Remarks on Prophet Muhammad: A purported video of a notice put against Indian products at a department store in Kuwait is going viral on social media. In this, action is being taken against Prophet Mohammad expressing displeasure over the remarks of BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kumar Jindal.
ABP News does not certify the veracity of this video. But it is so clear from the video that the irresponsible comments of Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kumar have given the anti-India elements a sitting opportunity. At the same time, diplomatic difficulties have also been created for India. In such a situation, the staff of the Central Government and especially the Ministry of External Affairs is now busy in repairing the damage and repairing the relationship.
There is also a danger that the handiwork of two petty leaders may add bitterness to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to sweeten India’s relations with the Gulf countries in the past eight years. This may not only increase the difficulty for the large Indian population living in the Gulf countries. Rather, the path of investment in the Gulf market and Islamic countries for Indian products may also be obstructed.
relations with islamic countries
It is not hidden from anyone that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi Since assuming power in 2014, India has been focusing on improving relations with Islamic countries of the Gulf region, vital to energy security. For this, he also made many visits and also made many agreements of strategic partnership.
Due to this, countries like Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates have given their highest civilian honor to PM Modi. At the same time, in many countries including Bahrain, UAE, many important agreements have been signed to increase mutual business along with giving land to Hindu organizations of Indians for the construction of temples. In the last four years, bilateral trade between India and the countries of the Gulf region has registered a steady increase.
Statistics show that investment in India from Gulf countries has also increased in the last eight years. Countries like UAE have sent their delegations for industrial investment in Kashmir. Not only this, the graph of bilateral trade with the Gulf countries of India has also increased.
The question is not only of the Islamic countries of the Gulf and Central-Asia present in the west of India. Irresponsible statements of some leaders like Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kumar can also add to the trouble in relations with India’s eastern neighbor Bangladesh and countries like Bangladesh, Malaysia and Indonesia present in the southeast. Extremist organizations in Bangladesh are already baffled by the Sheikh Hasina government’s policy of good relations with India. Whereas a country like Malaysia has already given shelter to people like Zakir Nayak from India.
However, it is not hidden from anyone that for Islamic countries, any derogatory remarks against the Prophet Muhammad are a red-line on which the reaction after setting foot is natural. So, the political stature of Nupur Sharma or Naveen Kumar in India’s ruling party BJP may not be big. But his statements certainly gave him a chance for big reactions. In many countries including Kuwait, Qatar, Iran, formal displeasure was also registered by calling Indian diplomats.
The Secretariat of the OIC, an organization of Islamic countries with a strong lobby of Pakistan, even tried to name attempts to create an anti-Muslim environment in India, citing the remarks of ruling party leaders against the Prophet Muhammad. This organization of 57 Islamic countries of the world, citing other matters ranging from the hijab controversy, also expressed concern about the safety of Muslims in India.
India’s counter attack
Obviously, there had to be a reaction from India on such statements. Along with clarifying the situation on this matter, India also retaliated. The comments of the Organization of Islamic Countries OIC on the Nupur Sharma case were termed by the Ministry of External Affairs as unnecessary and small thinking.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi clarified, “India respects all religions. Some people made derogatory tweets and comments against a religious personality. This is not the view of the Government of India in any way. The concerned organizations have taken strict action against those making objectionable remarks.
It is unfortunate that the OIC has, in spite of this, given a misleading, motivated and wrong comment. It clearly shows that through this a divisive agenda is being run at the behest of some vested interests. Not only this, India urged that the OIC Secretariat should show respect to all religions while putting an end to communal thinking.
However, despite India’s clarification, Pakistan does not want to leave any opportunity to raise the issue. On the pretext of this matter, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan has intensified the burning of coal in the engine of propaganda against India. Not only the Foreign Ministry of Pakistan reached the opposition from power Imran Khan Like leaders also got a chance to make rhetoric on this pretext.
India’s reply to Pakistan
However, India retaliated sharply to the statements from Pakistan. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) bluntly said that if a country, which makes a comment on the plight of minorities in its home, it does not affect anyone. Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that the whole world knows how Hindus, Sikhs, Christians and Ahmadis are being targeted in Pakistan.
All religions are given the highest respect in India. Not like Pakistan where fundamentalists who spread religious fanaticism are not honored and made heroes.
However, it is clear beyond the counter-attacks that the statements of the two petty leaders have unnecessarily opened the doors of slander and criticism against India. In such a situation, along with giving the message of strict action, the government is trying to ameliorate the situation. So that on its pretext, the anti-India lobby does not get a new opportunity to harm the economic and strategic interests.
At the same time, this development has also shown that local political statements given to shine domestic politics can also become a challenge at the global level due to the increasing stature of India. In such a situation, the need for leaders to weigh the scales of responsibility and accountability has increased.
Remarks Against Prophet: India rejects OIC’s statement on Nupur Sharma’s controversial remarks: