Abstract

In 2019, Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister of India for the second term. Since his first term in 2014, there has been a surge in Hindu nationalism and a declining secular ethos. Due to these changes in the political landscape of India, there has been enactment of several discriminatory laws against Muslims in Indian Occupied Kashmir and India. Right after coming to power in 2019, Modi revoked articles 370 and 35-a which granted  Indian-occupied Kashmir autonomy under the Indian Union. Moreover, the promulgation of the Citizenship Amendment Act has created insecurities for millions of Muslims. These structural policies have shrunk the space for the largest minority of India: the Muslims. There is limited knowledge of the structural policies against Muslims and how it affects them. This study will use the structural violence of Johan Galtung's violence triangle to contextualize the discriminatory policies put in place to marginalize Muslims.

Key Words

Narendra Modi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Hindu Nationalism, Indian Muslims, Structural Violence, Citizenship Amendment Act, Article 370

Introduction

In April 2019, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party BJP won the general elections and will complete his five-year term in office (India elections result 2019: Narendra Modi secures landslide victory, 2019). The already tense conditions in Indian Occupied Kashmir further deteriorated when the Indian government abrogated Article 370 and Article 35-A from its constitution on 5th August 2019. This was part of the election manifesto of the BJP. It introduced the Reorganization Bill in Parliament (Moten, 2019). The Article 370 of the Indian constitution was inserted in the year 1947 with the consultation of Sheikh Abdullah the Kashmiri leader(Bibi & Fazi, 2024). It was the instrument of accession that ensured that Kashmir would remain an autonomous state under the Union of India which meant that it would have the right to make its own constitution, its own flag. It only seceded its power to the center in Foreign affairs, defense, and taxation. Another Article 35- A was added to the constitution in 1954 which barred the non-Kashmiri people from owning property in the state of Kashmir, holding government jobs, and owning scholarships in the region (Moten, 2019).

The abrogation of these articles made Kashmir part of the Indian Union and according to the Reorganization Bill, the state of Jammu and Kashmir was separated from Ladakh. It will also allow the non-Kashmiri people to own land in Kashmir. After the abrogation, the Indian army was deployed and a curfew was imposed in order to control the reaction of the Kashmiri people. The international community responded to the Indian action. Pakistan as a party to the conflict condemned the Indian move. Prime Minister Imran Khan said that this move will have implications for regional peace and security (Kocis, 2019). At the UNGA meeting in September 2019, Malaysia, Turkey, and China condemned India's move in Kashmir. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said that this move was equivalent to invading Kashmir (Malaysian PM says India 'invaded, occupied' Kashmir at UNGA, 2019). To make matters worse, by the end of the year 2019, the Indian government approved the Citizenship Law 2019 on 11th December 2019. According to this law, Indian citizenship will be granted to Christians, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, Sikhs, and Hindus who fled Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan prior to 2015 and came to India (Reuters, 2019). This law has been termed as anti-Muslim law by the critics of the BJP government as it doesn't include the claims of Muslims to Indian Citizenship (Khan et al., 2024). This law contradicts the principles of secularism enshrined in the constitution of India and will violate the rights of the 200 million population of India. There has been widespread protest against this law in different parts of India (AFP, 2019). The BJP government proposed the amendment to the citizenship bill in 2016 and it has made it into a law after being elected in their second term in office. This shows that the BJP government is committed to its Hindu nationalistic agenda. The abrogation of articles 370 and 35-A will affect the Muslims in Kashmir and simultaneously the Citizenship Law 2019 will affect the Muslims in India.

Literature Review

(Bukhari, 2018)In this book, the author discusses the possible outcomes if articles 370 and 35-A are revoked by the Indian government. According to him, there are chances of a revolt by the Kashmiri people against the Indian government in the wake of the abrogation of Article 370. He notes that since the formation of the coalition government of BJP-PDP in Kashmir, the abrogation of Article 370 has been on the agenda of the BJP(Ashfaq, 2023). The author highlights that due to continued encroachment by the central government on the authority of Srinagar and the rise of the BJP to power, the number of local militants has increased. He lays out the differences between the natures of militancy within Kashmir itself. He provides statistics on the rise of militancy in Kashmir. The author has made predictions regarding the post-370 Kashmir situation. 

