam updated their register, hundreds of thousands had no way to prove their citizenship as they’d been systematically denied such means.
This is just one of the many ways India systematically disenfranchises its most vulnerable minorities-but the worst of it is how the government turns a blind eye to constant murder and abuse of the innocent.
In 2021, the United Christian Forum reported 486 violent incidents against Christians in India. From burning churches to massacering villages, police forces have either been slow to react or fail to penalize the Hindu vigilantes responsible.
Where abuse towards Christians is less affiliated with the government, Islamophobia and violence towards Muslims in India is much more systematic and often endorsed by the government. Modi and the BJP party often use islamophobic rhetoric to push their own ideals of Hinduism upon the nation, treating every single one of the 204 million Muslims of India as second rate citizens.
India’s current government has long been able to persecute its own people on the basis of religion with no repercussions because foreign ‘peacekeepers' refuse to advocate for the basic rights of oppressed people.
Coming from the heart of Kerala, this is an issue of high priority for me. If the BJP’s antics go unchecked, minorities in India will continue to go through constant abuse and it will inevitably worsen. The fact is, it's very unlikely the BJP will garner support to change the name of India. However it's clear this will not be the last attempt to discredit other cultures.
I often think back to the tranquil serenity in Karukutty, a small town in Kerala. The people live life true to themselves and their Catholic upbringing. This way of life has harmed no one, yet this freedom is what the BJP aims to revoke.
If left to their own devices, the BJP will stop at nothing to establish Hinduism dominant over all other cultures-relemblant to many other fascist regimes. All allies of the free world must publicly condemn Modi and the BJP and stand by the side of the oppressed.
