By Ahmed Saeed*
The state of India constitutes of Muslims and Hindus. The Hindus hold the majority with 84% of the population whereas the Muslims are the minority holding 14% of the entire population which ultimately makes them inferior and endangers them. The Muslim Community of India has always faced systemic oppression and prejudiced discrimination, but it wasn’t to this extreme. Since BJP has gained the rule of India the Muslim community of India is facing utmost turmoil and brutality in every aspect of their lives. The condition of inequality and harassment toward Muslims is worsening with the passage of time and no betterment in the state of Muslims is expected soon. As it is stated by Mahbooba Mufti, PDP leader in her statement:
“There seems to be a race among the chief ministers in this country on who could harass the Muslims more.”
The intensity of harassment varies from region to region. For instance, Muslim residents in the regions of UP, Karnataka, Assam, and Madhya Pradesh are more prone to harassment. The harassment and oppression have many shapes and forms i.e., Muslims are being triggered to react. Consecutively, communal issues like claims of Mandirs on mosques or Hijab, etc. are being raised so that RSS goons get a chance to execute another episode like that of Gujarat or UP. What the British used to do in prior times, a century ago referring to putting up Hindus against Muslims, a similar agenda is being practiced by the BJP leadership.
The leaders of India during foreign trips are always narrating Mahatma Gandhi’s notion of depicting India as a land of peace and love and boosting its moral authority as a responsible democracy on the world stage. But clearly, the crisis faced by the Muslim Community reflects the entire parallel of this notion. Referring to a state of oppression and harassment witnessed by Muslims, Joe Biden said,
‘Gandhi’s “message of non-violence, respect, and tolerance matters today maybe more than it ever has.’
So far, the India People’s Party (BJP) is successful in instilling a profound sense of Hindus being the victims of the Muslims through propaganda, misinformation, deception, hate speech, and initiating old religious crises and wounds, also mainly by utilizing the mass media, hushing the prominent liberal representation and by authorizing the Hindu chauvinists and violence masses using their established phrase “Hindu khatre mein hain” / Hindus are in danger.
Muslims are the largest minority group in India and under the governmental rule of the BJP, the sufferings of Muslims are never-ending and never lessening. For instance, PM Modi kept on watching silently while a man was beaten to death in Madhya Pradesh for being a Muslim. The only visible stance that is being practiced under the Modi regime is ‘the oppression of the Muslim community.’ The members of the party are of the view that what they’re doing is right. Prior to the BJP’s regime, the alarming concerns for the Indian state were the rapid increase in poverty, joblessness, and socio-economic crisis
Despite the constitutional rights and protection, the Muslims are living in the poor condition which is a serious alarming situation for the international arena, and the international media should raise their voices which in turn will compel India to pay heed to the minority community. A study conducted by an NGO in 2019 highlighted that one of the prominent reasons behind the pathetic conditions of Muslims is half of the police surveyed indicated the anti-Muslim bias, making them less prone to interfere to stop crimes against the Muslims. Apart from that, analysts also have noted a pervasive immunity for those who are attacking and harassing Muslims. Since the BJP came into power the courts and governmental institutions have at times invalidated and abolished the sentences and revoked the cases of those who have accused Hindus of participation in violent acts against the Muslim Community.
Once Modi tweeted, “peace and harmony are central to our ethos” and appealed for “peace and brotherhood at all times”. The narrative always put forward by the Indian Government focuses on the notion of ‘Secularism’, but the current political and social turmoil of India depicts zero secularism because religion is the most significant point of prejudiced discrimination.
With the growing and escalating Hindu nationalism and polarization, the lives of the Indian Muslims are cornered, limiting their lives, as the freedom for the minorities is limited. The university scholars, campaigners, opposition politicians, and dissenters who challenge the governmental orders and unfairness towards the Muslim minority group have always been charged with treason or provocation to violence.
Increasing international criticism is not likely to change and correct the Bharatiya Janta Party’s policies or approach, promoting the Hindu nationalism that is instilled as their raison d’etre. But there are chances that the foreign advocacy will strengthen as well as encourage the resistance within India against a regime striving for political domination through violent polarization.
In the BJPs administration, the discrimination, exclusion as well as the disempowerment of Muslims is increasing a new societal dilemma has also emerged, ‘segregation of the Hindu Community as “us” and the Muslim Community as “them” is now a common practice.
The quotation of Ghazala Jamil, an assistant professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University clearly expresses the harassment and oppression faced by Muslims in the following words:
“The idea was that if you were a Muslim, you were liable to be attacked anywhere, anytime.”
*Ahmed Saeed is freelance writer based in Islamabad.