(Basu, 2018) In this article, the author argues that the Indian secular constitution has been serving the Hindu nationalistic agendas. There are many constitutional provisions that restrict the rights of minorities. Since the BJP formed government in 2014, the threats to the minorities within India have increased. The author says that the protection of the rights of minorities is quintessential for the democratic values of India. The author didn't mention that not only it is important for the health of the democracy, it is also important for the improvement of the sour relationship with Pakistan which is a Muslim country. If the BJP government keeps on violating the rights of the 200 Muslim minorities under the garb of secular traditions, its relations with Pakistan will remain strained. 

(Cheema, 2017) In this report, the author has presented the fact that the Indian constitution contains provisions that are in contradiction with the religious freedom envisaged by international laws. According to the report, the BJP government has been supporting such discriminatory laws against minorities since it came into power in 2014. The report elaborates on the different pieces of legislation and their possible effects on minorities (Bhatnagar, 2023). India is home to 200 million Muslim minorities, and discriminatory laws against Muslims will clearly have implications for India's secularism. The author has not touched upon the structural marginalization of Muslims in India.

(Hingorani, Unravelling the Kashmir Knot, 2016)In this book, the author investigates the legal foundation of the Kashmir issue. It discusses the ground realities of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The author gives the legal solution for Kashmir i.e. India should refer the case to the International Court of Justice. While concluding the book, the author says that the Indian government should understand the ultimate importance of Article 370 and should evaluate its center-state relationship with Kashmir since 1947 in order to improve itself. He believes that the legal solution will not be enough to resolve the Kashmir conflict.

(Bhat, 2017)In this book, the author presents an in-depth analysis of the legal status of Kashmir under Article 370 with the Union of India. Article 370 in the constitution of India regulates the constitutional relations of the Union with the state of Kashmir. The author uses the word 'gate' to explain the purpose of Article 370, this article facilitated the application of the constitution of India to Kashmir. The author elaborates on the many constitutional developments which affected the true purpose of the article 370 over the decades. This work doesn't refer to the effect of Article 370 on the relations between Pakistan and India

 (Behera, 2006). In this book, the author attempts to redefine the Kashmir conflict by exploring the underlying unconventional issues. He aims to break away from the dominant Muslim-Hind understanding of the Kashmir conflict. He says that due to numerous reasons are multifaceted the issues that have arisen around the Kashmir conflict are multidimensional and multilayered. According to him, it is necessary to bring all the complexities into account in order to evaluate the Kashmir conflict. However, in doing so he doesn't explain the complex constitutional nature of Article 370 which gives Kashmir special status and regulates its relationship with the government at the center. 

(Swami, 2007)In this book, the author elaborates on the history of Jihadist groups in Jammu and Kashmir. He gives an analysis of the theory and practice of Islamist terrorism and how it transformed from 1947-2004. The author argues that the Jihadists gained momentum in the late 90s due to the changing strategic nature of South Asia as Pakistan and India went nuclear. The author has not taken into account other factors that might have accelerated the Jihadists like the Indian government on and off violation of Article 370 which has given Kashmir autonomous status under the Indian Union. This has created political grievances among the people against the Indian Union

 (Feyyaz, 2019). In this article, the author contextualizes the Pulwama attack in Kashmir in a complex regional and international geopolitical web. He argues that it is not sufficient to view the Pulwama incident through conventional Indian and Pakistan perspectives. He uses different analytical lenses in order to explain the causes of the Pulwama attack. 

