As Indian opposition chief Rahul Gandhi addressed journalists after election outcomes demonstrated a dramatic setback for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Get together (BJP), he held up a pocket-sized model of India’s Structure.
“It was a struggle to save lots of the structure. I want to thank all people who has participated on this election. I’m pleased with the individuals who resisted the onslaught on this structure,” Gandhi stated on Tuesday night.
“It’s the poor and marginalised individuals who got here out to save lots of the structure. Employees, farmers, Dalits, adivasis [Indigenous] and backwards have helped saved this structure.
“This structure is the voice of the folks. We stand with you and fulfil the guarantees.”
Lacking from the record of individuals Gandhi thanked had been India’s 200 million Muslims, the nation’s largest non secular minority. Muslims are believed to have overwhelmingly voted for Gandhi’s INDIA alliance, which received 223 seats within the elections for the Lok Sabha, the decrease home of parliament — beneath the midway mark of 272 however considerably greater than exit polls had predicted. Modi’s BJP received 240 seats, falling wanting a majority by itself and leaving it depending on allies to type a authorities for the primary time since Modi got here to energy in 2014.
Gandhi’s omission was no one-off. It was a part of a sample, say analysts, observers and plenty of Indian Muslims – one which has seen opposition events show seeming reluctance to even point out Muslims.
“They know that a big a part of India’s [predominantly Hindu] center class is radicalised to the extent that taking the title of Muslims may hurt the fortunes of political events,” Mohammed Ali, an award-winning journalist based mostly in New Delhi, stated, talking of Gandhi’s Indian Nationwide Congress social gathering and different opposition teams.
As India’s multiphase nationwide elections drew to an in depth with the declaration of outcomes, the curtains additionally got here down on a marketing campaign that turned more and more vitriolic in direction of Muslims. Modi himself confronted a warning from the Election Fee after a collection of speeches that critics stated represented hate speech. He referred to Muslims as “infiltrators” and “those that have extra youngsters”. And he referenced a collection of Islamophobic tropes which were broadly debunked.
A Muslim youth who requested to stay nameless stated the elections had been like a nightmare. “It was six weeks of nonstop anti-Muslim canine whistles. We don’t really feel a part of this course of,” he stated.
But, by means of all of it, many Indian Muslims say in addition they felt let down by the nation’s so-called secular opposition events, lots of whom refused to even check with their fears and issues. That’s mirrored in a parliamentary panorama that, on its floor, seems contradictory.
The BJP with its Hindu majoritarian ideology has misplaced seats whereas avowedly secular opposition events have gained floor. However the incoming parliament could have one of many lowest variety of Muslim MPs – 22 – since independence.
Opposition avoids utilizing phrase ‘Muslim’
The leaders of the opposition Indian Nationwide Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) did criticise Modi for bringing faith into his marketing campaign. However analysts and plenty of throughout the Muslim neighborhood level out that the opposition largely prevented elevating Muslim issues.
Dozens of Muslims have been lynched over accusations of cow smuggling as their meals selections and public prayers have come below assault from vigilantes. Governments in a number of BJP-ruled states have enacted legal guidelines to stop interfaith marriage – pandering to the conspiracy principle of “love jihad”, which suggests, with out proof, that Muslim males attempt to marry non-Muslim ladies to transform them to Islam.
And in 2020, India’s capital, New Delhi, witnessed riots through which at the very least 53 folks had been killed, most of them Muslim.
The Congress social gathering and its alliance accomplice the Aam Aadmi Get together (AAP), which governs Delhi, had been silent on justice for the victims of these riots throughout the marketing campaign – a sore level for folks like Nisar Ahmad, a resident of Mustafabad in East Delhi.
The 50-year-old ran a thriving garment enterprise earlier than the riots, however that was shut down as a result of threats from his Hindu neighbours, and he was compelled to promote his home in East Delhi’s Bhagirathivihar as a result of he was anxious about his security there after the riots.
“Within the election marketing campaign, nobody cared to speak concerning the victims of the Delhi riots and justice for them,” Ahmed informed Al Jazeera.
Ahmad, who is among the witnesses in courtroom instances associated to the Delhi riots, stated he can not overlook how his neighbours had been crushed, stripped and killed. “For me, all the pieces has modified for the reason that riots. I nonetheless really feel unsafe in my very own nation,” he stated.
“Nobody is speaking about Muslims. The politicians concern in the event that they use the phrase Muslim of their campaigns, it’d damage their vote financial institution,” Ahmad stated, referring to the opposition’s reluctance to debate points vital to Muslims in marketing campaign speeches. “I’ve voted and nonetheless hope someplace that issues may change.”
Others echoed his sentiments in Jamia Nagar, one other Muslim neighbourhood in South Delhi.
“In earlier elections, many politicians visited the realm, and we’d really feel there may be an election vibe,” Muhammad Shakir informed Al Jazeera. This time, although, he stated, “There was no discuss our points and native issues.
