ISLAMABAD: The notion of sustaining Hindu dominance over minorities, has manifested in social, political, and economic injustices, a speaker at a lecture said.

Dr. Muhammad Mujeeb Afzal underscored the importance of socio-cultural processes in shaping ideologies and subsequently competing for narratives that shape identities.

He was speaking at a guest lecture, titled “Hindutva Particularism: A Threat to Indian Union” organized by the Islamabad Policy Research Institute.

Narrating the historical and social evolution of Hindutva in India, he mentioned the importance of culture and faith to Hindutva’s upper political and social class.

Comparing the Nehruvian to the current Hindutva state, Dr. Mujeeb stated that the governance in India under the Hindutva ideology has transitioned from recognition of diversity in its legal and economic frameworks to a model which delegitimizes diversity as “non-Indian” and ‘Western” values with no place in India.

Speaking on the electoral success of the BJP and the Hindutva ideology it espouses, Dr. Mujeeb talked about the gradual and patient approach to political progress that has led the party to the top of Indian politics.

He did however mention that the political cycle and India’s own electoral system will allow for the opposition to emerge as a serious challenger in the long term.

Concluding the session, IPRI acting president Brigadier Raashid Wali Janjua (Retd) stated that the rise of majoritarianism in India ought to be countered by equalitarianism and externally through recognition of territorial sovereignty.