Dangerous precedents in India

India is not only the largest democracy in the world but a champion and a leader for freedom and secularism. A hodgepodge of peoples belonging to different nationalities, ethnicities, religions and even races live within this vibrant land bound together through an identity formed in a collective freedom struggle and secured through a far-sighted pluralistic representative democracy. Yet, this mosaic of diversity is being torn apart from within with the rise of majoritarian nationalism.

India is not just a country but a civilisation that has influenced and shaped the destinies of the whole South and South-East Asian regions. From ancient religions, migration of peoples to the independence struggle in the early 20th century, India has carried its neighbours along on its numerous journeys. For the most part of that history, these influences have been positive. The socio-economic and diplomatic intercourse between the Mauryan Empire and the Kingdom of Anuradhapura 2,300 years ago still shapes our lives on the island. The independence movement of Nehru, Gandhi, Patel et al delivered a bloodless path to freedom for Ceylon that basked in the bloody yet glorious struggle of its giant neighbour. When the Indian economy booms, Sri Lanka, which is strategically located to be a gateway to the subcontinent, inevitably benefits. Whenever there is political or economic instability in India, it surely affects us as well.

When two countries are so intricately intertwined, even without the everyday realisation of the fact, there is a significant impact of events that can at the outset seem as mere domestic or regional issues. The rise in anti-minority sentiments in India, especially towards the Muslim community and the equally troubling rise of Hindu nationalist extremism should be of enormous concern to Sri Lanka. As recent years have proven, Sri Lanka has full capacity to self-destruct through religious and racial divisions. The numerous anti-Tamil pogroms, culminating in the bloody 1983 violence, the anti-Muslim and anti-Christian rhetoric and violence that have been on the rise since 2012 are locally made catastrophes. However, when living in such a powder keg, there need only be the smallest spark to trigger a very large and devastating explosion.

It is in this light the recent religious tensions in India should be viewed. The most recent incidents are the result of a ban on Islamic headscarves that has outraged Muslim students in the Karanataka State who say it’s an attack on their faith enshrined in India’s secular constitution, while Hindu right-wing groups have tried to prevent Muslim women from entering educational institutions causing communal tension. The debate over the hijab in schools took off last month after students at a pre-university college in Karnataka state began protesting a rule barring them from wearing the Muslim head covering in classrooms. The standoff in Karnataka state – home to India’s IT hub of Bengaluru, has galvanised fears among the minority community about what they say is increasing persecution under the Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Anti-Muslim sentiment has been rising in India under Premier Modi’s Bharathiya Janatha Party government. Just as in Sri Lanka political parties have made electoral calculations on stoking hatred towards selected minorities. However, while these politicians believe they can control the fires they spark, history has proven time and time again that once these Genies of hatred are set loose, they cannot be put back in the lamp. They destroy the whole fabric of societies and even countries. Sri Lanka may not be able to control the events that are happening in India presently, yet it is necessary to be vigilant that those evil forces that lurk among us may gladly seize the moment to replicate such ethnic and religious violence. This time around, it is best that we do not follow in India’s footsteps.