Across South Asia, leaders are promoting hate to distract citizens from economic insecurity |
A Hindu man beaten to death by a Muslim mob in Bangladesh incensed over alleged blasphemy, an allegation later proved untrue. An official from India’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party storming an annual Christmas lunch for children with special needs, with false allegations of forced conversion, assaulting and berating a blind woman. The death of a Dalit man in Nepal following beatings after being wrongly accused of stealing a mobile phone.
These are just some of the recent cases of horrific violence and human suffering in South Asia, indicating a breakdown in rule of law.
Sadly, such incidents are often the outcome when leaders seek to use cycles of abuse and revenge for political purposes. They rally their followers against perceived enemies, be it minority communities, refugees, immigrants, or bordering countries, apparently hoping that generating hatred against marginalised groups will distract from economic insecurity and an uncertain future.
The rhetoric promoting hatred can extend beyond borders. Many Indians complained about the attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh, while Bangladeshis denounced the continuing attacks on Muslims in India. The rage percolated even to sport, where India’s cricket board ordered a Premier League team to dismiss a Bangladeshi player because of his nationality, prompting the Bangladesh government to declare