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INDIA`S concocted reasons for cancelling the foreign ministers meeting in New

York, rather than revealing Imran Khan`s `true face`, as the external affairs ministry
statement asserted, exposed the ugly face of India`s BJP-RSS regime.

Imran Khan was charitable in alluding to Narendra Modi as a `small man` in a `big
office`.

The Indian prime minister`s origins as an RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh)


enforcer and the instigator of the massacre of 2,000 innocent Muslim children, women
and men in Gujarat are well recorded. He escaped conviction for this crime through
manipulation and intimidation of India`s judicial system. He secured election to
India`s premiership by running a campaign of racist propaganda, f alse economic
promises and claims to great power status.

Since assuming of fice, the BJP-RSS combine, not unlike the Nazis, has been on a
systematic programme of coercion, intimidation and propaganda to impose racist
(Hindu) supremacy in India and transform India`s 150 million Muslims, Christians
and other minorities, and lower-caste Hindus, into second-class citizens.

In a press conference on Aug 30, 2018, the Indian human rights activist and author,
Arundhati Roy, summed up the main features of BJP-RSS rule: the `re-
Brahminisation of education`; the `lynching of Muslims` and attacks on the Adivasis
and Dalits; incarceration of millions of poor people, deprived of homes; the brutal
suppression of the Kashmiris; the intimidation and physical elimination of dissenting
journalists, epitomised by the murder of Gauri Lankesh; the existence of a `shadowy,
fullblown terror network` targeting adversaries; the dismantling of educational
institutions, `falsification of history` and persecution of liberal students and student
bodies; enrichment of corporations close to the BJP, such as the award of the Rafale
contract to Reliance Industries; allowing capitalists, like Vijay Mallya and Nirad
Modi, to decamp with `thousands of crores`; and a `regime which its own police calls
fascist`.

`Incredible India`, the jingle heard globally inubiquitous TV advertisements, assumes


a contrary meaning when the `nasty, brutish and short`lives of the vast majority of
Indians are brought to light.

Some statistics: India is the most dangerous place to be born a girl. Three million girls
are lost each year to infanticide; it has the highest number of suicides; it ranks third in
the number of rape cases; 60 per cent of Indians live on two dollars a day or less; 14m
live in slavery; 600m practise open defecation; it is ranked as the second-most racist
country and has 13 of the 20 most polluted cities.
Modi and the BJP have failed spectacularly to improve the lives of the vast majority
of the Indian people. The Indian government and its pet media boast of their country`s
rapid growth and the growing ranks of billionaires. These billionaires are the creatures
of crony capitalism and extensive official credit, with their wealth built on the
exploitation of India`s poor and deprived. India is more unequal now than ever, with
islands of prosperity coexisting in an ocean of poverty and misery.

The BJP government`s failure to deliver on its tall promises of jobs and prosperity has
eroded Modi`s popularity dramatically. Arundhati Roy believes this loss of popularity
presages dangerous times. Modi and the BJP-RSS will try to divert attention from
their failures by a `continuous circus of arrests, assassinations, lynchings, bomb
attacks, false flag attacks, riots (and) pogroms`.

Some Indian analysts are convinced that Modi`s major diversion will be the
intensification of tensions with Pakistan. This could be generated through `false flag`
terrorist attacks in occupied Kashmir or India itself, justifying nationalist hysteria and
threats against Pakistan. New Delhi may even consider an actual `surgical strike`
across the LoC or the international border, as the Indian army chief has threatened. If
they can get away with limited military `success` against Pakistan, it would play
extremely well with current Indian jingoism and assure a Modi/BJP electoral victory.

Yet, this would be a high-risk operation, militarily and politically. The action may not
remain `limited`if Pakistan retaliates forcefully and the `surgi-cal strike` escalates into
a general conflict with the ever-present nuclear dimension. Politically, if an Indian
incursion is visibly defeated by Pakistan, it could lead to the BJP`s defeat at the polls.

The abrupt cancellation of the foreign ministers New York meeting is an indication
that India wishes to keep the escalation option open. Any engagement with Pakistan
now would constrain this option. The joint statement against Pakistanbased `terrorist`
groups, extracted by India from the US at the 2+2 talks last month, also fits into New
Delhi`s possible aggressive plans.

Despite its desire for regional cooperation, the new Pakistani government cannot
afford to ignore the brewing threat f rom India. A determined ef fort is required to
prevent the execution of such a strategy. Any sign of Pakistani weakness will intensify
and encourage Indian belligerence. Modi is a classic bully; he feeds on weakness; he
will be deterred only by strength and determination.

Pakistan should stop asking for a dialogue with India. It should launch a diplomatic
and media campaign, at the UN and other international forums and major capitals, to
reveal the narrow motives for India`s hostility, illustrate the threat this poses to
regional and global security and secure political support for Pakistan`s positions from
China and as many other countries as possible.

Second, as Clausewitz wrote: `To secure peace is to prepare for war.` Pakistan`s
armed forces should enhance their readiness to deter and repel a possible Indian
incursion across the LoC or the international border. It should be made clear to the US
and others that any Indian military adventurism will lead to Pakistani retaliation not
only on the eastern front but also against Indian-sponsored terrorist sites in
Afghanistan.

Modi`s multiplying mistakes, the growing disenchantment of India`s masses and


Pakistan`s resolute resistance may well combine to defeat this ugly regime at India`s
2019 polls. • The writer is a former Pakistan ambassador to the UN.
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