India has cultivated a sleek, PR-supported image of itself as a “shining” country, a type of behemoth among nations. However, as the UN Secretary General pointed out during a visit to the country, more work needed to be done to protect the rights of minorities in the country.
António Guterres referred to India as the UN’s “partner of choice.” However, other remarks made by the global body’s leader were far less flattering. Mr. Guterres urged New Delhi to “protect” the rights of all individuals, including members of minority communities, while also encouraging his host country to foster and strengthen diversity.
He also urged India to do more to achieve gender equality and preserve women’s rights, as well as to make “concrete efforts” to protect the rights of journalists, activists, students, and intellectuals, all of whom have experienced the fury of the Hindutva state.
It is not difficult to comprehend what drove the UN Secretary-views. General’s After all, India’s minorities, notably its Muslims, as well as other individuals who disagree with the Sangh Parivar’s narrow worldview, have had a difficult time since the BJP came to power in 2014. Millions of Indian Muslims have been lynched and their homes demolished, while discriminatory legislation has been implemented to disenfranchise millions of them. Furthermore, government officials and prominent members of the ruling party have made derogatory remarks against Muslims and Islam’s sanctities.
India’s violent practises in occupied Kashmir have been highly denounced as well. While Pakistan, as well as independent watchdogs like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, has chastised New Delhi for these violations, the Indian public relations machine has dismissed these concerns as biassed remarks or interfering. However, when the UN Secretary General raises these issues, Indian spin doctors will find it more difficult to dismiss them.
During his tour to India, Mr. Guterres complimented Gandhi and Nehru. The problem is that many people in today’s India, led by the BJP, idolise Godse, Gandhi’s assassin, as well as Savarkar, the furious thinker who gave birth to Hindutva, a toxic blend of Hindu fanaticism and European fascism, and who rejected Nehru’s vision for India. However, India is extremely concerned about its “branding,” especially when strong international groups criticise it for its crimes. That is why statements like the UN chief’s are crucial, since they may help modify the behaviour of the Indian government.
Other major actors, such as the United States and the European Union, must also call out India’s poor behaviour rather than mollycoddle New Delhi with the goal of leveraging it to get even with China. Perhaps such criticism will ultimately serve to lessen Hindutva’s grip on India and pave the way for a more moderate environment in which minorities are respected as human beings and friendship with neighbouring governments is pursued.