By BR Web Desk

Condemning the highly provocative and irresponsible remarks made by the chief of India’s Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Mohan Bhagwat of undoing the partition, Pakistan has said that this "dangerous mindset aims to completely marginalize and dispossess the minorities in India".

In a statement on Friday, Bhagwat had said that the solution to the “pain” of India’s partition lies in undoing it and asserted that division of the country won’t happen again, according to The Print.

Reacting to the Indian chief's statement, the Foreign Office (FO) issued a press release on Saturday, rejecting Bhagwat's remarks and saying that this was not the first time that the RSS chief has publicly indulged in such delusional thinking and historical revisionism.

"Pakistan has repeatedly highlighted the threat posed to regional peace and stability by the toxic mix of the extremist ‘Hindutva’ ideology (Hindu Rashtra) and expansionist foreign policy (Akhand Bharat) being pursued by the ruling RSS-BJP dispensation in India," FO said.

FO further said that in the internal context, this dangerous mindset aims to completely marginalize and dispossess the minorities in India, while in the external dimension, it poses an "existential threat to all of India’s neighbours in South Asia".

Pakistan's FO continued that those belonging to the BJP and its ideological fountainhead RSS would be well- advised to refrain from "making such provocative and irresponsible statements, accept the established realities, and learn to follow the imperatives of peaceful coexistence".

The statement added that the world is witness to the systematic usurpation of the rights of minorities as well as the repression of Kashmiris by India. "The reckless misadventures of India, including in February 2019, that seriously imperilled regional peace and stability are also in front of the world," FO said.

"Pakistan has consistently opposed India’s hegemonic impulses and demonstrated a firm resolve to thwart any aggressive designs. While committed to peace, the people and armed forces of Pakistan are fully capable of defending the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country."

This article was first published in Business Recorder on Nov 27, 2021.