Thursday, February 22, 2018 Inaugural Session (0830 – 1030) M v … · 2018-02-20 · Rising Hindutva: The Concept and Genesis Dr. Waqar Masood Khan Growing Extremism in India:

Thursday, February 22, 2018Inaugural Session (0830 – 1030)

Registration

Recitation from the Holy Quran

Welcome Address

Khalid Rahman, Director General, IPS

Keynote Speech

Ambassador (R) Abdul Basit, President IPRI, Islamabad

Inaugural Address by the Chief Guest

Senator Raja Zafar-ul-Haq, Leader of the House, Senate of Pakistan

Refreshments & Group Photo

Session I: Extremism in India: Faces and Dimensions (1030 – 1315)

Chairperson: Prof. Dr. Rifaat Hussain

Moderator: Air Commodore (r) Khalid Iqbal

Rising Hindutva: The Concept and Genesis

Dr. Waqar Masood Khan

Growing Extremism in India: Glimpses and Impressions

Iftikhar Gilani

Factors Contributing Towards Rising Extremism in India

Dr. M. Mujeeb AfzalDiscusstion and Intervention by Irfan Shehzad

Hindutva and Indian Politics

Ambassador (R) Zamir Akram

Rising Hindutva: Facts and Global DimensionsMurtaza Shibli

Rising Hindutva: Implications for the Region

Dr. Arshi Saleem Hashmi

Discussion and Remarks by the Chairperson

Lunch

Session II: Responses from Within and Outside (1400 – 1700)Venue: Kohinoor Hall

Breakout Session I: Responses from Within

Chairperson Ambassador (R) Jalil Abbas Jilani

Moderator Dr. Junaid Ahmed

Panelists Amb. Jalil Abbas Jilani; Iftikhar Gilani; Murtaza Shibli; Dr. Arshi Saleem Hashmi


Breakout Session II: Responses from the World Community

Venue: Ambassador Hall 1

Chairperson Dr. Waqar Masood Khan

Moderator Syed Muhammad Ali

Panelists Amb. Abdul Basit; Yi Hailin; Dr. Syed Rifaat Hussain; Ramesh Kumar Vankwani


Concluding Session (1700 – 1730)Venue: Kohinoor Hall

Concluding Remarks by the Guest of Honor

Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed, Chairperson Senate Standing Committee on Defence

Vote of Thanks

Khalid Rahman, Dirctor General IPS, Islamabad

Presentation of Mementos & Group PhotoRefreshments

Pluralism vs ExclusionismTHE CASE OF RISINGEXTREMISM IN INDIA

PLUR

ALIS

M vs EXCLUSIONISM

the case of risingExtremism in India

I s l a m a b a d Institute of Policy Studies

International Seminar

February 22, 2018 Marriott Hotel, Islamabad


Registration


Welcome Address


Keynote Speech











Iftikhar Gilani









Lunch
















Vote of Thanks




Registration


Welcome Address


Keynote Speech











Iftikhar Gilani









Lunch
















Vote of Thanks




Registration


Welcome Address


Keynote Speech











Iftikhar Gilani









Lunch
















Vote of Thanks



Senator Raja Muhammad Zafar-ul-Haq is a statesman, a practicing lawyer and a former diplomat. He is currently the Leader of the House, Senate of Pakistan.

Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed is a statesman, former federal cabinet member. He has, untill recently, chaired the Senate’s Standing Committee on Defence. He is also the founder and chairperson of Pakistan China Institute (PCI).

Ambassador Abdul Basit is a former diplomat who has served as the High Commissioner of Pakistan to India. He is currently serving as president, Islamabd Policy Research Institute (IPRI).

Ambassador Zamir Akram is a former ambassador and was Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva and to the Conference on Disarmament.

Ambassador Jalil Abbas Jilani is a former Pakistani diplomat. He has served as the Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States, Foreign Secretary of Pakistan and High Commissioner to India.

Ambassador Salman Bashir is a former Foreign Secretary of Pakistan. He has also served as High Commissioner to India.

MNA Ramesh Kumar Vankwani is currently Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan. He is also patron-in-chief of Pakistan Hindu Council.

Dr. Syed Rifaat Hussain is a prominent analyst and anchor who has also served as the director of Regional Centre for Strategic Studies (RCSS) from 2005-2008 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He is currently serving as a professor at NUST and NDU.

