Syed Khalique Ahmed
NEW DELHI—What is the reason behind Indian government’s 180-degree turn in its stance about Muslims and speaking the language of accommodation and reconciliation as was exhibited in the speech of National Security Advisor(NSA) Ajit Doval at a programme in which Muslim World League (MWL) secretary general Dr. Muhammad Abdulkarim Al-Issa delivered his lecture as a part of his global effort for alliance and accommodation with other faiths with an appeal to tolerate religious and cultural diversities on Tuesday? Doval is among the closest to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and considered to be the chief architect of India’s strategic affairs since Modi became Prime Minister.
All the BJP leaders from PM Modi to BJP’s state chief ministers, ministers, MPs and MLAs and even the lowest cadres had been speaking highly provocative and offensive language against Muslims and Islam, incessantly for the last 10 years. This generated an atmosphere of hatred against Muslims all over the country that resulted in mob lynching, attacks on Muslims in trains, buses, marketplaces and on roads and highways.
Muslims had become the target of attack even in villages that had remained untouched by anti-Muslim communalism till a decade ago. Muslims did not feel safe even in interior rural areas. While these incidents of terrorism were perpetrated against Muslims, PM Modi, state chief ministers and other leaders maintained stoic silence. A BJP MP, who called Muslims traitor at an election meeting in Delhi in 2020 and appealed people to “shoot the traitors,” was rewarded with a ministerial berth in the Central government. Some Hindu religious leaders also gave an open call for Muslim genocide from the religious town of Haridwar in Uttarakhand with no action against them by police and the local administration. Hindutva brigade did not remain confine only to calling names to Indian Muslims, two years ago a BJP MP Tejasvi Surya indulged in vilification of Arab Muslims generating angry response from Arabs women in the UAE and other places. Former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma passed highly offensive remarks against Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) during a TV debate.
Even after return from the US in June, PM Modi in his political rally at Bhopal raked up the issue of Uniform Civil Code, a highly polarizing issue. After his speech, an intense debate began on the UCC and TV channels that centred around Muslims. The debaters said that Muslims were not in favour of UCC because it would deprive them of the right to marry more than one wife though the truth is that the rate of polygamy is the same among Hindus, Muslims and Christians, with a very negligible variation. The unnecessary debate created an atmosphere against Muslims who were accused of being retrogressive and against modernization and change.
While all this was going on, sudden invitation to Muslim World League (MWL) secretary general came as a big surprise to everyone in the Muslim community. Nobody had expected that BJP would mend its relations with the Muslim world because BJP government’s domestic and foreign policies gave an impression that these were based on opposition to Muslims and Islam.
Political analysts say that India’s position as a secular democracy nosedived after Wall Street Journal reporter Sabrina Siddiqui asked uncomfortable questions from PM Modi with regard to discrimination against Muslims in India. This gave a bad press to India all over the world, painting India as a Islamophobic nation within hours. Not only that, even former US president Barack Obama also levelled allegations that Modi government was being biased against its Muslim minority. White House came in defence of Siddiqui when she was trolled by Hindutva activists and was sent abusive and humiliating messages on the internet.
Meanwhile, the development in Manipur where Kuki tribes, who are Christian by faith, alleged government-sponsored violence against them. Within two months, the entire Western media flooded the global news market with anti-India and anti-Modi stories, alleging that Modi government was suppressing Christians in Manipur. Situation in Manipur has aggravated so much that Kuki tribes in Manipur are reported to be using high technology to identify the houses of Hindu Meities and then attack them. Kukis are reportedly getting support from across the border in Myanmar. A delegation of the defence ministry visited Myanmar about 10 days ago, requesting the Myanmar government to ensure that arms supply to Kuki militants by private groups was stopped.
Analysts say that when the entire Christian West has all of a sudden turned against India on the Manipur issue, the government decided to go for a damage-control exercise from the Muslim world. It is in this context, analysts say, that the government suddenly decided to invite top religious leader of Saudi Arabia and use conciliatory tone with regard to Muslims in India. When the entire RSS family and BJP leaders never felt tired of giving a call for Hinduising minorities, particularly Muslims, the audience comprising Muslim religious leaders and intellectuals were surprised to hear Ajit Doval speak of diversity as a fundamental trait of human society. This reversal in policies would have occurred certainly after long churning among those in policy making in home ministry, defence ministry and strategic affairs, with the blessings of PM Modi. Undoubtedly, the reversal of policies – from extreme anti-Muslim to accommodation to other faiths and cultures is certainly a step in the right direction that will not only strengthen the country internally but also raise India’s stock globally. This should be the conduct of any mature democracy from which India had digressed in the last 10 years.
It was also very heartening to listen from Ajit Doval that Indian Muslims with a population of over 200 million were the least involved in terrorism. This is also a retraction from the previous policy under which Muslims were dubbed as terrorists by every big and small BJP leader, including ministers. Even PM Modi had in a rally in 2019 stated that rioters could be identified from their clothes. This was interpreted as PM’s insinuation that entire Muslim community was pro-violence, a very serious allegation from country’s top executive. Till a few weeks ago, every BJP leader termed anyone anti-national if he or she stood for justice for Muslim victims of mob-lynching or attacks by Hindutva brigade. This meant that the entire Muslim community is anti-national, a charge that made position of Muslims very vulnerable and this was one of the several reasons for radicalized Hindus targeting and attacking Muslims. Even when Doval and Dr. Al-Issa were making speeches in Delhi, a Muslim youth was attacked in neighbouring UP because of his Muslim identity.
One hopes that retraction of the BJP government’s policies will herald a new era of peace and tranquility for Muslims again who felt greatly unsafe during the last one decade in their own country. And the Government of India will honour the advice of Dr. Al-Issa who, in his speech, said, ” we need action, not initiatives” to implement diversity on the ground and not confine the ideals of “unity in diversity” in textbooks only.
