JAMMU: Ironic as it may be, the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Abdullah Al Baroun and Abdul Lateef Al Nesef, the individuals behind the Arabic versions of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata in the State of Kuwait, a Muslim country, lakhs of Hindus are continuously being persecuted, temples vandalized and Sanatan Dharma mocked and knocked in the neighbouring Peoples’ Republic of Bangladesh, yet another Islamic nation.
True, India’ strongest ever Prime Minister Narendra Modi has kept the flag of Sanatan aloft globally with magnificent temples coming up in various parts of the world, latest one, the first ever Hindu Temple in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, but does all this help Sanatanis to live like humans in most hostile countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, to name a few.
Hindus are profusely bleeding in Bangladesh, children massacred, women raped and temples razed to ground. This is nothing new. Hindus have been at the receiving end for hundreds of years of Mughal Rule, leaving trail of blood, forced conversions and desecration of Sanatan symbols all over the Indian sub-continent. Hindus are still struggling for restoration of their identity and pride in their only and exclusive country–India. The bruises unleashed in the immediate neighbourhood are still haunting the Sanatanis.
Can’t mighty India under Modi do anything for Hindus in Bangladesh?
`Showing its cultural and spiritual prowess on the global stage is meaningless until Hindus and temples remain target of radicals. India must not forget its position as the only spiritual leader of the global Sanatan community and therefore it cannot shun its responsibility to preserve Hindu heritage. Bangladesh is crying and craving for Indian attention.
A situation like the one existing in Bangladesh with Hindus at the verge of annihilation can be dealt with by multi-pronged strategies-building diplomatic pressure on the rogue nation to ensure safety of Hindus and other minorities; involving voluntary, social and religious organizations to open up their arms for the persecuted minorities to retrieve and rehabilitate them, highlight the plight of Bangladeshi temples on international forums by generating awareness besides extending legal and financial assistance to the victims. The other option is to adopt hot pursuit.
Of course, India has to tread cautiously but assertiveness cannot be overlooked. If India doesn’t come to the rescue of Hindus in Bangladesh who will? India adopted hot pursuit in 1971 under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi after genocide of Bengalis, mostly Hindus. An article in Time magazine, dated 2 August 1971, stated “The Hindus, who account for three-fourths of the refugees and a majority of the dead, have borne the brunt of the Muslim military hatred”. Pakistan army eastern command headquarters officials in Dhaka made clear the government’s policy on East Bengal. After the elimination or exile of Hindus, their property was going to be shared among middle class Muslims. According to Colonel Naim, Hindus “undermined the Muslim masses.” He said Bengali culture to a great extent was Hindu culture, and “We have to sort them out to restore the land to the people.” In April 1971 at Comilla, Major Rathore said to Anthony Mascarenhas, regarding Hindus: “Now under the cover of fighting we have an excellent opportunity of finishing them off. […] Of course […], we are only killing the Hindu men. We are soldiers, not cowards like the rebels.”
Though the symbols of Pakistan were routed out by the Indian Army in 1971 but the radicalised mindset could not be wiped out. It remained dormant for decades but burst like a volcano immediately after the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The Hindu hate is more pronounced now than in 1971, which has turned so venomous and ferocious that the future of entire community seems to be very bleak in the country that India liberated. Will the prevailing scenario call for a repeat of 1971? Will Narendra Modi feel compelled to follow the footsteps of Indira Gandhi? If the answer to these two options is in affirmative, the question will arise whether India can go ahead with hot pursuit at a time when the nation is divided between nationalist BJP and left-liberal motivated INDI Alliance. The INDI Alliance is subtly messaging, rather provoking, hot-pursuit to deal with the crisis in the immediate neighbourhood, not for the love or sake of Hindus in Bangladesh but to put the Modi government in tight spot, leading to an anarchical situation to overthrow the present dispensation as per George Soros Plan. Of course, Indian democracy and its strength is not that feeble as the INDI alliance perceives but the prospect of creating civil unrest is for real. It is not 1971 when Jan Sangh, the then avatar of the present BJP had stood like a rock behind Indira Gandhi; it is 2024 with the scenario quite opposite. This realization might be weighing high on the policy planners. Otherwise the grim scenario in Bangladesh calls for a repeat of 1971-this time to liberate the nation in India’s backyards from Jihadi mindset.