Hindu – Muslim Relation
has reached the Tipping PointSyed Ali Mujtaba
Hindu – Muslim relations
have reached a tipping point in India. This has happened under the BJP rule
where a series of anti-Muslim events is witnessed to convert the Indian
political scene into an 80 vs 20 format to consolidate the Hindu majority by
vilification of Muslim minority on 24x7 bases.
There has been a series
of events that have followed since 2014 and to count a few are lynching of the
Muslims by the cow vigilant, citizenship amendment act, Tablighi Jamat and
Corona connect, Delhi riots, ‘Dharma Sansads’, Hijab, Halal, Azan,
Gyanwapi mosque, blasphemous remarks against the prophet, bulldozing of
Muslim protestors homes, are all sordid tales in the dipping Hindu – Muslim
relations in India.
How did this situation
emerge?
All these situations have
emerged in the backdrop of three broad phases to cover up the crisis of
governance that is the hallmark of the BJP rule. The starting point was the t
demonetization of the currency on Nov 8, 2016. This knocked the bottom out of
the economy and its cascading effect was felt in every sphere of activity
leaving India battered and bruised. The BJP government in order to cover its
policy paralysis engaged in the politics of Hindu- Muslim polarization to cover
up its wrongs. The government media its mouthpiece and tasked it to rationalize
all the government actions no matter how much flawed they may be.
Second is the landslide
victory of the BJP in the General Elections 2019. Narendra Modi after winning
the 2019 elections demolished the principle of federalism and pull down as many
as nine elected state governments in the country. He devised a new relationship
with Jammu and Kashmir abrogating article 370 and robed its statehood status by
making it two union territories. He brought in the Citizenship (Amendment) Act
and National Register of Citizens and extracted the Ram Mandir judgment
from the Supreme Court. The foremost thing that he did was to invoke the Hindu
nationalist spirit among the youth by othering the Muslims. He did it to make
India a Hindu Rastra.
The third thing under the
BJP's rule is its mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Prime Minister made a
horrendous mess of the Covid 19 management. He put the Parliament in the
freezer and took control of the situation to announce a total lockdown but when
it created an unprecedented economic crisis, he delegated his responsibilities
to the state governments. During the lockdown period, he froze the recruitment
and this led to rising in the unemployment situation. He then brought in the
farm laws and made amendments to the labor laws. The Chinese occupation of
Indian territories was covered up by raising the nationalist ante and he kept
playing the anti-Muslim card to cover up his failures. Muslims of India were
pulverized under the bogey of Hindi – Hindu – Hindustan.
After coming to power,
Narendra Modi brought his own style of governance that cared a dam about
democracy, pluralism, and rule of law. First, he stopped paying heed to the
constitutional guarantee of equal citizenship. He stopped paying heed to the
idea of pluralism and secularism. He started polarizing society on a majority
and minority basis. He evolved the 80 vs 20 political formula. This politics of
majoritarianism united the Hindus and ostracized the Muslims.
The Prime Minister by doing
this subverted democracy, the constitution, principles of pluralism, and rule
of law. In this 80-20 political paradigm, the BJP government was successful in
making the Muslims the enemy of the nation. A plethora of anti -Muslim
religious discrimination and persecution was started under the BJP rule that
led to the dipping of Hindu-Muslim relations.
The majoritarian
political ideology of hating Muslims was implemented through legitimate means;
enacting citizenship laws and using the state power to suppress the Muslim
protestors. It was also implemented through the subversion of government
agencies and allowing non-state actors to attack the helpless Muslims. The BJP
leadership allowed the rogue elements to run riot and commit brutalities
against Muslims. This has poisoned the social relationship and shaken the
foundation of multicultural social formation in the country.
All this happened because
Muslims were the safest enemy of Hindus in India. Muslims' numerical minority,
social, economic, and educationally backwardness, and their dependence on the
Hindu community made them vulnerable homo-sapiens. The BJP government
successfully pitted the 80 % majority population against the 15% minority
population where the latter have no chance to win. It’s precise because this
situation of the Muslim community makes them an attractive enemy of the Hindus.
Narendra Modi has
made Muslims a vanquished community who are at the mercy of the Hindu majority.
Muslims are reduced to punching bags whom all and sundry can flog
anywhere on the streets as the Indian state has absolved its responsibility to
protect them. Perhaps, this is the reason why there is such an easy consent and
consensus for the making of the Hindu Rashtra. The pivot of Hindu Rastra is
Muslims on whom all blame is rested for the wrongs in India. Literally, Muslims
are made the national enemy and are being purged through genocidal means.
