Indians have to Decide - BJP First or India First

Indians have to Decide - BJP First or India First

Syed Ali Mujtaba

It has vividly become clear that Indian is facing a conflict between ruling party’s interests and the national interests. The BJP government’s policy to consolidate Hindu votes through anti-Muslim anti-Islam propaganda is clearly in conflict with the national interests.

As Indians we have to make a choice whether we want the so called nationalist party or we want to with the Indian nation where each one of us can hold their heads high and rally below the national flag.   

The BJP no matter how much is making pretensions about being a nationalist party, it is apparently clear that its policies are making India’s long-term prospects hostage to the party’s narrow and parochial interests.  

Regional peace is being made hostage

The BJP’s policy of anti-Muslim, anti-Pakistan and anti-Kashmir, that is crucial for consolidating its Hindu vote bank, has jeopardized the prospects of regional cooperation and India’s good neighborly policy is in disarray.  

If we look at the regional scene, Pakistan is in no mood to bow before the whims and fancies of the BJP government. The firebrand speech of Pakistani Prime Minister at the United Nation’s General Assembly turned heads towards the regional concerns that emanated from the BJP government’s domestic policies. Currently, Islamabad is fuming at New Delhi’s anti-Muslim feast, telling it had warned before of the agenda of the supremacist party.

As far as Afghanistan is concerned, the BJP government’s policy has jeopardized India’s interests. It is not going send the IPKF to Afghanistan to protect its interests. The party has shut the country’s doors to Indian friends by promulgating Citizen Amendment Act (CAA). Such policy of the BJP has sent adverse signals to the groups or specificity who are friends of India elsewhere that they may not fall into India’s bait. Further BJP’s anti-Muslim anti-Islam policy is not going to make friends with the Taliban. In short, India has lost Afghanistan due to BJP government’s anti-Muslim anti- Islam perceptions.       

The Islamists in Bangladesh are hauling at Hasina Wajid, who remains a silent spectator to the Islamophibia built in India. They are waiting to unseat her from power. Speculation is being made that she may meet Shiekh Mujibur Rehman’s fate, because of her tacit support to anti-Muslim anti- Islam forces in India.

Maldives, the third Muslim country in South Asia, apart from Afghanistan, Pakistan 

and Bangladesh is in a defiant mood. It has extended invitation to the Pakistan Army Chief for the reasons best known to the Indian establishments. Such anti-India posturing has definitely to do with BJP government’s policy towards Muslims.   

Nepal, the Hindu majority country has decided to end its dependence on India and is set to use Chinese ports to trade with other countries. Srilanka, the Sinhala majority Buddhist country, is deeply in debt to China and the latter wants to build houses and roads in the north and east region of Sri Lanka.  It is here majority of Tamils and Muslims live. They are hauled by the Sinhala majority and they look towards India for their protection. The BJP government’s anti-Muslims policies in India refrains it from as asking Sinhala parties to stop persecution of its minorities because it’s doing same in India.

The Indian media is being asked by the ruling party to build the narrative that it is neighbors who are at fault and they are being anti-India. However, the fact is, it is BJP’s policy towards its neighbor, for gaining Hindu votes, is compromising India’s interests in the region.

Antagonizing Muslim World 

The BJP government’s anti-Muslim anti-Islam policy is anxiously being watched by more than 55 Muslim-majority countries in the world. These nations are collectively known as the Muslim world.  Muslims are spread across the Middle East, North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Asia-Oceania, Europe and North America, Muslim constitutes 24.1% of the world’ population and is estimated to be 1.8 billion. They contribute 8% to the world's GDP. 

The BJP’s anti-Muslim and anti -Islam policies to consolidate its Hindu vote bank has pitted India against the Muslim world. The way Muslim and Islam are being rebuked in India with the tacit support of the BJP government, makes India in the eyes of the Muslim world that it is into the game of ‘clash of civilization.’

The BJP is solely responsible for such perception and it appears that the BJP wants to prevent India to reach out to Muslim nations and wants to develop the country minus Muslim world’s assistance. Such policy of the BJP to get domestic support is clearly against the national interests.

Further BJP’s policy to foster anti-Muslim sentiment is jeopardizing livelihood of Indians in the gulf region. Every Indian working in the GCC or UAE is a contractual employee with no job security. The BJP government’s anti-Muslim, anti-Islam agenda in India has lit of the Arab fuse. An Arab spring has emerged against the Indians working in the gulf region. 