The first lens to contextualize the Pulwama attack is the oppression and repression rampant in Kashmir which must have led to this revolt. Secondly, this attack can be seen as a result of the covert warfare between India and Pakistan. Thirdly, the Indians attribute the Pulwama to the overt warfare by Pakistan. Fourthly, the Pulwama attack is said to have been orchestrated by the BJP government to gain votes in the general elections. The fifth lens that is used to view the Pulwama incident was that it was carried out by the elements that didn't want to see normalization in the relations between India and Pakistan due to the opening of the Kartarput corridor. According to the author, each context of the Pulwama attack will produce different outcomes and implications for the parties to the Kashmir conflict. It is argued that the Pulwama attack became one of the reasons for the abrogation of articles 370 and 35-A in Kashmir. The BJP once elected again in the elections of April 2019, abrogated article 370. 

(Indurthy, India and Pakistan wars and the Kashmir crisis, 2019)In this book, the author throws light on the origin of the conflict between Pakistan and India. The book contains the details of the wars fought between Pakistan and India, the political decisions, the attempts at peace, and the insurgency in Kashmir in chronological order from 1947 to 2019. It is an updated source on Pakistan-India relations and the Kashmir conflict. The author refers to a practical solution for the resolution of the Kashmir conflict i.e. to accept the status quo on both sides of the LOC. He believes that all the parties to the conflict can agree on this possible solution. He also has expectations from Prime Minister Modi as He commands popularity in India that he would be able to resolve this long-standing dispute between Pakistan and India. He says that Kashmir with its autonomy under Article 370 will also be fine with the status quo solution. It is argued that as Article 370 has been abrogated by the Modi government, the solution presented by the author is no longer practical. The revocation of Article 370 snatches the special status of Kashmir as a state and integrates it with the Union of India.

(Shahid, 2021) In this article, the author has used Galtung's triangle as a theoretical framework to analyze how the rise of Hindu nationalism has led to political conflict against Muslims in the country, particularly in Kashmir. The author has approached the theoretical framework in the context of ABC i.e. attitude, behavior, and contradiction. The study doesn't use the framework to explain the level of discrimination the laws are doing against Muslims.

Research Design

The study is qualitative in nature. Research will be carried out by collecting primary and secondary data. Primary data will be collected through conducting interviews. Secondary data will be referred from available books, journal articles, commentary, reports, debates, and law reviews. The UN resolutions, the Shimla agreement, and the Indian constitution will also be referred to. The data will be analyzed through NVIVO.

The research starts with a purposive sampling of the experts on the politics of India. Firstly, the semi-structured interview questionnaire is designed. The primary data obtained from the interviews is placed alongside the secondary data for the sake of analysis. The primary data enriches the existing literature on the nationalistic policies under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and its impact on Indian Muslims. In the present study, ten experts have been selected through purposive sampling. The experts are not selected to make a representative sample. Rather those experts are selected whose research area was related to the present research study (Neuman, 2014). In this research, experts were selected who had done their research on the politics of India.

10 respondents have been selected who are experts on the domestic politics of India. The experts were selected from Islamabad Strategic Studies Institute, Institute of Policy Studies, COMSATS University (Islamabad Campus), Quaid-i-Azam University, and University of Karachi)

The semi-structured interviews were conducted in the study. The experts selected through purposive sampling were interviewed via Zoom/Skype. The interview was open-ended. The interviewee was not given fixed categories to select an option.  

In thematic analysis, the primary data was coded. The codes were merged into categories and themes were derived from these categories. Thematic analysis can be done manually or through specialized software. For the thematic analysis of the present study, Nvivo 12 software was used. 