“It seems like everyone seems to be ignoring Muslims intentionally,” he stated.
Muslims portrayed as a menace
Irfan Ahmed, a professor of anthropology at Ibn Haldun College in Istanbul, questioned the usually touted description of India’s elections as the biggest pageant of democracy. “For these denied justice and dignity, it might appear like the world’s largest circus,” he stated.
“Since 2014, this electoral circus has passionately been staging Muslims as a menace towards which individuals are requested to vote,” Ahmed informed Al Jazeera. “Whereas the BJP points the menace overtly, the non-BJP events do implicitly: That’s by remaining silent.”
No social gathering, he stated, “has the braveness to speak concerning the violence completed to the Muslims”.
Al Jazeera spoke to a number of Muslims throughout India who shared the identical sentiment.
Consultants say non-BJP events have been reluctant to even say the phrase “Muslim” as a result of the BJP has created a notion that secular events have favoured the minority neighborhood.
“Ought to your hard-earned cash be given to infiltrators?” Modi requested a crowd in April within the state of Rajasthan as his social gathering alleged – with out foundation – that the opposition was planning to take wealth from unprivileged caste Hindus and provides it to Muslims.
Guru Prakash Paswan, a spokesperson for the BJP, denied his social gathering was towards minorities. As an alternative, he accused the opposition of taking part in “divisive politics.”
“So far as the BJP is anxious, we by no means distinguish or discriminate on the title of faith. We comply with the rules of non-discrimination assured below the structure. Like our PM says, ‘Sab ka sath, sab ka vikas, sab ka Vishwas’ [‘Everyone’s support, everyone’s development, everyone’s trust’] is our motive,” he informed Al Jazeera.
However the actuality feels very totally different for a lot of Indian Muslims. And it’s not simply the BJP that they blame.
Dwindling Muslim illustration
Events belonging to the INDIA alliance gave fewer tickets to Muslim candidates this time than they did in 2019 at a time when Muslim illustration in parliament was already at its lowest since independence in 1947.
Non-BJP events gave 115 tickets to Muslims in 2019, however the newly shaped INDIA alliance fielded solely 78 Muslims this yr. The Lok Sabha has 543 seats.
In Maharashtra state with a inhabitants of 10 million Muslims, non-BJP events didn’t give a single ticket to Muslims whereas in Uttar Pradesh state, residence to 40 million Muslims, the state’s primary opposition Samajwadi Get together (SP) fielded simply 4 Muslims. The SP has lengthy counted Muslims amongst its core voters.
The Bahujan Samaj Get together, a pro-Dalit social gathering, fielded 35 Muslims throughout India, together with 17 in Uttar Pradesh.
In Bihar state, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, a part of the INDIA alliance, gave tickets to 2 Muslims. The state has 20 million Muslims whereas 4 out of 20 of the Communist Get together of India (Marxist) candidates in Kerala had been Muslims. One-fourth of the state’s inhabitants is Muslim.
The Trinamool Congress social gathering, which governs West Bengal state in japanese India, fielded six Muslims, together with 5 in West Bengal. One-third of the state’s practically 100 individuals are Muslims.
Most of Muslims received from constituencies with substantial Muslim populations.
Traditionally, Muslim illustration within the legislature has been low, however it has declined for the reason that rise of the BJP within the Nineties. Within the outgoing parliament, 27 MPs had been Muslims.
“Addressing the query of illustration is a bit sophisticated in a rustic which has one of many largest clusters of billionaires whereas on the identical time is residence to the biggest numbers of poor folks on this planet,” stated a professor of political science at New Delhi-based Jamia Millia Islamia College who wished to stay nameless.
“You’ve got economically and socially marginalized teams vying for the restricted sources, so giving any concession to at least one group faces resistance from different weak social teams,” he informed Al Jazeera.
“And it was this concern that the BJP exploited by hammering out the message that the Congress social gathering was planning to grab reservations from unprivileged caste Hindus and provides them to Muslims.”
Averting Hindu consolidation
The BJP fielded only one Muslim candidate this yr, and none of its 302 members within the outgoing parliament is Muslim.
Paswan, the BJP spokesman, defended his social gathering, saying it really works for all communities.
The BJP social gathering has completed “unparalleled welfare work for minority communities” prior to now 10 years, he informed Al Jazeera. He stated the social gathering has nominated Muslims to the higher home of parliament.
Consultants say non-BJP events keep away from giving many tickets to Muslims to avert a consolidation of Hindu voters behind the BJP. All of that underscores a deeper problem with the best way so-called secular events view Muslims, Professor Ahmed stated: solely as voters, not as leaders.
Whereas the INDIA alliance has been cool in direction of Muslim events such because the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), based mostly within the southern metropolis of Hyderabad, and the All India United Democratic social gathering, based mostly within the northeastern state of Assam, it has not hesitated to incorporate outright Hindu events.
