Syeda Tahreem Bukhari
Narendra Modi, the butcher of Gujarat, the fact that was denied is now disseminated by the BBC documentary. The UK government was aware of Modi’s ethnic cleansing still they did not taken any stand against him. Modi was even blocked from entering the US at pretext of Gujarat genocide till he became the Prime Minister of India considered as linchpin to American foreign policy in Asia. Later, India with same Prime Minister Modi became a key ally of US in South Asian region.BJP had banned the BBC documentary and censored the social media posts. They are using emergency powers to block the airing of documentary in India. Those who were airing the documentary were met with brutal treatment form fascist regime. One of the university who was screening the documentary, were faced with stone pelting from authorities and they allegedly cut the power and internet lines to the university.
The documentary claims that in Gujarat Genocide 2002, Modi was the Chief Minister, he systematically planned the genocide along with explicit involvement of state institutions.He ordered the police to turn blind eye and not to intervene. The violence was politically motivated to purge Muslims from Hindu areas. The Godhra train incident was taken as an erupting point of Gujarat genocide, which was later proved that it was result of an accidental fire. The BBC documentary claims that even if the Godhra train incident did not happened, Modi would get another excuse to initiate the Gujarat genocide.In his quest for Hindu Raj, he brutalized and victimized Muslims in India in collaboration with police machinery. He created the climate of impunity for mob attacks via maintaining unperturbed precarious silence on such incidents thus enabling violence. As riots were impossible without the climate of impunity. The British broadcaster said it used a “wide range of voices, witnesses and experts” for the film, including “responses from people in the BJP”.They offered Indian government right to respond to the issues raised in documentary but they refused to respond.
The second episode of the documentary highlights how mob culture against Muslims was flourished under the BJP regime.His politics revolves around instigating hatred and bigotry against minorities via hate speeches stirring them to a mob vigilantism. Their lives are at stake for being Muslim, Christian or Dalit. They are not sure the very next moment they will be targeted for eating meat, talking to Hindu girl, or being the child of lesser god past across the superior caste. Threat of violence is lingering on them making their lives insecure. His vote bank is the emotionally driven people whose support he gains before the elections via subjugating Muslims minorities particularly or launching false flag operations against its nuclear neighbor, Pakistan. The mob culture strengthened under the BJP regime has threatened the very identity and nature of India.
The documentary also highlighted the systemized efforts of BJP to make the Muslims stateless by introducing Citizenship Amendment Act. They were creating refugees inside the state by denying them citizenship. The students who were protesting against the act were met out with violence and vandalism. Politicians were threatening the protesters towing political lines to please BJP. This fascist regime wants to accommodate Hindus and disenfranchise Muslims to make India a Hindu nation working on Akhand Bharat ideology. In Delhi 2020 protests, police instead of protecting all of India people, they were on Hindu side throwing stones towards Muslims. The amnesty international report on this human rights violation by police was denied by Delhi police calling it biased and malicious. The videos of police beating protesters to death went viral still no action was taken against them.
This documentary and the BJP government’s response illustrated that India is no more a democracy and has become a place where there is no place for dissenting voices. As per V-DEM report 2022, India has turned into an electoral autocracy. India has become a majoritarian state where the social fabric for minorities is shrinking.As the Antonio Guterres said that humanity is just one misunderstanding and one miscalculation away from nuclear inhalation. The West that claims to be the sole bearer of rule based international order is serving its interest vis a vis human rights violation.
