January 13 , 2024

   I think it is worth mentioning a bit about the situation unfolding in Maldives. While the two wars of 2023 rage on, things are happening elsewhere too. For one , the Houthi rebels are attacking commercial marine vessels in the Red Sea. There is no real explanation other than to blame it on a very desperate Iranian political leadership.  They are losing support in their own country especially from their women. Equally the Abrahaman accord seems to be moving Israel close to Arab states- this making Iran deeply isolated internationally, regionally and, as mentioned, even locally.  They are trying to move Muslim citizenry on to one camp, and one way to do this is to get muslims slaughtered by the other. And when that also does not seem to be working, they are trying other adventitious skirmishes- basically carpet bombing and hoping they hit a target.  One of the most world-changing transfromations int he last 5 years or so is, funnily enough, not related to Artificial Intelligence or any other Tech-driven proto-marvel.  It is the complete transmogrification of Saudi Arabia courtesy the utterly maverick Mohammed Bin Salman, or MBS. This is scarcely believable what is unfolding. This was a country where people of other religions were oppressed very visibly. I have read that back in the 90s, if a hindu travelled with some idols for his personal religious use in the confines of his home, they were still confiscated and put away. Bachelors of Indian origin could not visit public places designated for families- like malls and corniches. The only exception was if you were a Caucasian bachelor.  The notorious religious police were not just notorious- they were legendary. And that that entire institution has been dismantled - it stands no more. Smriti Irani of the BJP is visting Madina- completely unthinkable by the Muslim world- but as we now find out unthinkable only to Muslim diaspora from the sub-continent. There has always been a sort of racial divide between muslims of Arab origin and those that are of Indian descent- namely Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans and so on. This was never talked about because when the religious force was in power, it was religion that was so dominant that it completely obfuscated this type of underlying racism.  On the face of it, all Muslims were brothers and all non-muslims Kafirs who could go to hell as far as muslims were concerned. But not anymore. Once the Muslim fervour subsided, which it palpably has in Saudu Arabia, the other skeletons were coming out of the woodwork. Thanks to the internet, there is empirical evidence of this as well- where you have anonymous Saudis ripping into some protesting Indian Muslim who is outraged at Irani's visit to Madina. These Saudis are cancelling these indian muslims- calling the Hindus that were somehow converted and not actually the same as the muslins of the Arab world. This just proves that there will always be fault-lines. If you remove one, another will form and in many cases this may well be far more malevolent. As an observer who is Hindu ( atleast by birth), living in the United Arab Emirates, it makes for interesting analysis and pondering. At the rate at which Saudi is , shall we say, secularizing- it will have massive implications for traditional islamic states that had always been subservient to it in the hope of consideration- mainly financial consideration. I am obviously referring to Pakistan. This is the state that will need to re-think its strategy on multiple fronts- and fast. It does not help that it has more pressing matters of solvency to deal with. In summary, it does seem to be a good time to be a Hindu in Arabia. It feels much more now like being an Englishman in New York. I am an alien, I am a legal alien- and I dont drink coffee I take tea my dear!

But all is certainly not well for the Hindus overall. In India, there is a resurgence of Hindu fervour which other religious communities are regarding with contempt. Although, in reality, there are a number of scholars who are of the opinion that this increase in hindu consciousness may well be rather benign. Irrespective, small muslim states that were traditionally beholden to India are now considering rejecting it or atleast diminishing its alliance with it. Maldives is a case in point. Three ministers said some unseemly things about the Indian PM, but the issue started well into last year when a new government had been voted in on the singular mandate to Out India. Apparently, India had 75 military personnel in Maldives and the Maldivians were worried about their sovereignty being compromised. They wanted the military guys out- and were happy if they were replaced by civilians to maintain the choppers and the aircraft- incidentally donated to them by India. In addition the press was making quite a meal of the actions of the Maldivian prime minister wherein the latter visted China and Turkey after the elections but not India- and this was a highly non-traditional move in the context of the history of Maldives.  Indian diplomacy would have to deal with this. This is somewhat annoying but not surprising. When Nepal, a fellow hindu state rejected the BJP let Indian government, that raised quite a few eyebrows. The narrative there was that China was pushing Nepal into its corner by any and all means at its disposal. Be that as it may, it is still not a great testament to Indian Diplomacy. Not to make light of this- I am sure all of this is very complicated. But it is good to look at all parts of the scorecard and be as balanced as possible. After all, we do hear a lot of self-praise by this government. And by no means is all of it unfounded. But I always wonder what stops it from being a bit more introspective and call themselves out when things have not gone well. From my perspective this would not cost them any votes. But that is ironic now I state it. Because I have never voted