Rising trend of intolerance, exclusiveness

By Zerougui Abdelkader

Post-independent India under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru, and the Indian National Congress from 1947 until 1964 allowed the country to define itself as a secular nation that embraces Hindus, Christians, Sikhs and Buddhists as "citizens."

However, the coming to power of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under the leadership of former Chief Minister of Gujarat- Narendra Damodardas Modi in 2014 has transformed the Indian landscape, and accelerated the growing atmosphere of intolerance, and forcefully supporting a Nazi-similar agenda to recreate a myth of Bharat Mata "Mother India" exclusive for Hindus.

Hindus claim the Taj Mahal ― a historical heritage ― has no place in India because of its association with Islam. The destruction of the 16th-century Babri Mosque, based on claims it is built over top of the Hindu temple of Ram, the seventh avatar of the Hindu deity Vishnu, is a clear indication of the atmosphere of fear and intolerance that often precedes ethnic cleansing and genocide.

The BJP under Modi espoused openly extremism, as its founders and cadres come from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), an Indian right-wing, Hindu nationalist, paramilitary volunteer organization. Their members are dominant and very active at levels of government and institutions.

The RSS members have infiltrated every aspect of Indian life, and are rewriting the school textbooks and history of India. The Ministry of Culture is now in the process of redefining India's history, much as what the Nazis did in Germany, and by emphasizing the superiority of Hindus as opposed to other ethnic and religious minorities.

A twisting of history, mythology and religion is slowly developing into an ideology of hate and intolerance with the complicity of scholars and ideologues.

The BJP has been working on all fronts. Economically, India became a major partner with the U.S., and the latter displaced Russia as major supplier of arms to India. The Indian-American lobby is becoming extremely sophisticated. The political force has played a pivotal role in transforming U.S. foreign policy toward India.

The Indian American Forum for Political Education, India Political Action Committee, and the Congressional Caucasus on India and Indian Americans to name a few are forces to be reckoned with. However, it was during the passage of the U.S. ― India Civilian Nuclear Agreement Bill in the U.S. Congress in 2008 that the real clout of Indian lobbying was confirmed.

The nation's three million Indian-Americans are increasingly looking to flex their political muscles, thanks to the growing influence of the RSS and the right-wing demagogues. With their increasing financial power, they are turning into politics to lobby for India. The Pew Survey of 2013 indicated that Indian-Americans' median household income sits at $88,000 ― the highest of all Asian-Americans.

M.R. Rangaswami, an influential Silicon Valley investor who founded the Sand Hill Group and Indiaspora, a nonprofit that brings together leaders within the Indian-American community, stated that the United States "can have an Indian-American president in the next generation."

The flexing power of India is reaching the Arab Gulf region. The Indian migration to the region is one of the largest. More than 5 million Indians work and live in the Gulf region. Their presence is overtly noticed, and their financial clout and presence is often felt among the local populations.

Unlike the Filipinos, and other migrant workers, Hindus are very politicized, and act as a "tribe," much like the Gujarati in the U.S. who control the total motel business. It is the culture of self-imposed "ghetto" and the rejection of other that is sending waves of fear across the minorities in India, especially among impoverished Muslim populations.

The portrayal of Hindus in the Gulf states by Indian and Western media as exploited poor migrants is far from the truth. Remittances from the Indian expatriates was $69 billion in 2013, from which $25 billion originated from the GCC countries. These figures however did not include the Indian commercial enterprises that dominate the Gulf region. Their operation includes wholesale and retail, trade, engineering, construction, transportation, health care and hospitals etc.

They are becoming a force to reckon with, and their lobby has expanded exponentially during the past decades. Their abilities to network and act as a "tribe" allowed them to control a large portion of the economy in the Gulf region, and marginalize the rest of the migrant populations.

Their lobby is reaching to higher levels, and it is becoming dangerous. Compared to other ethnic and religious groups, like Filipinos or Africans, these communities do not have a political agenda, unlike RSS-Hindus. Their number has been increasing drastically, which is putting these small countries at risk, as the RSS continues to "brain wash" the migrant populations abroad.

India's economic, and military powers are growing, and thus its influence is reaching to the region, making the Gulf states extremely vulnerable. New policies are needed to redefine the migrant labor force, as the risks of instability and the politicization of the labor force can escalate into military pressures and interference into the sovereignty of the Gulf states.

In 2016, the GCC population was estimated at 50 million from which 24.5 million were expatriates. Qatar's expatriates constitute 89 percent of the population; in Kuwait they represent 69 percent; and in Bahrain, they constitute 52 percent.

The BJP operates with a strong superiority complex in the region, and it is its Nazi agenda that is scary. It is only a matter of time before the Muslims will become the new Rohingya, and the Gulf states will be overwhelmed because of their small populations compared to 1 billion RSS-Hindus.

Hindutva is rewriting the history of India to legitimize exclusiveness and religious superiority of Hindus, creating a generation of RSS diehard supporters of violence and ethnic cleansing who need to be stopped before it is too late.

Zerougui Abdelkader (zerouguiabdelkader@yahoo.com) is an adjunct professor at American University.