Theoretical Framework

To justify this research work, the theory of Structural Violence presented by Johan Galtung will be used. It aptly goes with this research work as it presents a broader understanding of Violence and thus explores the Cultural and Structural dimensions of BJP's government's violence against the Muslims of Kashmir and other parts of India. According to Galtung, direct violence is visible as it leads to killing, injuring, or maiming the person. But this is not the only form of violence that exists in the society. There is indirect violence in society perpetrated by the government through different structures e.g. religious, legislative, and economic structures. This indirect violence is termed as structural violence by Galtung. This type of violence exploits the people and hinders their ability to achieve their full potential. Moreover, cultural violence is used to justify the use of both direct and indirect forms of violence.  India has seen a surge in nationalistic policies after the BJP took power in 2014. BJP's government has not been just using direct violence against the Muslims in Kashmir and elsewhere in India, but the Muslims have also been victims of structural violence through different legislative measures e.g. the revocation of articles 370 and 35-A in Kashmir and the promulgation of Citizenship Amendment Act 2019. Due to structural violence, the Muslims are living under social oppression, their dignity is lost and their security is also compromised. BJP has used cultural violence to justify its use of violence against the Muslims. Cultural violence utilizes the aspects of culture i.e. religion, empirical and formal sciences, ideology, art, and culture to make direct and indirect violence acceptable to the general masses. The BJP government has exploited the religious and cultural sentiments of the people by demonizing Muslims, calling them terrorists. The Muslims are made "the other" in the eyes of the people. BJP also uses the rhetoric of "dying Hindu race" which has its roots in the pre-partition India, to subjugate the Muslims. 




Theoretical Lens

A critical theoretical framework will be used in this research. Ontologically speaking, Critical theory views that there is virtual reality that is shaped by power. Epistemologically, it is subjectivist and findings are value mediated.

Horkheirmier defines Critical theory as

? “Critical theory seeks human emancipation to liberate human being

? From the circumstances that enslave them”

Unlike the traditional theories, Critical theory aims to question the existing social order which leads to the domination of one group of people by the other group. In this way, it seeks to change such social structures in order to emancipate the people from the domination of a powerful group of people.

Critical theory doesn't have a fixed methodology rather it is flexible and can use any methodology that serves its purpose of emancipation. Critical theorists can use quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods but they are more inclined towards qualitative methods.

Findings and Discussion

In order to analyze the primary data, thematic analysis was done with the help of Nvivo software.  Thematic analysis is used in analyzing data such as field notes, focus group interviews, surveys, and interviews. It is useful for analyzing small as well as large data sets. This method of analysis explores themes within the study which is used as a piece of evidence to answer the research questions. Themes in the study emerge from codes. Codes are tags or labels for assigning units of meaning(Matthew B. Miles, 1994). Codes are an analytical process that helps in organizing the data for analysis. Coding of the data set results in themes. Themes are a common, recurring pattern across a dataset, clustered around a central organizing pattern.

The thematic analysis for the primary data in the present study was carried out using the software NVIVO. Nvivo is one of the most important software for qualitative data analysis. It is helpful in organizing and analyzing unstructured data such as interviews, surveys, journal articles, web content, and field notes. Nvivo supports different methods of analysis including thematic analysis. This software is used almost in every field. Nvivo software provides a workspace with numerous tools that help in the analysis of the data(QSR International, n.d.)

The objective of the present study was to find out how the BJP’s nationalistic policies under Prime Minister NarendraModi has affected the Indian Muslims. The research question investigated the reasons and impact of the two key pieces of legislations i.e. the abrogation of articles 370/35-a and the promulgation of the citizenship amendment Act 2019 that were enacted by the Modigovernment in the first year of its second tenure..

In the present study, in the Nvivo software, a new project was created and the text of the transcription of the interviews was imported. In the sections of the files, the interviews were saved. After saving the interviews, each interview was coded with the help of the coding option. Each code was stored in a node. The coded lines were highlighted. A Node can be imagined as a container that stores data according to a particular code. After the coding process was done, the interviews were re-coded in order to refine the codes. Next, the codes were analyzed and parent codes were generated. The codes that were thought to be a sub-code were coded under the parent code as the child code. At the end of the process, the codes generated themes (parent codes).

