ISLAMABAD, MAY 27 / DNA / = While the world is grappling with the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, the RSS-BJP combine in India is busy unabashedly advancing the “Hindutva” agenda. The commencement of construction of a Mandir at the site of the historic Babri Masjid in Ayodhya on 26 May 2020 is another step in this direction and the Government and people of Pakistan condemn it in the strongest terms.

The commencement of the Mandir’s construction is a sequel to the controversial decision given by the Indian Supreme Court on 9 November 2019, which completely failed to uphold the demands of justice. The Supreme Court’s verdict shredded the veneer of so-called ‘secularism’ of India by making clear that the minorities are not safe in India and that they have to fear for their lives, beliefs and places of worship.

The developments relating to the Babri Masjid, the discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), initiation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) process, and the targeted killings of Muslims in Delhi in February 2020 are vivid illustrations of how Muslims in India are being marginalized, dispossessed, demonized and subjected to senseless violence. The frequent mob lynchings by cow vigilantes and sinister schemes like ‘ghar wapsi’, ‘love jihad’ and ‘Corona jihad’ are part of this mindset. The right-wing “Hindutva” agenda, which appears to have permeated the state institutions as well, is moving fast towards turning India into a “Hindu Rashtra.”

As Pakistan has been sensitizing the world community, today’s India under the RSS-BJP sway is driven by the toxic mix of an extremist ideology and hegemonic ambitions. The result is a growing threat to the safety and well-being of minorities in India and to peace and security in the region and beyond.

The rising tide of religious bigotry in India is well-documented by international human rights organizations, regularly highlighted by the international media, and raised in a number of world Parliaments. The international community must hold India to account for the continuous violations of human rights of minorities and urge the Indian Government to take immediate steps to ensure that the rights of all minorities are fully protected and promoted as per India’s obligations under international instruments to which it is a party.