The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), based mostly in Maharashtra, is led by the son of Balasaheb Thackeray, who was accused – although by no means formally charged – with instigating anti-Muslim violence in Mumbai within the early Nineties. At the moment, the social gathering is part of the INDIA alliance though it nonetheless has a Hindu majoritarian agenda.
Shama Mohamed, a Congress spokesperson, defended the social gathering’s stand on minorities.
“We’ll be certain that the minorities obtain their fair proportion of alternatives in schooling, healthcare, public employment, public works contracts, ability growth, sports activities and cultural actions with out discrimination.
“We’ll respect and uphold the elemental proper to practise one’s religion and the rights assured to spiritual minorities below … the structure.”
‘Muslim’ lacking from manifestos
An evaluation of the manifesto of the Congress social gathering, Samajwadi Get together, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Trinamool Congress social gathering, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Communist Get together of India (Marxist) – all main opposition events – exhibits that almost all of them didn’t use the phrase Muslim and stayed away from points going through the neighborhood.
The Samajwadi Get together coined a brand new catchline for the marketing campaign: Pichhda, Dalit and Alpasankhyak (Backward, Dalit and minorities) in an try and eliminate its pro-Muslim picture.
The social gathering manifesto in addition to the speeches of its prime chief, Akhilesh Yadav, steered away from matters regarding Muslims akin to extrajudicial killings and using bulldozers to demolish Muslim houses and companies.
In neighbouring Bihar state, the regional Rashtriya Janata Dal social gathering additionally tried to alter its pro-Muslim picture. It coined a brand new catchphrase to increase its base past the Muslim and Yadavs, an unprivileged caste Hindu group. The social gathering’s primary chief, Tejasvi Yadav, tried to underplay the Muslim connection, declaring that his social gathering stood for all younger folks in one of many poorest states in India. Youth employment was his largest election focus.
The Congress social gathering, which leads the INDIA alliance, additionally prevented utilizing the phrase Muslim in its manifesto. Its focus has been social fairness and illustration of unprivileged caste Hindus in jobs and different authorities establishments.
In 2018, former social gathering chief Sonia Gandhi stated Congress wanted to shed the notion that it was a pro-Muslim social gathering.
In its manifesto, the social gathering additionally didn’t point out the federal government’s repeal below Modi of Indian-administered Kashmir’s semiautonomous standing in 2019 and stayed silent about assaults towards Muslims.
In the meantime, the Aam Aadmi Get together launched an internet site AAPKaRamRajya.com earlier than the elections to showcase its work – in impact mirroring the BJP’s longstanding promise to show India, formally a secular nation, into Ram Rajya (kingdom of Lord Ram).
In West Bengal, the ruling Trinamool Congress social gathering promised in its manifesto to abolish a citizenship regulation that was enacted in 2019 and that many critics say discriminates towards Muslims. The Trinamool Congress additionally dedicated to not implementing a uniform civil code, a coverage pushed by the BJP that will finish private legal guidelines that enable Muslims and different communities to comply with their conventional customs and practices with regards to marriage inheritance and different civil issues. Nonetheless, the social gathering manifesto didn’t point out the phrase “Muslim”.
Analysts say the BJP’s Hindu majoritarian push has made Muslim points disappear from public discourse.
Reyaz Ahmed, an assistant professor at Aliya College within the japanese metropolis of Kolkata, stated the silence of so-called secular events on Muslims, whereas disappointing, isn’t a surprise – partly as a result of they knew the neighborhood wouldn’t vote for the BJP in any case.
“Muslims will nonetheless vote for secular events regardless of their marginalization. They’ve little alternative out there,” Ahmed stated.
Not all are silent
To make sure, not all political events have been silent.
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), which governs the southern state of Tamil Nadu, and the Communist Get together of India (Marxist) (CPM), which has been in energy in neighbouring Kerala since 2016, talked about Muslims of their manifestos.
The DMK promised to repeal the contentious citizenship regulation and grant job reservations to Muslims. The social gathering additionally criticised the revocation of Kashmir’s particular standing. The CPM can also be dedicated to restoring Kashmir’s particular standing, Mariam Alexander Child, a celebration chief, stated.
The CPM’s manifesto particularly talked about assaults towards Muslims and promised to ban vigilante teams. It talked about compensation to Muslims who’ve been wrongfully jailed below a collection of legal guidelines, together with “anti-terror” legal guidelines.
However what about different events?
Ahmed, who can also be the writer of The Algebra of Warfare-Welfare, which analysed the 2014 elections, stated that on the finish of the day, many events use language much like that of the BJP.
“Rahul Gandhi, the so-called secular chief of the Congress social gathering, eloquently speaks about Dalits, adivasis and so forth, however he lacks the braveness to even point out the phrase Muslim, not to mention spotlight their plight demonstrated by many analysis and studies,” Ahmed stated.
“In that sense, the distinction between Gandhi and Modi is barely technical. Each favour an ethnic populist democracy although their respective types are usually not similar.”
Rifat Fareed contributed reporting from New Delhi