The primary data has answered these research questions with the help of the two main themes i.e. Hindutva and marginalization of Muslims.




Hindutva

Hindutva is an ideology. This ideology came to the fore when in 1923 Sarvarkar wrote the book with the name of Hindutva. Savarkar talks about Punyabhoomi which means that the religion has its origin in the culture. This means that Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism had their origin in India. Whereas, Islam and Christianity didn't originate in India. These religions didn't qualify the argument of religion embedded in culture(Fair & Patel, 2024). Savarkar declared a common nation (rashtra) with a common race (jati) and a common civilization (Sanskriti). This conception of Hindutva had been promoted by RSS. As RSS is the parent organization of BJP, the policies and legislations of BJP have been heavily influenced by RSS and its Hindutva ideology (Ashfaq, 2023).

Hindutva is the key theme as it is the main guiding force behind the nationalistic policies of the BJP party under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In 2019, during the second term of BJP under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, two key legislations were passed. The first is the reorganization bill on Kashmir which has abrogated Article 370 and brought Kashmir into the Indian Union. The second legislation has been the promulgation of the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019. These two policies clearly have implications for the Muslims living in Kashmir and India (M, 2023). 

(Qaiser, Online interview via Skype, 2020) Faculty in the School of Politics and International Relations at Quaid-e-Azam University says while explaining the reason behind these policies that at the domestic level, BJP has long adhered to Hindutva. This ideology propagates the idea that the Hindu civilization has been polluted by the Muslims. These policies will pave the way for a Hindu Rashtra where only one identity will prevail that is Hindu identity. 

(Malik, Online interview via Zoom, 2020)Says that the reason for the abolition of Article 370 was primarily that it was part of the election manifesto of the BJP for quite a long time. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has fulfilled his promise that he will make Kashmir part of the Indian Union. She further says that the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 was enacted to appease the Hindu constituency. This act is part of a structural change that is taking place against the Muslims in India. This act has left the Muslims out of its ambit which will affect them in different ways.

(Ahmar D. M., Online interview via Zoom,2020)Says that the reason behind the enactment of the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 was the BJP's agenda to transform India (Pinatih, 2024). According to this act, citizenship of India will be given on the basis of religion as it excludes Muslims completely. While the abrogation of article 370/35-a has been a part of BJP's manifesto. 

Abbasi, (Online interview via Zoom, 2020) says that in the 21st century, there is a rise of ultra-radical neo-nationalism in the democratic societies of Europe, Asia, and America. India is also one of those democratic societies where ultra-radical neo-nationalism is on the rise. This form of nationalism has led to the promulgation of the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 (AFP, 2019). This form of nationalism is used by the political elites to divert the attention of the masses away from the core issues in the country. In this way, the stakeholders protect their vested interests. 

(Ali, Online interview via Zoom, 2020)Says that there are political reasons behind the abrogation of articles 370/35-a and promulgation of the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019. BJP aims to revamp the political and social system of India to make it a Hindu nation. Their policy is based on the Hindu extremist ideology of Hindutva. BJP wants to recover India from its secular ethos which was a hurdle in making India a Hindu Rashtra. In line with this strand of thinking, the BJP views minorities in general and Muslims in particular as an impediment to converting India into Hindustan. 

(Khan, Online interview via Zoom, 2020) is an expert on India. He says that BJP's policies are driven by Hindutva. Both the abrogation of articles 370/35-a and the enactment of the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 aim to convert the Muslim majority states into Muslim minority states. This will pave the way for making India a Hindu Rashtra.




Marginalization of the Muslims of India

The second theme which emerged was the "marginalization of the Muslims of India". According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, "marginalization means to relegate to an unimportant or powerless position within a society or group". Due to economic, legislative, and political structures by the Indian parliament, the Muslims of IOK and Muslims living in India are marginalized socially, economically, and politically. The abrogation of articles 370/35-a ended the special status of IOK and brought it under the Union of India. This legislation will have short-term and long-term effects on the Muslim population of IOK. On the other hand, due to the enactment of the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 has put a question mark on the citizenship of numerous Muslims living in India (Reuters, 2019). When Muslims will not be able to prove their citizenship, they will be denied access to education and economic opportunities. 

