If there was any confusion about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mission to revive Hindutva that should stand dispelled now - he has appointed a die-hard Hindu extremist, Yogi Adityanath, as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. Yogi was never an unknown commodity in Indian politics. His anti-Muslim rhetoric is characterised by his call for forced conversion of minorities particularly the Muslims and Dalits to Hinduism, pledging to put statues of Hindu deities in mosques. Moreover, he finds no difference between Bollywood mega star Shahrukh Khan and Pakistan's Hafiz Saeed. "I will not stop till I turn UP (the home of 50 million Muslims) into a Hindu Rashtra," he pledged as far back as 2005 when he joined politics. Modi-Yogi-Shah was the trio that spearheaded the just concluded state election in Uttar Pradesh where their party, Bharatiya Janata Party, did not field any Muslim candidate, unlike its rival parties. After demolition of Babri Masjid and 'Iktat Mata Yatra' pilgrimage across the country the appointment of Yogi Adityanath as chief minister of UP is the third most noticeable milestone in so-called secular India's uninterrupted march towards transforming India into a Hindu Rashtra. If Bal Thackeray's Shiv Sena was not enough for fire-breathing anti-Muslim rhetoric there is Yogi Adityanath now. No wonder then, the CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury has described him as a "symbol of communal violence, riots, intolerance and hatred." Who else but Narendra Modi could violate his country's own constitution which in its preamble commits that India would be a "secular nation"! One has to be a Brahmin by birth and not by conversion, but during the 'Iktat Mata Yatra' campaign, hundreds of Muslims in Rajasthan were forced to convert to Hinduism in the name of "pervertan" (reversion). As head priest of Gorakhpur Mutt, Yogi Adityanath too has been campaigning for "ghar ko wapsi" (return to Hinduism). "UP mein rehna hoga, Yogi, Yogi kehna hoga," is the call now being raised by his followers.
That indeed is a huge challenge to not only 50 million Muslims in Uttar Pradesh but some 170 million Muslims in India's other states. It constitutes a stern warning to the Muslim majority in the India-held Kashmir as well as in all other Indian states populated by the Dalits and other non-Hindu communities. By appointing an extremist Hindutva campaigner as chief minister of UP, the Modi administration has indeed set the stage for communal violence on a mass scale. No wonder then, his move has been condemned by all other rival political parties. Only a party with "sheer contempt for secularism and democracy can elevate such a person as the chief minister," points out Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan. And when Yogi Adityanath admires President Donald Trump's travel ban on Muslims from a number of Muslim countries what reaction should New Delhi expect from the Muslim world? It cannot be positive, and would certainly undermine the sense of security enjoyed by Hindu minorities in other countries. What an ironic paradox - the day anti-Muslim extremist Yogi Adityanath was being sworn-in as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh President of Pakistan gave his formal assent to the Hindu Marriage Bill 2017. Aimed at protecting the marriages and the family and safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of the Hindu families living in Pakistan the bill was passed by both the houses of parliament. The Hindus are patriotic as any other community and therefore it is the responsibility of the state to provide equal protection to them, says Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. By appointing a zealot Hindutva believer as chief minister of UP, the BJP leadership has done no good to their own country. India is already beset with many insurgencies and movements for autonomy and independence, which are bound to draw rationale and force from what has happened in India's most populous state.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2017
