AR Bhat
Pakistan has been painting a false narrative at various forums that people of minority community in India are having tough times and “Islam is in danger” in this democratic country. Pakistani propaganda machinery is taking full advantage of encashing the public sentiments in name of religion and keeping away their focus from the prime challenges which their country is facing. Today, Pakistan is under heavy foreign debt and has a very fragile economy. It is gasping under uncontrolled inflation and there is hardly any industrial base. There is no relief from large scale unemployment and rampant corruption prevailing in that country. Pakistan has a failing public health machinery and there is no government sponsored quality education system for its masses majority of which stay in rural areas. There are hardly any democratic norms since political appointments are limited to privileged classes only. Moreover, the country has remained under direct military dictatorship for more than three decades and at other times, the strings of puppet governments have been in the hands of Pakistani Army. There is hardly any social security and Pakistan as a country has earned the reputation of being the breeding ground of terrorism in the entire world.
Majority of the masses are illiterate and reside in rural areas since the process of development has been very slow in Pakistan. It is very easy to influence the thought process of these poverty-stricken, illiterate masses in the name of religion and national threat. It has been the modus-operandi of Pak propaganda machinery to instil a sense of fear in their masses about a notional military threat and their religion being in dander. False propaganda is circulated in the Pakistani society that the minority community in India is in danger and the citizens of Pakistan must join the jihad to help their brethren in India from the same religious faith. Some of the people, usually who are living below poverty lines, become easy victims of this false narrative. Generally, they have a large family to support with very meagre source of earning. They generally send their children to madrasa for studying and these juvenile minds are radicalised and taught lessons to join the jehad. They are even despatched to Indian soil to create bloodshed. On the similar lines, Pak gives instructions to the radical and terrorist organisations in India who are on its payroll to spread hatred and bloodshed in the Indian society. The aim is to spread an environment of terror and grief and make the citizens obey their political philosophies. There have been numerous incidents in the past where such radicalised and misguided individuals have created bloodshed at various places in India. Even the ongoing terrorism in Kashmir is now being run on similar religious, radical ideology.
India is a secular country where all religions are equal in the eyes of the government and law of the land. The minority community lives here safely and enjoys equal status as well as opportunity as any other community. All citizens are equal in the eyes of the constitution. The Indian citizens have given equal support and affection to the celebrities irrespective of their religious faith. Persons from the minority community have risen to the highest ladders of political, judiciary, executive and bureaucratic posts and have enjoyed as well as exercised equal authority. Such equality of religion is unimaginable in Pakistan. There is a need for the masses to understand that what is important in life is to have a good health, good education, respectable means of earning, live in peaceful environment and ensure a safe future for the next generation. All this comes with peaceful environment and sustained efforts made towards development. Every religion teaches peaceful co-existence and no religion teaches violence. A society has to make concerted efforts to develop and keep pace with the progress being made in the other parts of the world to ensure a better and prosperous tomorrow for its future generation. People have to be wise rational in their thinking and should not let the adversaries exploit them psychologically. It is a good indicator that common people have started understanding the ill motive behind such propaganda and becoming more aware of the realities.