Indians face reputational risk as they are tarred with anti-Muslim anti – Islam stereotypes due to the policies of the so called India’s nationalist party. BJP government has risked the livelihood of not only Indians abroad, but has shamed the nation for its own political aggrandizement.

Anti- Indian Muslim Agenda of the BJP

Muslims are the largest minority religion in India. They make up 14 percent of the total Indian population. Muslims have played a seminal role in shaping the Indian society and culture. They have illustrious history in India’s freedom struggle.  In spite of all injustices, Muslims have been loyal to the Indian nation since independence.

Even though the Constitution gives them equal opportunity, Muslims face all round deprivation in the country. The main reason of it is a general environment of hostility is created in India against Muslims for consolidating the Hindu vote bank.

The history of Muslim deprivation goes back to the independence and the Sachar Committee and Rangnath Mishra Commission Reports brings them into public but off late since the BJP government has come to power in 2014, the marginalization of the Muslims has accentuated.

It all started with the BJP government’s tacit support to the cow vigilant and egging them for the mob lynching of the Muslims. The BJP government’s interference in the Muslim personal law and the abrogation of triple talaq’ without much consultation is seen as infringement on the community’s privileges.

The BJP government’s policy of taking away the special status given to Jammu and Kashmir and splitting it into two Union territories is deliberate attempt to take away the Muslim majority status of the restive state.

The Supreme Court judgment on the Babar Masjid case is touted to be bought by the ruling government that promised to its vote bank ‘Mandir wohin Bnanyge’ clearly has anti-Muslim bias.

The same anti-Muslim bias is seen in in the promulgation of the Citizenship Amendment Act promulgated by the BJP government. All these are part of the chain of events that the BJP is pushing for its narrow interests at the expense of multi religious identity of India. 

The same trend was glaringly visible in the fight against Covid-19. Taking advantage of the Corona- Tabligue Markaz linkage the BJP government is guilty of fanning Hindu-Muslim communalism. The silence of the BJP government to the growing communalization of the society, makes one wonder the primary role of the ruling party to stitch the communities together at a time of global crisis.  

Here the question is whether the anti- Muslim policy of the BJP that is useful for consolidating its power base, is also useful for the overall development of the country? The answer is certainly not because such policy is detrimental to India’s progress. India cannot progress without Muslims progressing in India.

Way forward for Indian Muslims

In the book “Denial and Deprivation: Indian Muslims after the Sachar Committee and Rangnath Mishra Commission Reports” authored by Abdur Rahman, (Manohar 2019), I have argued that demonizing Muslims is a dangerous trend in India. I have cautioned that those engaged in negative profiling of the Muslim image are doing disservice to the country.  

Studies show that propaganda against Muslims can cause alienation among the largest minority community in India. It can lead to loss of belongings towards the country and may develop fissiparous tendencies among the Muslim youth. Such fissures can radicalize them and any dissent by a large size of population may not be easy to control.

So the BJP government’s short term gains of anti-Muslim propaganda are pushing the country into unmanageable propositions and such nefarious designs have to be exposed. This is because for its political gains BJP is jeopardizing the long term interests of the country.  

I have offered some pointers to counter the current anti- Muslims situation in India. It is essential for the Muslim youths to stay focused on their life's primary goals; education, employment career, business and social work etc.

Muslim should refrain from engaging in nonproductive discussions to counter malicious campaign built against them and instead should pool their time and resources in making strategies to develop a road-map for their political, social and economic progress and betterment and that would be the best way to counter the assaults made on them.

The Muslim community should not get drawn into communal controversies and get trapped into the vicious narratives build around them by the media.  The Muslim youth should not to get driven by emotions and become hyper sensitive towards the controversies raked in the media against them. This is part and parcel of media’s sale strategy and the endorsement of the BJP government’s anti-Muslim policy will get them revenue.

In the book I have warned the Muslim youth to never think of any separatist course as such thinking can push the community further deep into the abyss. This would be playing into the hands of the inimical forces that want to take the community out of the national mainstream.

While facing all hostile situations, Indian Muslims should never allow developing any inferiority complex and hold their heads high to counter all such evil designs. They concentrate first to develop themselves as individuals and then their families and collectively focus on the development of the community.

Indian Muslims need not to worry about the BJP because the larger Indians will take care of it once they realize that the so called nationalist party is fooling them at the expense of the national interests.  As when Indians have to decide, BJP first or India first, they know their choices. 

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Syed Ali Mujtaba is a journalist based in Chennai. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba2007@gmail.com