India has always been an upper caste Hindu state: Zamir Akram.

ISLAMABAD -- The recent Indian Supreme Court verdict on Babri Mosque must not be seen in isolation, rather by keeping in view the bigger picture. The change in Jammu and Kashmir status and new citizenship law reiterate that Indian secularism is merely a ploy for political gains. The real face of India is one with a vigorous presence of RSS for the past 70 years, which is gaining more power under the present regime, and this is a sign of things to come.

The message emerged out of the seminar titled 'Babri Masjid, Saffronized India and the Concerns', which was organized by Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), Islamabad on Wednesday. The session was addressed by Ambassador (retd) Zamir Akram, Pakistan's former permanent representative to the UN, Dr. Mujeeb Afzal, Professor, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Amir Abdullah Abbasi, Advocate High Court, and Khalid Rahman, Executive President, IPS.

Reflecting on the current situation in India, Zamir Akram said that the Babri Mosque verdict was another proof how the rise of Hindu nationalism was affecting the country. The verdict has set the precedence for RSS Hindutva hardliners to pursue more such issues for which they have already exhibited their intent publicly. The formation of RSS in the early twentieth century was based on Hindu nationalist ideology and the organization very much forms the core of BJP. The Babri mosque issue was politicized by BJP back in 1996 as well when it became the largest party in the Lok Sabha. The Indian government was in a position to stop the demolition of the Babri mosque in 1992 as police and paramilitary forces were standing by, but they did not intervene out of fear of antagonizing Hindus, choosing rather to succumb to the pressure put on by aggressive RSS goons.

The former ambassador said that the Indian secularism conceived by Gandhi and Nehru was actually a political necessity as it was the only way to hold a diverse country of such huge size together. The reality ever since has been quite different. Where its constitution calls India a social secular republic, the country has only been functioning as an upper cast Hindu state. That bubble is now starting to burst and beginning to expose the hypocrisy that lies underneath.

Zamir Akram added that the Hindutva hysteria is only expected to grow in the near future. Modi will keep building on his Hindutva mythology as he has nothing much to show for his tenure. India has been fudging growth and other figures for...