While speaking at an event organised by New York University, last week, Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Rajya Sabha lawmaker Subramanian Swamy said that Pakistani artistes could not be allowed to come into India if Indians had to be mentally prepared for war with Pakistan.
On Friday, Swamy delivered the closing remarks at an event called 'India and Pakistan: A Subcontinental Affair' in which former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah had delivered the opening remarks.
The agitation to bar Pakistani artistes from working in the country, Swamy said reflected the "mood of the country," and that the "naach gaan business" would have to go to avoid any "dilution of the consciousness."
"Today, we have a situation where we have prepared the country's mind that it maybe a possibility in the future that we may have to go to war because we have been to war with Pakistan four times already. Its not an unusual event. It could be war. And therefore to prepare the minds of people, we cannot allow these dilutions of cinema artists and cricket players coming to our country and playing. We cannot allow that. This is our decision," he said.
Swamy said that only way for India to have a comprehensive dialogue with Pakistan would be if the civilian government started to assert its political authority in order to rein in the ISI and the army, and end terrorists who roam freely in the country. "I am convinced now that our government will give proactive responses to any cross-border attack on us which is of terrorists," he said. "There is a new government in India. We are not the namby pamby government of the past."
Swamy said that over the past two years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had tried to engage with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, sparking criticism in his own country, but realised it was fruitless. "We consider him a dummy prime minister," he said. "There is not point talking to the elected government because it does not carry any weight."
Swamy said that "Islamisation" of terrorists attacks had a "negative effect" on India, and that Hindus suffered in places where Muslims were in majority in the country such as Kashmir, where the pundits were displaced, and Malappuram in Kerala.
"The condition of Hindus is in a horrible state. No police can go in there. Sharia seems to operate there. Hindus cannot sell their property to anyone who isn't Muslim. This is the kind of situation wherever they are in majority," he said, while speaking on Malappuram.
"Maybe because they think where there are in a majority, this is Darul Islam, and there are no rules for minorities," he said. "This Islamisation thing is forcing our people to become hostile within the country."
On the Uniform Civil Code, Subramanian said that the it was part of our constitution, the freedom to practice religion had reasonable restrictions, and India already had a uniform criminal code.
"If the Muslim community has accepted uniform criminal code then why should the Muslim community not accept Muslim civil code," he said. "In a country like United States and Australia, the Muslim community has accepted uniform civil code. So I think that some of these things which are deliberately being raised is to create this division," the lawmaker said.
"We think there is no division because with regard, Muslims also as a part of our ancestral family, that they are also from this country and they are also a part of us and they are also treated as family. This is where Pakistan is constantly interfering," he said.
Also on HuffPost India:
