The comment of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor that BJP would make India a “Hindu Pakistan” if it came to power in 2019 has generated massive controversy. Surprisingly Tharoor’s own party urged him to maintain restrain while making such statement. BJP on the other hand is gunning for him and have sought apology from Mr Tharoor. He has out rightly refused to apologize and said, “BJP/RSS idea of a Hindu Rashtra is the mirror image of Pakistan — a state with a dominant majority religion that seeks to put its minorities in a subordinate place. That would be a Hindu Pakistan.”
Tharoor may have gone bit too far but it will be wrong to dismiss his comment and declare him as some kind of anti-national which the BJP and its associates are doing. Infact he is warning Indians not to let the country become another Pakistan. After partition India embraced secular democracy whereas Pakistan declared itself as Islamic republic. India has made remarkable progress in all spheres of life and has developed into modern secular democracy. It is respected all over the world and is often cited as role model for rest of the world. On the other side of border Pakistan has been taken over by Islamic fundamentalist and it has become terror producing factory where minorities are persecuted. However in the last few years, members of right wing groups have launched vigorous movement to make India a Hindu country. Minorities are being targeted and it has created fear among them. Talks of changing secular constitutions are being made by leaders of ruling BJP. It is in this context that Shashi Tharoor’s statement makes lot of sense. Instead of gunning for him, BJP and its associates should introspect. There is no doubt that today secular fabric of India faces serious threat from the right wing groups.