As the BJP party, under the leadership of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, vies for a consecutive third term, there has been a noticeable rise in anti-Muslim discourse aimed at rallying India’s vast Hindu voter base. The electoral process in India, which began on April 19th, comprises seven voting rounds with the objective of electing 543 MP’s. The third round is scheduled to take place on May 7th, with the entire voting procedure set to be concluded by June 1st, followed by an announcement of the results three days after.
Modi, during various meetings throughout the country, has warned that a triumph by rival opposition would mean a loss for the majority Hindu community, contending that the opposition would expropriate wealth and land and give it to India’s Muslim minority, approximated at 200 million. In a nation comprising approximately 1.4 billion, Hindus and Muslims make up about 80% and 15% respectively.
Modi further claimed that the confiscation by the opposition would extend to mangal sutras, or gold chains usually worn by Hindu wedded women. He went on to accuse the leading opposition party, Indian National Congress, of promising in their manifesto that they would instigate a preferential employment scheme favouring Muslims to help bolster their voter support, if elected.
In one particular speech, Modi termed Muslims as “infiltrators” and a community that births more offspring than Hindus. This former statement alluded to Islamic militants, who have been slipping into India from nearby Pakistan for many years, causing instability by targeting Hindus. The second point reiterated BJP’s fear that an excessively high fertility rate amongst Muslims poses a threat to the majority status of Hindus in India, who currently number above 800 million.
Several news websites and newspapers have conducted fact checks and disproved all of Modi’s declarations. Political columnist, Asim Ali, referred to Modi’s commentary as “the most provocative by any prime minister in recent Indian history”. Speaking to Al Jazeera News, Ali pointed out a significant sectarian shift in Modi’s campaigning methods, labelling him as BJP’s “militant campaigner”.
In 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rose to power, securing re-election in 2019. Founded in 1980 by the right-wing Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) or National Volunteer Corps, BJP was created as the political arm of the organization. The RSS, established in 1925, was motivated by the preservation of Hinduism from what it perceived as the polluting effects of Islam and Christianity, hence promoting Hindutva or Hindu dominance.
Under Modi’s leadership as Prime Minister, Hindu vigilantes started publicly executing numerous Muslims across the nation. These mobs alleged that the victims were partaking in the beef trade by killing cows – animals considered holy by Hindus. Consequently, the BJP imposed severe laws, including imprisonment for up to a decade for cow slaughter. This affected millions of Muslim families involved in cattle trading.
The US Council on Foreign Relations think tank observed that Muslims have experienced extensive prejudice in various sectors including employment, education, housing, and primary healthcare, under BJP governance. The think tank claimed that Muslims often faced obstacles in gaining political power and found justice hard to come by, as convictions against Hindus for crimes against Muslims were regularly overturned by courts and state-run entities.
The think tank’s recent study pointed out Indian authorities had repeatedly used off-the-books methods to penalize Muslims. These actions, termed “bulldozer justice,” involved randomly tearing down homes based on questionable claims of lacking formal permits.
Several BJP-associated bodies have taken legal action against mosques, alleging they were erected illegally by ancient Islamic conquerors who obliterated Hindu temples. These organizations also blamed Muslim men of conducting “love jihad” – luring Hindu women into marriage after converting them to Islam. Consequently, the BJP government passed laws requiring state approval for religious conversions. Muslims were frequently criticised and often legally pursued for purportedly carrying out “land Jihad” – buying property in Hindu-majority areas in BJP-governed states.
These relentless attacks and socio-financial degradation of Muslims by Hindu commoners led India’s supreme court to caution that such behaviour might soon be viewed as “the new normal.”
A Washington-based investigative coalition, known as the India Hate Lab, recently disclosed that in 2023, 75% of hate speech incidents against Muslims – 498 out of 668 cases – happened in regions under BJP administration. The group accused the Modi regime of misconduct towards Muslims.
The BJP has refuted any accusation of mistreatment towards minorities, stating that its strategies have positively impacted all Indian citizens. In the early part of April, Modi revealed to Newsweek that communities of minorities in India, Muslims included, no longer “believe the tale of bias”. He stated that all minority groups are content and flourishing.