Indian expatriates in Riyadh expressed shock and disappointment at the resounding defeat of secular forces in the general election 2014 result which was announced on Friday.
A number of Indian organizations held a meeting here to discuss the scenario emerging after the results came in favor of the right-wing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.
They termed the meeting as a “condolence meeting on the sad demise of secularism in India.”
Expressing shock over the drubbing of secular parties in the national election, Mohammad Qaiser, president of Tanzeem Hum Hindustani, a voluntary non-commercial, non-religious organization of overseas Indians in the Kingdom said, “Honestly speaking I had not expected this one-sided verdict. It was a huge shock.”
He cautioned, “The rise of the Hindu nationalist party culminating in Narendra Modi’s victory makes one wonder if the world’s largest democracy is entering the most sinister phase in its political history since independence.”
Qaiser also blamed the paid Indian media for defeating the secular ethos of India by joining Modi’s election campaign — a candidate who was largely dismissed as too divisive to be ever considered a legitimate candidate for the post of prime minister for his role in the deadly riots in Gujarat in 2002, which killed 2,000 Muslims.
Abdul Ahad Siddiqui, president of the Indian National Forum, expressed his concern saying, “This victory, the first parliamentary majority by a single party in 30 years, will not simply trounce the currently ruling Congress party or other secular forces but it will virtually allow the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the Hindu nationalist outfit, to enjoy power and saffronize government running institutions like the Indian Council of Historical Research to rewrite history as they did during their previous term in power under Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Expressing concern at the result Obaidur Rahman, chairman of the Bihar Foundation said, “We have to adopt ‘a wait and watch’ policy after this divisive force’s coming to power.”
He added, “We live in a democratic society in India and everyone has the fundamental right of equality of status and opportunity and Indian Muslims will not be deprived of that, regardless of who comes to power.”
Dr. Mohammad Ahmad Badshah, Aligarh Muslim University Old Boys Association (AMUOBA), Riyadh Chapter president said, “It is going to be an unusual government, which will have to win the confidence of the minority community and open their arms to them. This can only happen with love and understanding on both sides.”
Mohammad Nasim Akhtar, AMUOBA vice president, said that Modi was responsible for the horrific riots in Gujarat and vilified as a fearsome Hindu nationalist. It would therefore be significant how he would run the government and a people of so many faiths.
Indian expats shocked at drubbing of secular parties in national polls
