DIPLOMATIC DOINGS

The BJP has also recently enacted “security” laws that disproportionally target Muslims. “The moment that the state starts to scrutinize one religious group, they also turn to do it to other religious groups,” Jain warned.

Cesari views the current religious tensions as a legacy of British interference in the region. Historically, religious groups on the Indian subcontinent tended to see themselves first and foremost as members of a local community. This local sense of belonging typically superseded religious differences.

This began to change when British rule introduced the modern notion of the state and different groups began competing over the national image and national resources. While, for instance, Muslims previously existed as members of a local community, now they had to conceptualize what it meant to be an Indian Muslim. “Until the encounter with the British, the Muslims never thought of themselves as a minority because they saw themselves as a thread in the tapestry of what was India,” Cesari said.

Thus, even though the British imposed a secular vision for the state, the new system actually created an enormous amount of tension between Muslims and Hindus by forcing the two communities to construct sometimes divergent national identities.

The BJP emerged within this context, appealing to the Hindu fear that secularization both threatened the Hindu identity and disproportionately favored minorities. The BJP “is trying to preserve or strengthen the rights of the majority against the power given, or too much [perceived] power, given to the minorities,” Cesari said. This framework explains the common arguments made by Hindi nationalists aligned with the BJP: “Islam will take over India…Hindus will have no land left…all their girls will be converted to Islam…Muslim men are launching their jihad by way of marrying women.”

While the BJP has become by far the most popular political party in India, Jain argued that its significance is overblown. Despite the British legacy of creating the concept of “minorities” in India, she noted that extreme anti-Muslim sentiments did not emerge on a wide scale until more recently, meaning Islamophobia is more of a modern populist Hindu political ploy by Modi rather than an institutionalized way of thinking among the populace.

Jain suggested that Hindu nationalism as a defining identity for Indians is unsustainable, and that the public will eventually desire a political party that does more than appeal to religious sentiment. “People want more than religion, and I think people are smart enough to see, are we being fooled in the name of religion? Are we getting enough from our politicians?” —Zakaria Clark-Elsayed

DIPLOMATIC DOINGS Ambassador Calls for Renewed U.S.-Pakistan Relationship Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), the Center for Security, Strategy and Policy Research, the University of Lahore and the Atlantic Council co-organized a conference in Washington, DC on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 to discuss the future of U.S.-Pakistan relations.

Delivering the keynote address, Pakistan’s ambassador to the U.S. Masood Khan said U.S.-Pakistan relations are “bright and our ties are poised to grow in the future.” Pakistan assisted the U.S. with massive evacuations from Afghanistan after U.S. troops withdrew last year, “and continues to do so,” the ambassador noted. The U.S., meanwhile, assisted Pakistan in the COVID-19 pandemic by delivering 78 million vaccine doses, making it the largest donor to the country. “We appreciate that the United States has provided $80 million to us to beat the coronavirus and build capacity for disease surveillance,” Khan said. With regard to the recent flooding in Pakistan, the ambassador noted that the country sustained losses estimated to be around $40 billion. With the help of the international community, “we should be able to rebuild our destroyed infrastructure, houses, health care systems and educational institutions,” he said. Khan thanked the United States for providing $97 million in humanitarian assistance to support the rescue, relief and early recovery operations. “We also thank American citizens, including Pakistani Americans and U.S. businesses, for contributing another $27 million in cash and kind.” The Pakistani government welcomes the recent initiative announced by U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome to launch a green alliance to fight climate change. Among other things, the ambassador said, “this would provide an umbrella for our cooperation to develop weather-resistant hybrid seeds and promote linkages between our agricultural universities for research in GMOs, genetic engineering and biotechnology.” Pakistan also hopes to scale up bilateral ties with the United States in the economic, technological and edSTAFF PHOTO PHIL PASQUINI Pakistani Ambassador to the U.S. Masood Khan calls for ucational domains. “This is not merely aspirational,” Khan said. “Hard work is underway on both sides to translate this into policy.” Regarding U.S.-Pakistan relations the U.S. to expand its economic relationship with going forward, former Pakistani na Pakistan, in Washington, DC on Oct. 31, 2022. tional security adviser Dr. Moeed