Ye Hailin is the director of the Center for Regional Security Studies in School of Advanced International and Area Studies, East China Normal University (ECNU) China. He is also a senior researcher at South Asia Studies, National Institute of International Strategy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (NIIS, CASS).

Murtaza Shibli is a British Kashmiri journalist and security expert. He is the author of 7/7: Muslim Perspectives and the editor of kashmiraffairs.org

Iftikhar Gilani a prominent Indian journalist. He is currently serving as National Bureau Chief of DNA (Daily News Analysis).

Dr Waqar Masood Khan is an eminent economist having wide-ranging experience of both national and international organizations. He has a special interest in Indian society and politics especially Hindutva. He writes regulary in many leading newspapers.

Dr Junaid Ahmed is a researcher and academician. He is the author of Creation of Bangladesh: Myths Exploded, and India an Apartheid State. He is currently on the boards of KCFR, PIM and KSEW.

Dr Arshi Saleem Hashmi specializes in religion and violent conflicts. She is an Associate Professor and head of department of Peace and Conflict Studies at the National Defense University (NDU) Islamabad.

Syed Muhammad Ali is an international security analyst specializing in contemporary strategic and security issues of national, regional and international significance, currently serving at National Defense University, Islamabad.

Irfan Shahzad is a Research Fellow at Institute of Policy Studies, Islamabad (IPS). He carries research experience of about two decades with focus on economic and socio-economic issues and international political economy.

PLURALISM VS EXCLUSIONISM: THE CASE OF RISING EXTREMISM IN INDIA

CONCEPT NOTE

Pluralism is an interpretation of social diversity which as a political, cultural or philosophical stance offers an account of social interactions between conflicting and/or competing beliefs that otherwise would seem difficult to be reconciled, ordered in a specific sequence or merged into a single institu-tional arrangement. While, on the other hand exclusionism refers to political, religious, cultural and social tendencies to differentiate and subtract people on the basis of their group affiliations. Exclusion-ism is often linked with religious intensity along with violations of fundamental principles of citizen-ship in democratic regimes.

The world has been witnessing a sharp spike in nationalistic, xenophobic and nativist attitudes for more than ten years. But real conversation about the global rise of neo-nationalism was sparked after, as in the words of Michael Lee, “some populist leaders” from various parts of the world including USA, UK, Netherlands, Hungary and India, succeeded in rhetorically defining their national communi-ty by both its supposedly “shared characteristics” and its inevitable common “enemy”.

In South Asia, India that prides itself as the largest democracy and home to people of diverse, ethnic, cultural and religious affiliations has also fallen to the wave of this neo-nationalism. Although, Hindus make a clear majority (79.80%) in India yet there is a sizeable population of Muslims (14.23%) along with Christians (2.3%) and others including Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains.

Given that diversity, India chose to be a secular state in order to bring the diverse nations to one table. But in reality, the majority community was not reconciled in itself because of the fact that they are divided into several castes which limits and restricts the interaction and behaviors of the people. This religious intolerance that already existed in Indian society gradually took roots at institutional levels as well. A significant rise in religious and caste-based extremism in recent years has polarized the country to greater level, with lower caste Hindus and other minorities being its major victims. There is a sharp rise in the incidents of Cow-vigilantism, lynching, molesting and stigmatizing in the name of love-ji-had. This phenomenon has raised concerns among educated citizenry and civil society around the globe and in India itself. Voices risen against such developments from within India are being silenced with force and violence. More alarming is the fact that these incidents are being attributed towards current BJP government. With BJP (the political wing of Rashtrya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) – the mother organization of Hindutva) at the center and its affiliates like Yogi Adityanath and Amit Shah at state levels starkly indicate the rise of an extremist ideology. Hate speech from BJP MPs and leaders against minorities entice violence among masses. More than 700 incidents of communal violence were recorded only during the year 2016.

In an international scenario where India is vying for a greater role in global power politics and has been portraying its soft image throughout the world, the reluctance to address this phenomenon would have far reaching implications for India as well as the region and the humanity at large. The radicalism, ultra-nationalism and populism when put together with an exclusionist ideology like Hindutva is bound to be devastating.

Documents

Thursday, February 22, 2018 Inaugural Session (0830 – 1030) M v … · 2018-02-20 · Rising Hindutva: The Concept and Genesis Dr. Waqar Masood Khan Growing Extremism in India: