Mohammad Jamil
Since BJP’s electoral victory in 2014 and Narendra Modi’s election as prime minister, Indian Muslims feel perturbed and alienated. According to an opinion poll, serious reservations were found in the Indian community members settled in UAE regarding Modi’s aggressive policies. They are of the view that since the Modi has taken over as PM, construction of new mosques and major renovation works have been drastically reduced. Through unnecessary legal requirements, paper work, delay in fund release etc., efforts are intentionally being made to create hindrances for Muslims in following their religious practices. By design, they are isolating the Muslim community. Muslim youth are not being recruited in forces i.e. Army/BSF, and now RSS affiliated youth are being recruited. Overall, Indian army has become an RSS dominated force and it will have serious repercussions for Muslims in years to come. Reportedly, recently RSS troops-dominated battalions cherished the Babri Masjid incident.
Muslim community is fearful of India’s policies, and considers Modi as fascist who could go to any extent to run India under RSS doctrine. Since, entire Indian media is owned/operated by Hindu extremists actively it is involved in promoting anti-Islam/Pakistan, anti-Kashmir theme, humiliating Muslim scholars (i.e Zakir Naik etc). Indian Muslims settled in UAE are seriously perturbed regarding their families back home. They express fear and are reluctant to go back to India under ongoing circumstances. In fact, Narendra Modi had won elections with the backing of the Hindu extremist organizations. Therefore, Indian Hindus extremists’ strands celebrated Modi’s victory, the Muslim community in India felt alienated, scared and perturbed, as most of them believed that they were disenfranchised. Prime Minister Modi’s past, badly tarnished with the 2002 bloody anti-Muslim riots has been the real cause of concern for the Muslims.
During the election campaign, Narendra Modi had talked of further alienating the Muslim populace, still sizzling from the 2002 Gujarat holocaust. Muslims are aware of Narendra Modi’s agenda to reduce the Muslim community in India to second class citizens, which is why they feel nervous. Muslim anxiety in India is multiplying due the fact that during repeated election campaign Hindu majority has been mobilized on ‘hate Muslim’ slogans and ‘anti Pakistan’ jargons. Hence, Modi regime is likely to target and persecute Muslims in India. BJP’s share in the total vote cast was a little over 31 percent, which clearly indicated that the bulk of vote in its favor primarily came from its core constituency of Hindu nationalists. One can conclude that Narendra Modi would always be mindful of his hard core’s sensitivities, which is hostile towards Pakistan. Some of the figures on his cabinet send out some unsettling vibes.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, was at the centre of the Agra fiasco when a comprehensive agenda including Kashmir, drawn up for negotiated settlement was sabotaged by a group in Vajpayee’s government. She was then information minister and deliberately missed out Kashmir from her press statements. Prime Minister Modi has in his cabinet minister of state General (Retd) V.K. Singh former army chief, who while in service had, according to Indian media’s own leaks, raised a special group for subversion and terrorism in Pakistan. Indian propaganda against Pakistan, its Armed Forces and intelligence agencies continues all the time. In fact, there is pernicious design to build a narrative against ISI and Pak Army, as India’s military establishment wished to carry out its insidious agenda of denigrating Pakistan; thus it desired to restrict space for new government in New Delhi, prohibiting any positive overtures towards Pakistan.
Prime Minister Modi must understand that every action has an opposite and equal reaction, as experienced in demolition of Babari Mosque and subsequent burning of Hindu Manders in Pakistan, UAE and in other countries. BJP leaders were also behind demolition of Babri Masjid. On 6th December 1992, Babri Masjid was demolished by thousands of Hindu fanatics. More than 2000 people were killed in the riots following the demolition that broke out in many major Indian cities including Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad. In Gujarat, state officials and police were directly involved in the violence, which had been admitted even in the official report. The groups most directly responsible for that violence against Muslims included were Vishwa Hindu Preshad (VHP), the Bajrang Dal and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, collectively forming Sangh Privar. At that time of Babri Mosque’s demolition, Congress government was at the Centre, headed by late Narasimha Rao.
Therefore, the Congress cannot be absolved of the responsibility for the tragic and sad events. Earlier, the Congress had played despicable and ignominious role in the breakup of Pakistan in 1971. It was also under the Congress’ watch that Kashmir was annexed in 1948 through intrigues and the use of force. Liberhan Commission on Babri Masjid demolition in its report exposed many BJP and other leaders. The Liberhan commission was set up by the Government of India in December 1992 to probe the circumstances that led to the demolition of the Babri Masjid. It was the longest running commission in India’s history with several extensions granted by various governments. In 17 years of its proceedings, the commission recorded statements of several politicians, bureaucrats and police officials including Kalyan Singh, late Narasimha Rao, L.K. Advani and his colleagues Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharati as well as Mulayam Singh Yadav.
