With a topsy-turvy geopolitical situation in Afghanistan, the Indian hawks landed in hot waters. Taliban’s lightning sweep over Kabul dealt a massive blow to India’s strategic interests and investments in Afghanistan. In a nightmarish scenario for the Indian government and security establishment, the Taliban have come closer to and are heavily dependent on Pakistan. while there has been a convergence of regional powers such as China, Russia and Iran with the stand of Pakistan on the issue of the Taliban’s takeover. New Delhi has effectively become irrelevant in Afghanistan, with its rivals Islamabad and Beijing having carved out a prominent role in the country.
Analysts observe that reiterate the need for the Indian government’s formal or informal engagement with the Taliban. Reports emerged in July that Indians had established informal backdoor channels for communication with certain Taliban factions in Afghanistan. The history of the relationship between the Taliban and India is rife with resentment as the events of the hijacked Indian Flight ofIC-814 are still alive in the Indian memory. Indian take the Taliban as nothing more than an Islamist militant group and a proxy of Pakistan. Successive Indian governments and politicians characterized the group as such since the Taliban’s nineties regime.
Read more: How do Russia, Pakistan, China, Iran and India view the Taliban’s rise in Afghanistan?
Policymakers in India realize that ground realities have shifted
The only route to protect Indian interests, particularly in light of China and Pakistan’s influence in Afghanistan, lies in establishing some sort of contact with the Taliban. In recognition of this necessity, Indian diplomats in Qatar met with Taliban representatives, the first-ever formal meeting between the two sides on 31st August 2021. The meeting brewed a storm at home; the opposition questioned the meeting while it confused BJP’s core base.
Why does it confuse BJP’s base? Because BJP’s core base embraces the ideas of Hindutva and hyper-nationalism.The Hindutva ideology imagines India as a Hindu Rashtra, where minorities must be subjugated to their Hindu masters. This ideology aspires to remove the pluralistic and secular nature of the Indian republic into a Hindu-dominated state. This, combined with the fact that India, since the inception of the Taliban, has categorically declared the group as a Jihadi organization and Pakistan’s proxy, makes any engagement with the Taliban a challenge for New Delhi. For the core follower of BJP, the Afghan Taliban are an ideological threat and a sum of all fears.
For the followers of an ideology and a political party that casts every Muslimas “jihadi”, the Afghan Taliban, an ultra-orthodox, armed group, is the biggest menace on earth. The BJP’s formal or informal dialogue with the Taliban translates into domestic challenges for the ruling party and opposition from within its base. BJP government is credited with eroding the press freedom and voices of dissent within the country. Since 2014, India descended into hyper-nationalism, growing popularity of the Hindutva ideology, increased insecurity of Muslim population and curtailing of secular nature of the Indian democracy.
The rise of anti-Muslim bigotry in the public sphere coincides with the electoral dominance of the BJP in the past decade. Exploiting, sensationalizing and exaggerating the threat of “jihadi mindset” has been the bread and butter of the ruling party. Islamophobia is not just limited to the rhetoric advanced by BJP and RSS members but also manifests in the form of actions and policies devised by the central government. For instance, the Citizenship Amendment Act(CAA), a brainchild of India’s Interior Minister Amit Shah, grants citizenship to persecuted minorities of India’s Muslim-majority neighbors, except for Muslims.
According to the BJP government, Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Christians and Buddhists are extremely marginalized in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh, making India the only country with a sizeable population of these communities (except for Christians), is morally obligated to offer assistance. The rationale touted by BJP for the exclusion of Muslims thatMuslimscanand should seek refuge in Muslim majority countries around the globe. In 2019, the BJP government also scrapped the semi-autonomous status of the only Muslim-majority state of Jammu and Kashmir, imposing strict curfews and restrictions.
Read more: Durand line and the nascent Taliban regime
In February 2020, New Delhi was rocked by Hindu Muslim riots
The authorities under the direct control of the Central government showed criminal negligence in containing the violence; these riots claimed 200 lives, mostly Muslims. In discourse and the public sphere, hyper nationalists and BJP followers often ironically refer to Muslims as ”peaceful”, in mocking terms, implying that Muslims are anything but peaceful. Furthermore, a worrying report by Al Jazeera stated that hate crimes against Muslims in India have accelerated since the recapture of Kabul by the Taliban. The word“Talibani” has emerged as a new slur against anti-BJP forces and Muslims. The ruling party introduced slurs such as “jihadi”, “atankwadi” to refer to Muslims or critics of the government.
In light of such polarization and bigotry, how the BJP government, which draws and enflamesanti-Muslim sentiments, will associate with the Taliban? Analysis of the regional geopolitics proposes that all countries in the immediate and extended neighborhood of Afghanistan must establish an understanding with the Afghan Taliban, at least on some level. India, with its hefty investment and strategic interests, cannot remain aloof from the Taliban in the long run. The emerging regional order suggests that the Taliban will sustain power in Afghanistan for a long time, while the regional heavyweights, except New Delhi, have achieved an understanding with the new rulers of Kabul.
It becomes crucial for India that it engages with the Taliban and mitigates any real or perceived threats to its national interests. Though the achievement of such a feat in light of India’s domestic situation might prove to be a challenge. In the coming days, the world will witness an interplay between India’s strategic objectives and BJP’s political rhetoric. Though national interests will likely win out this competition, the interaction between BJP’s hardliner anti-Muslim politicians and serene Indian diplomats and security establishment seeking engagement with the Taliban will be quite an interesting scene.
The writer is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan. He can be reached at op-ed@hafeezkhan.com. The views expressed by the writers do not necessarily represent Global Village Space’s editorial policy