Anti-Muslim politics over
the years
India in the first two
decades after Independence witnessed a glorious period of Hindu-Muslim
relationship. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s leadership saw to it that the
country was steered under the principles of secularism, democratic values, and
constitutionalism.
However, under Indira
Gandhi’s rule, principles gave way to electoral politics. She adopted a dual
policy toward the Muslims; one she cajoled Muslims with certain sops and acted
as their messiah. On the other, she initiated anti- Muslims programs. Her reign
is littered with communal riots in the country. Indra Gandhi reduced
Muslims of India to be a Congress vote bank. She pretended to be their security
provider but in reality butchered them through communal riots. Muslims even
then rallied behind Congress as they thought it to be a better bet as their
protector against the fascist BJP.
Indira’s son Rajiv Gandhi
was a political novice. He was sucked into the vortex of vote bank politics. He
innocently played into the hands of those who did the communal polarization of
Hindus and Muslims. He appeased the Hindu community by opening the gates of
Babari masjid and allowing the ‘Shilanayas’ ceremony to be performed for the
construction of the Ram Mandir. Willy-nilly Rajiv Gandhi further pushed the
anti-Muslim agenda of the Congress party.
Rajiv Gandhi’s successor
Narshima Rao presided over the demolition of the Babari mosque and with that,
he eroded the myth of Muslims being equal citizens of the country.
It was on the anti-Muslim
platform that was built by L.K Advani’s Rath Yathra that the
BJP gained power with Atal Behari Vajpayee becoming the PM of the country.
Since Vajpayee headed a coalition government, he could not push the anti-Muslim
agenda of the BJP or initiate the Hindu Rastra agenda. However,
his unsavory comments made against the Muslims in Goa in 2002 remain etched in
the memory. PM Manmohan Singh who succeeded Vajpayee tried to hold the communal
balance at the center even though the six of 6 worst communal riots took place
under his UPA rule. Aligarh riots in 2006, Dhule riots in 2008,
Deganga riots in 2010, Bharatpur riots in 2011, Assam riots in 2012,
and Muzzafarnagar riots in 2013, to name a few.
Hindu – Muslim relations
under Narendra Modi
Narendra Modi has changed
the entire social structure of the Hindu- Muslim relationship since 2014 when
he first came to power. His anti-Muslim divisive agenda in the pursuit of Hindu
Rashtra turned the Hindu-Muslim relationship where each passing day, it’s
deteriorating at a breakneck speed taking it to the point of no return. Under
Modi's rule, the anti-Muslim mobilization drive has now been organically
getting embedded into the grass-root level. It has acquired a momentum of its
own and has relatively become free of government control. This was seen at the
outbreak of communal riots in multiple laces during Ram Navami and
Hanuman Jayanti celebrations in 2022.
The credit goes to the
Modi government that the world is talking about today about the genocide of the
Muslims in India. Under Modi's rule, the anti-Muslim vigilantes have become
autonomous centers of power. The Modi rule has given them freehand to the Hindu
radicalized gangs who are masquerading as nationalists and patriots having the
license to kill the Muslims.
It is to the credit of
the BJP government that it has made the opposition political parties, bureaucracy,
media, civil society events judiciary literally impotent characters. Either
they are too scared of the BJP government or they are sucked into Hindutva
politics that they have lost the will and inclination to uphold the rule of law
and to protect the Muslims.
In such a situation, what
the Muslim should do to salvage the tipping Hindu-Muslim relations. The
choice before them is to concede to fall on the feet of the Hindus and stop
fighting for constitutional rights and redefine a new relationship in the
context of ‘Hindu Rashrata.’ The other option is to resist BJP’s designs
and bear the brunt of being demonized, pulverized, and dehumanized and wait for
‘Ache Din.’
It is certain that the
BJP government cannot push its anti-Muslim agenda beyond a certain point. The
BJP knows that if they continue to do so they will be pushing India into
large-scale violence and societal chaos that may have a repelling effect.
The anti-Muslim fire lit
by the BJP currently has spilled over to the unemployed youth of the country.
Their collective anger that recently chanted the war cry of ‘Jai Sri Ram’ against
the Muslims has now changed to ‘Bharat Matta Ki Jai’ directed
against the BJP. The unemployed youth are so annoyed by the Agnipath scheme
of the BJP that the government is finding it hard to control.
The anti-Muslim agenda of
Narinder Modi to consolidate the Hindu vote bank has reduced India into a ship
on fire in the mid-ocean with ammunition on board.
Undoubtedly the Hindu – Muslim
relationship has reached the tipping point under the BJP rule.
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Syed Ali Mujtaba is a
journalist based in Chennai. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba2007@gmail.com