Qaiser (Online interview via Skype,2020) throws light on the outcomes of the abrogation of articles 370/35-a. He says that this abrogation has paved the way for the promulgation of the Domicile law in Kashmir. This will further lead to the demographic change in Kashmir. The Muslims of Kashmir will be deprived of socio-political privileges (Khan, 2023). The Kashmir blockade can be compared to the Gaza blockade. Even there is a danger of genocide of the Muslim population in Kashmir. Moreover, the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 will downgrade the citizenship status of Muslims. The Muslims will be at the receiving end (Pinatih, 2024). The social and political significance of the Muslims will be downgraded as they have to prove their citizenship. They will be dis-privileged and most likely to face persecution. 

(Malik, Online interview via Zoom, 2020)Reflects on the implications of the abrogation of articles 370/35-a. She says that these articles preserved the demographic sanctity of Kashmir. If a census is carried out in Kashmir now, it will definitely indicate demographic change over the course of one year. These articles were instrumental in preserving the rights of the Kashmiris. After the abolition of these articles, the Muslims of Kashmir have lost all their socio-economic safeguards. While the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 is discriminatory against Muslims only, it will have grave consequences for Muslims. As the Muslims of India will not be able to prove their nationality, they will suffer in education. This is just the start. Due to poor education, Muslims will be able to get only blue-collar jobs. So the Muslims of India will be marginalized to such an extent that they will be only doing menial jobs. All the rights of the Muslims will suffer. 

Ali (Online interview via Zoom,2020) is an expert on India at the Institute of Policy Studies. He says that the policies of the BJP will lead to social marginalization, economic marginalization, and political marginalization of the Muslims in Kashmir and India. These policies will affect and reduce the opportunities that the Muslims living in India have in terms of education, in terms of jobs, in terms of respect and dignity that they expect in society, and the contribution that they make in India as a citizen.

(Ahmar D. M., Online interview via Zoom, 2020)Believes that the Indian Muslims are marginalized. In the past, important Muslims were elected to important posts like Prime Minister, President, speaker of Rajya Sabha, and Lok Sabha(Das, 2023). Muslims were not given representation in the Indian military, bureaucracy, and judiciary. BJP realized that as long as the Muslims are allowed to maintain their identity, they won't be able to realize their dream of a Hindu Rashtra. 

(Naqvi, Online interview via Skype, 2020)Is a renowned journalist. He says that the main outcome of the abolition of articles 370/35-a is that the BJP wants to change the demography of Kashmir and convert it into a Muslim minority state. While on the other hand, the Muslims who protested against the CAA have faced brutal violence by the state machinery. 

(Khan, Online interview via Zoom,2020)Is an expert on India at the Islamabad Institute of Strategic Studies. He also highlights the demographic change that is taking place in IOK in the wake of the abolition of articles 370/35-a. The purpose is to convert India into a Hindu majority state so the international community won't interfere in the matter of Kashmir. He further says that this change in the status of Kashmir will have both long-term and short-term effects on the Muslim population. The immediate effect is the conflict over economic opportunities as many people are entering Kashmir. This will marginalize the local Muslims economically. In the long term, there will be cultural change which implies that the mindset of Kashmiri youth will be changed. 

Computer Assisted Analysis

The Nvivo software has generated a bar graph in order to visualize the percentage coverage of the three themes generated in the study. The first bar graph shows how many participants have emphasized the role of Hindutva in the policymaking of the current BJP regime under PM Modi. 

