Derogatory Remarks Against the Prophet: Does Silence of PM Modi on Nupur Sharma Episode Amounts To Snubbing Muslim Nations?

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PM Narendra Modi.

Syed Khalique Ahmed

NEW DELHI—Neither Prime Minister Narendra Modi nor Union Home Minister Amit Shah, considered the second-in-command in the government have expressed regrets over the derogatory remarks made by their party colleagues – BJP national spokespersons Nupur Sharma and Delhi BJP media cell chief Naveen Kumar Jindal.

Nupur made the indecent remarks while taking part in a debate on Times Now channel on May 26, hurting the religious sentiments of Muslims globally. While the controversy had not yet died down, Jindal also made a similar remark from his personal Twitter handle.

The remarks led to a lot of hue and cry, with Indian Muslims demanding action against the two BJP leaders. However, the party leadership did not act. The action was taken against the two BJP leaders only after their statements went viral on social media globally and Muslim Arab countries condemned the incident in a very strong language and three countries – Qatar, Kuwait, and Iran – summoned envoys and demanded a “public apology” from the Government of India. Several other countries including Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Jordan, Libya, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Maldives, and Pakistan, apart from the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) also vehemently denounced the offensive remarks of the BJP leaders, seeking apology in the matter. Muslim countries had not reacted to the incidents of communal hate and violence in the past because they were considered to be a part of India’s domestic politics but a derogatory remark against the Prophet amounted to an attack on Islam and the entire Muslim community of the world.

While the action was taken against the two BJP leaders after the condemnation by the Muslim countries, it was too inadequate. While Jindal was expelled from the party, Nupur Sharma was placed under suspension, pending an inquiry against her, meaning she could be reinstated after the inquiry finds her innocent.

Moreover, the action has been taken by the party, not the government. The party can only suspend or expel someone. It cannot initiate criminal action. Criminal action has to be taken by the government and its agencies. The existing laws in India provide for the arrest of such persons by booking criminal cases against them for making derogatory comments against religious personalities. While police have arrested several of those who protested against Nupur Sharma’s dirty comments, the same police have allowed Nupur to move freely.

The Modi government outrightly overlooked the demand of the Indian Muslims for the arrest of Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal. However, his government also did not take serious note of the protests and condemnation by Muslim countries with which the Government of India has friendly relations. Qatar is the biggest supplier of liquified natural gas to India. India imports 53 percent of its crude oil requirement from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and the UAE.

Yet, the Government of India maintains total silence over the issue. Middle East experts say that the protest by the Arab countries many times is a mere a formality. Moreover, none of the Arab countries can dictate terms to India, which is among the few most powerful countries in the world. As for the Arab countries supplying crude oil and gas to meet India’s energy requirements, experts say it is the compulsion of the Arab Muslim countries whose economy is dependent on oil and gas. They have no other major source of income. In case, their oil revenue declines, their entire economy will collapse. And India is among the top oil and gas importers from the Middle East, thus sustaining its economy.

Moreover, the Arab countries do not have industries. For almost everything – from medicine to engineering products, food grains, vegetables, and meat – they are dependent on other countries. And India is among the major supplier of engineering products, foodgrains and agriculture products. Militarily, Arabs are the weakest in the world. Arabs have failed to protect Al-Aqsa mosque, Islam’s third holiest place, from Israel’s onslaught. In such a situation, Arabs don’t carry any weight in world politics. Their condemnation and denouncements have no meaning. No country takes them seriously. Radicals in the tiniest European country dare to pass dirty comments against the Prophet and Islam frequently. There have been incidents of burning the copies of the Quran in public in some countries of Europe and the United States of America. However, the Arabs failed to get any action initiated against the religious bigots. Even French President Emmanuel Macron openly defended cartoons insulting Prophet Muhammad, but the Arab leaders could not bring pressure on him to change his position. The countries that challenged Macron were Turkey and Pakistan. India strongly rejected OIC’s statements condemning the offensive comments of Nupur Sharma and Jindal. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that statement issued by the OIC secretariat was “unwarranted and narrow-minded.”

While Nupur’s disparaging remarks against the Prophet of Islam have adversely affected India’s image globally, particularly in the Muslim world, Modi’s silence on the issue looks like a snub to those nations demanding condemnation from the government.

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