While India can perfectly handle the naysayers, there is also a serious need to introspect whether India's growth is empirical enough to deal with such divisive elements, which are hampering India's development.
Over the recent years, events happening in India have provided the global community a golden opportunity to create the image of India as a nation ruled by certain fascists who are intolerant and exclusive in nature. However, India has given a fitting response to these nexus.
There is a sudden surge of international running commentary on the internal matters of India. This is notable because the global community has started taking note of the Indian situation seriously in recent years. India is garnering the spotlight like never before, whether for good or bad, is a moot point.
Major Notable events where Global fraternity interjected
The Kashmir issue: The so-called plan of Pakistan to shame India globally for abrogating Article 370 in 2019 and taking "unilateral decisions" for UT of Jammu and Kashmir failed miserably. After facing severe humiliation and isolation on the global stage, the terrorist state of Pakistan seems to have finally understood that the world has rejected its anti-India rhetoric.
The international community firmly sided with India and was compelled to recognise the Kashmir issue as an "internal matter" of India. The Indian state is perfectly capable of handling the issue without the blame game. It displayed positive and growing influence in the global context.
The recent incidents in 2022, where several global companies like Hyundai, Kia Motors KFC, Dominos, Pizza Hut et al., from their Pakistani accounts, floated visuals and statements on Kashmir and supported the anti-India agenda. India demanded an apology for such ludicrous events. This was a ploy to ignite separatist sentiments and harm the nation's unity by the failed state, Pakistan, which again failed to make an impact.
Misconceptions related to CAA- NRC: The CAA is a humane, compassionate law that seeks to heal some of the festering wounds of Partition. If it seeks to expedite citizenship to persecuted religious minorities from three of India's neighbouring states that are Muslim-majority and Islamic republics, then it is done through the application of certain criteria within a specific context — rooted in India's unique history as a civilisational state.
This notably does not mean that India has shut the door to give Muslims citizenship, the key charge against CAA. But it has made positive discrimination in favour of certain religiously persecuted communities. In calling the law "fundamentally discriminatory in nature", the international fraternity has exposed its poor understanding of a complex issue, or still worse, has made a statement of mala fide intent driven by misplaced political activism.
The West's unease with nationalism has its reasons. But it also reflects the intellectual inadequacy of liberal thinkers who paint all nationalisms with the same brush.
Three Farm Laws (now revoked): The Act merely gave farmers the option to trade freely outside of APMCs, anywhere within India.
One of the unique features of the so-called farmers' protest was the involvement of a foreign government. Some famous foreign celebrities from different walks of life unnecessarily came up with their half-knowledge to teach the Indian state what is right or wrong for India. What a jest!
The Canadian Prime Minister tried to intervene in the domestic matter. And quite shockingly, his intervention was welcomed by a large section of India's 'liberal' commentariat.
First of all, the Canadian government had no standing comment on a purely domestic matter of India. There has to be absolute clarity on that. But the intervention looks even more sinister that the Canadian government has essentially been at war with the farmers of India. From 2015 to 2019, Canada has vocally questioned India's farm subsidies and repeatedly accused India of violating World Trade Organization (WTO) rules by means of MSP. Thus, the duplicity is visible.
Canada's woke Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faced the Canadian truckers protest against vaccination mandates; there is a delicious irony in what Trudeau is facing because there are many parallels that can be drawn between what happened during the farmers' protest.
Just as Trudeau is convinced that the vaccine mandates are designed for the wellbeing of Canadians and opposing them is anti-science, anti-society and antigovernment, so too was the case with farm laws that made eminent economic sense, were designed to improve the farm economy and oppose them was anti-economic logic, antigovernment and anti-society. But back then, Trudeau was more interested in appeasing the Khalistanis, including those within his cabinet and among his vote bank. Thus, the fountain of wisdom for Trudeau showered only when he faced it himself.
Controversy on Hijab Row: The fabricated debate on religion has shaped today's narrative. This is a classic case of Identity Politics. The debate was confined to an educational institution where uniforms are mandatory, yet it has digressed from the main point as always. Thus, giving an avenue to anti- India voices globally to dent India's profile.
In this politico-ideological war, repackaged as a fight to protect minority rights, the education and careers of Muslim girls are collateral damage. Instead of focusing on studies, students are wasting their energy on emphasising their religious identities through hijabs and saffron scarves.
After Pakistan attempted to milk the Hijab controversy, the USA decided to meddle in India's internal affairs by putting misleading information regarding the ongoing Hijab controversy in the country.
Several slammed the United States International Religious Freedom (IRF) for its unnecessary statements on the latest hijab row and asked them to stop peddling false propaganda against the country. The USA itself is accused of being a staunch Islamophobic, is lecturing India on how to treat the minority is amusing.
The journey doesn't end here, though. The statement of OIC on the Hijab row is also a double standard gimmick. Several OIC members have already banned the Islamic dress code in their respective educational institutions, so why haven't they reprimanded them? China has taken several steps to suppress the minority, including banning the Islamic dress code and reading the Quran. Did OIC take any objection? Is it not the spread of Islamophobia? Why do the criteria to judge India differ?
This sudden concern is not a soft-corner for the minority at all, just a facade to continue with their nefarious motives.
The Indian state is trying to bring all the communities on the same pedestal, which should have been done decades ago. This is not going down well with a certain section as they were given supremacy and special treatment.
Nehru era: Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong invoked India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru while arguing how democracy should work in the city-state during a passionate debate in Parliament.
Pt Nehru's era is not the rosy picture as it seems. The level of corruption, scams, nepotism, leaders' urban mindset unaware of the rural realities, miscalculating China, and blunder like the Kashmir issue are part of Pt Nehru's legacy.
Corruption was rapidly augmenting in the initial years post-independence, to which Pt Nehru said, "Honorable men should not worry about a little corruption here and there." Does an ideal democracy high on ideals and value legitimise corruption? Albeit, India shouldn't get overworked on a speech given by a nation's representative in its own Parliament. India needs to focus on its pluralistic and democratic setup.
The above events show two sides of the story, where India can perfectly handle the naysayers. However, the other story indicates that there is also a serious need to introspect whether India's growth is empirical enough to deal with such divisive elements, which are hampering India's development.
India is not being thin-skinned. It is looking at things beyond the binary lens of black and white, the grey where the diabolical political games are played.
