Victims of Hyper-Nationalism in India | Arup Kumar Sen

The basic premise of hyper-nationalism being nurtured by the Indian state under the current BJP regime is creation of suspected enemies, both internal and external. This is clearly visible in the wake of recent killings of the tourists in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22, 2025. The Statement issued by PUCL on April 25, 2025 in this context (incorporated in the last issue of Mainstream) drew our attention to it: “According to official sources, more than 1500 Kashmiri people have been picked up in south Kashmir and are being interrogated by internal and external security forces. This data according to some Kashmiris, may be only half the actual numbers picked up.”

How vulnerable are the people of Kashmir in the wake of the Pahalgam killings is evident in the case of Ahmed Tarek Butt and his family members, reported in The Hindu (May 3, 2025): “The Supreme Court asked the Centre on Friday (May 2) to desist from taking coercive action against six members of a family, threatened with deportation to Pakistan, until their papers and identity records are thoroughly verified by authorities…The top court was hearing a plea by Ahmed Tarek Butt and his family, who claimed they were detained and taken to the Wagah border for deportation to Pakistan despite having valid Indian documents. The family members are residents of Kashmir, and their son works in Bengaluru. They are facing deportation following the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people lost their lives.”
Even those working in the Jammu and Kashmir police are not spared. Iftkhar Ali, a 45-year-old J&K policeman and his family members “were among over two dozen people who were served ‘Leave India’ notices by authorities in Poonch, Rajouri and Jammu districts. They were then taken to Punjab for deportation. However, Mr. Ali and his eight siblings were brought back to their village after the High Court of J&K and Ladakh stayed their deportation. It admitted their petition, claiming that they were not Pakistani nationals and have been living here for generations.” Mr. Ali said: “I have served in all the wings in the police department over the past 27 years.” (See The Hindu, May 4, 2025)

The above incidents distinctly show that the people belonging to the Muslim community in Jammu and Kashmir are going through the ordeal of proving their Indian identity. This substantiates that Indian statecraft is organically connected with the discourse of hyper-Hindu-nationalism.