 




Figure 1

(Nvivo 12)


Three participants have emphasized that the role of Hindutva in policymaking in India is more than 10%. Three other participants have stressed the 2-8% role of Hindutva in the legislation process of India. Lastly, only two participants have stressed the 0-2% role of Hindutva in the current legislation of India. 
 


Figure 2
(Nvivo 12)
This bar graph visualizes the second theme of the marginalization of Muslims in IOK and India. According to this bar graph, three participants have highlighted the marginalization of Muslims of more than 15 due to the BJP's nationalistic policies. Three other participants have stressed the marginalization of the Muslims 0-4%.

Conclusion

The rise of Bharatiya Janata Party

Bharatiya Janata Party evolved from its predecessor party Bharata Jana Sangh in 1977. This political party has its origin in the pre-partition period of the sub-continent. The subcontinent has remained first under Muslim rule and then under the British Raj. These have influenced the Hindus living in the subcontinent in many ways. They viewed the Christians and the Muslims as the "Other" who have polluted the Hindu way of life. Many Hindus have converted to Islam or Christianity. This context has paved the way for many revivalist organizations to grow which had the task of reconverting the people back into Hinduism. 

In 1923, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar published a book titled "Hindutva". According to him, whoever viewed India as "fatherland and holy land" was an Indian. This definition included the Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs and excluded Christians and Muslims. Savarkar headed the Hindu Mahasba and to some extent influenced the politics of India with his Hindutva ideology. Later, RSS (a non-political entity) emerged from Hindu Mahasba in 1925. Bharatiya Jana Sang was the political group of the RSS. RSS followed a more extreme Hindutva ideology. In 1977, when the Bharatiya Janata Party came into being from BJS, it was influenced by the Hindutva ideology (Ashfaq, 2023).

In the initial years, BJS could not get electoral success. When the BJP came into being, it also took many years to gain electoral success and reach the point it is now. BJP kept dwindling between pragmatism for success in domestic politics and Hindu nationalism as the ideology of the party(Christophe Jafferlot, 2019). It was not an extremist party under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee(Malik, 2020). Although it remained associated with Hindu nationalism when the Babri mosque was demolished. In the general elections of 2014, BJP got its electoral breakthrough. Narendra Modi was elected as the Prime Minister and the dynamics of BJP changed. In 2019, the BJP was re-elected in the general elections and Narendra Modi was re-elected as the Prime Minister for the second time. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP has emerged as an extremist Hindu nationalist party. Narendra Modi has made BJP a hybrid of half BJP members and half RSS members. BJP's stalwarts have left or been expelled from the political party(Malik, 2020). 




BJP’s Nationalistic Policies under Prime Minister Narendra Modi

In 2019, the BJP triumphed in the general elections. Narendra Modi was re-elected as Prime Minister. Two legislations were passed by the BJP government in 2019. The first legislation was the abolition of Articles 370/35-a which was passed on 5th August 2019. It changed the special status of Kashmir from a State to a Union territory. The Indian government called it the "Kashmir reorganization bill", they didn't term it as abrogation of the articles 370/35-a.  The second legislation was the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 which was passed on 11th December 2019. This act has changed the notion of citizenship from civic to ethnic. The citizenship will be given on the basis of religion. According to this Amendment, Indian citizenship will be granted to Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, and Zoroastrians who have escaped persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh and entered India in 2014. This Amendment clearly excludes Muslims. 

There are several factors behind these legislations which can be analyzed through the three levels of analysis i.e. domestic, state, and international level. The reasons for the abolition of articles 370/35-a can be found in the domestic political landscape of India. Firstly, the rise of the BJP under Prime Minister Narendra Modi can be seen as the major factor. The abrogation of articles 370/35-a has long been in the manifesto of the BJP(Naqvi, 2020). Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP has become an extremist nationalist party that adheres to the Hindutva ideology. BJP aims to rebuild the nation on the principles of Hindutva and revamp the political and social structure of India on Hindutva lines. The rise of the BJP with its ideology has also coincided with the decline of the National Congress. This has given the BJP political space to implement its policies which contradict the secular principles of India (Ali, 2020). Articles 370/35-A granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir which ensured that the Muslim population would not be questioned. By abolishing these articles, now people from all over India can purchase property in Kashmir.

