Qaisar Mansoor
The saffron ideologues are also working on the academic demise of Muslim history. With Modi assuming the country’s top executive office, India has undergone a rapid transformation from a secular and a democratic state to a fascist and saffronised state. There is no room for others, but Hindus in the world’s so-called biggest democratic dispensation.
Recently, Indian government bodies began rewriting history books, lopping out sections on Muslim rulers, changing official place names to Hindu from Muslim, and more aggressively contesting holy sites. Mr. Modi, has become more toxically divided between Hindus and Muslims, between upper and lower castes, between men and women.
Prime Minister Modi and his party have created a poisonous atmosphere that has dehumanized minorities and inspired the violence. A retired historian, Aditya Mukherjee referring to Prime Minister Modi and his political allies as “communal fascists”. The “saffronization” of history by BJP government is another way to disempower India’s Muslim and deny them a stake in country’s history.
As many as 29 airports and terminals in India have been named after Hindu personalities and dignitaries, with no Muslim figure including Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and A. P. J. Abdul Kalam. There are a total of 24 airports and 5 terminals that are named after Hindu personalities according to a list retrieved by Indian news agency PTI through an RTI application. As per the list, four airports are named after three former prime ministers.
They are Indira Gandhi International Airport in the national capital, Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Hyderabad in Telangana, Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport at Varanasi and Chaudhary Charan Singh Airport at Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Various airports are also named after former chief ministers, including Biju Patnaik Airport at Bhubaneswar in Odisha.
The list also includes Kangra airport, Gaggal and Kullu-Manali airport, Bhuntar, both of which are in Himachal Pradesh. However, it was not clear after which eminent personalities/ dignitaries these two airports were named.
Besides, there are five airport terminals named after eminent personalities and dignitaries. These include Anna international terminal and Kamraj domestic terminal in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, and two N T Rama Rao terminals at airports in Hyderabad in Telangana, as per the list.
