In the run-up to India’s general election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has increased attacks on minority groups, raising concerns that the two-term leader did break Indians and ignite tensions for his and his ruling side’s political gain.
The Citizenship Amendment Act ( CAA ), which makes religion a key factor in the selection of people to become Indian citizens, was passed this week.
Just Muslims who have entered India from Pakistan, Afghanistan, or Bangladesh before December 2014 are required to fast-track their membership under the rules. The shift has been criticized by law enforcement and opposition lawmakers, who claim it seeks to divide the country along spiritual lines.
Prashant Bhushan, a Supreme Court attorney, called the choice “unconstitutional and biased on various grounds, including rejection based on religion”. Parliamentarian Asaduddin Owaisi said the shift was “divisive” and designed to “target just Muslims”.
The state delayed implementing the laws after violent protests broke out across the nation, despite the fact that it was originally passed in India’s Parliament in 2019. The schedule is easy, leading to accusations that Modi is attempting to target the nation’s estimated 200 million Muslims in order to win votes from his lot Hindu support base.
The government claims that the law is intended to shield at-risk groups fleeing oppression and that it is intended to protect Muslims. However, it is instructive to note that the most hated ethnic groups in the area, including the Ahmadis in Pakistan, Hazaras in Afghanistan, and the Rohingyas in Myanmar, have all been excluded.
This is not unexpected. In the past, Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP) have targeted minority voters for political gain. Hindu nationalism, which asserts that Hindu society is the foundation of India’s identity and that other faiths and groups, such as Muslims, pose a danger to this identity, is the BJP’s political philosophy.
Muslims are also easy targets because they face discrimination and marginalization for a long time because of the country’s bulk Hindu community. Modi just does not require the support of Muslims to succeed once more. While religious organizations are not edifices, Muslims generally voted against the BJP in the 2014 and 2019 public votes.
Since his election in 2014, Modi has targeted Muslims severely, undermining India’s story of secularism and religious liberty in the process. His government has encouraged patriotic vigilante groups to pin minority groups with impunity while promoting a dramatic increase in state-based violence, prejudice, and alienation against India’s Muslim populations.
This has only gotten worse, with United Nations authorities raising the alarm last year over the president’s treatment of minority groups, including Muslims. The party – part of the UN’s Human Rights Council – reported a rise in attacks on minority parties, saying it was “alarmed” at instances of murder, dehumanizing language, bias and the targeting of minority communities. The UN organization claims that the situation is likely to get worse before the May elections, which are scheduled for April and May.
Human rights organizations like India Hate Lab support this concern, which reported almost two anti-Muslim hate speech incidents per day in India in the first half of 2023. The vast majority were in BJP- controlled states, the research shows.
Tellingly, after receiving government officials ‘ warnings, India’s websites have recently been blocked. Modi’s administration appears to be focused on reducing media coverage of the issue and promoting Muslim safety.
Modi’s recent personal opening of the contentious Ram Mandir temple in Uttar Pradesh has been hailed as the most recent attempt to stoke anti-Muslim sentiment. The temple, which was constructed on the site of a mosque from the 16th century that was torn down by Hindu far-right groups in 1992, is a representation of the rise of Hindu nationalism in India and the decline in Muslims ‘ status.
The incident, which took place on India’s Republic Day on January 26, sparked unrest in the nation, with Hindu nationalist groups targeting and attacking Muslims in numerous locations. Recent polls indicate that the BJP is on track for a landslide win in the state, and the violence may have had the desired outcome.
Modi’s inflammatory actions are problematic for two reasons.
First, as the country gets closer to election day, Muslims will be more vulnerable in the near future. There is a real threat of widespread communal violence across the country because Modi appears to grant the green light to discriminate against and target minority groups, and with authorities already notorious for not protecting them.
The second issue is that the cynical approach actually works. Modi is in the lead in the polls and on track to win comfortably in the election. The prime minister’s economic and foreign policy credentials are also appealing to voters, but his divisive strategies have undoubtedly contributed to his enduring popularity.
A third term for Modi and the BJP will increase prejudice, marginalization, and violence against Muslims, making minority groups even more vulnerable.
Politicians always have a choice, and Modi has perilously chosen to embrace the politics of division. Although it’s likely to give him another term, it contradicts India’s cherished tradition of secularism and pluralism.
As many experts have noted, Modi’s government is obliged to protect minorities. Modi can lead all Indians, not just Hindus, but doing so would demonstrate that unless he reverses his current divisive course, India will become more dangerous and less safe for all of its citizens.