According to the state level of analysis, the abolition of these articles was motivated by India's desire to ensure that the Kashmir dispute was never resolved. As Jammu and Kashmir have become part of the Indian Union, the Kashmir dispute no longer exists for India (Khan, 2020). This move has also sent a clear message to Pakistan which is the party to the Kashmir dispute i.e. there will be no bilateralism on the Kashmir issue(Qaiser, 2020). Moreover, India asserted that there would be separatist movements in Kashmir if it was not integrated with the Indian Union.

According to the International level of analysis, the integration of Kashmir into the Union of India is a move to diminish the international significance of the Kashmir dispute. Now India can claim that Kashmir is no longer an international conflict rather it is an internal matter(Khan, 2020). The involvement of the UNSC has been rendered illogical. In addition to this aspect, India believes that like the other superpowers, India is also exempted from the underpinnings of international laws (Qaiser, 2020). For this reason, it has legislated and made Kashmir a part of India without considering the UNSC resolutions passed regarding the Kashmir disputes. This step had a spill-over effect on the region, mainly affecting India's relationship with its neighbor Pakistan, further deteriorating the relationship (Khan, 2024).

The Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 can also be assessed through the three levels of analysis.  From the domestic lens, BJP's Hindutva ideology has been the driving force(Qaiser, 2020). This legislation can be seen as a step towards the creation of a Hindu Rashtra where only Hindus can live. This amendment was mentioned in the election manifesto 2019 of BJP. It has been enacted to appease the Hindu constituency (Malik, 2020). Moreover, there have been several amendments to the Citizenship Act of 1955 which have culminated in the promulgation of the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019. According to some scholars, this amendment was promulgated by the Modi regime to hide its failures on different fronts. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also wants to project himself as a tough leader who can take action and is not afraid of its consequences.

The CAA analyzed through the state level of analysis informs us that this act has given a message to Pakistan and Bangladesh that the Muslims not only pose a hurdle for the realization of a Hindu Rashtra but also are a hurdle in the way of India becoming a regional hegemon (Ali, 2020). 

According to some scholars, there is rise of ultra-radical neo-nationalist leaders in 21st century in many democratic countries of Europe, Asia and America. The promulgation of CAA is due to the rise of ultra-radical neo-nationalist leader NarendraModi. This legislation has been enacted to divert the attention of the masses from their real problems. This will enable the elite to maintain the system which benefits them(Abbasi, 2020).

These legislations will have consequences for the Muslims of Kashmir and India. These regulations will marginalize Muslims in the economic, political, and social spheres of life. After abrogating the articles 370/35-a, a communication blockade has been imposed in Kashmir. The political elite of Kashmir has been under house arrest. The demographic change has started in Kashmir as now any person can buy land/property in Kashmir. Kashmir will be converted into a Hindu-majority state due to these demographic changes (Naqvi, 2020). The demographic change will ultimately lead to cultural changes in Kashmir. This will affect the minds of the future generation. The people of Kashmir will face competition in economic opportunities. The human rights violations continue in Kashmir (Khan, 2020). A genocide alert has issued a threat of genocide in Kashmir.

On the other hand, the Citizenship Amendment Act will also marginalize the Muslims living in India.  There is a supplementary article in the act according to which the Muslims have to show their citizenship papers. This is part of a systematic plan to marginalize the Muslims. Many of the Muslims won't be able to produce their documents and this will create hurdles for them at every step. They won't be able to acquire education. This will further narrow down their economic opportunities. They will be left with the blue-collar jobs. The status of Muslims will decline in the society. This legislation will have long-term consequences for the Muslims where they will be marginalized in every walk of life(Malik, 2020).

References

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