Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is increasingly resorting to overtly Islamophobic language during his election campaign, critics and observers say, as he seeks a third straight term governing the world\u2019s most populous nation. <\/p>\n
As turnout in the polls so far shows a slight dip from five years ago, the popular leader \u2013 and overwhelming favorite \u2013 has embraced negative campaigning, they say, and received little pushback from civil society or election authorities. <\/p>\n
Followers of Modi\u2019s Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) \u2013 and some of its top figures \u2013 have long been accused of using inflammatory language to describe the country\u2019s 200 million Muslims, but rarely Modi himself. However this election has brought a clear shift, critics say. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is unique about what we\u2019ve seen recently, is that these statements are being uttered by the Prime Minister himself,\u201d Milan Vaishnav, a senior fellow and director of the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. \u201cNot necessarily by surrogates \u2013 the Home Minister, or by the chief minister \u2013 or by other kind of party apparatchiks.\u201d <\/p>\n
The shift in tone is making many Indian Muslims nervous. <\/p>\n
\u201cModi and the BJP have for a long time been making references to the community, but it\u2019s moved on from the dog whistle,\u201d said political researcher and columnist Asim Ali. \u201cIt\u2019s painting us as an existential threat to Hindus. It\u2019s coming directly from the prime minister. It\u2019s anti-Muslim, and it\u2019s dangerous.\u201d <\/p>\n
Modi and his BJP have repeatedly said they do not discriminate against minority groups. <\/p>\n
But analysts and observers have noted multiple speeches he\u2019s made during this six-week election campaign, that began last month, specifically refer to Muslims and paint them in a negative light. <\/p>\n
Calling Muslims \u201cinfiltrators\u201d with \u201clarge families,\u201d Modi has accused his main opposition, the Indian National Congress, without evidence, of intending to redistribute the country\u2019s wealth to Muslims. He warned women that the opposition would take their gold and redistribute it to Muslims. He accused Congress of wanting to choose players on the Indian cricket team \u201con the basis of religion.\u201d And he has claimed the party is conspiring to commit \u201cvote jihad\u201d by uniting \u201ca certain community\u201d against him. <\/p>\n
For Irfan Nooruddin, a professor of Indian politics at Georgetown University, the rhetoric has \u201cbecome much more starkly and overtly communal.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cThese are very central views within the BJP that are sometimes suppressed to avoid negative press or civil society pushback. With the media and civil society neutralized, the BJP no longer fears such consequences and so can pull back the veil,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe BJP understands that its path to a majority in parliament \u2013 especially a super-majority that would allow it to amend the constitution \u2013 is to consolidate the Hindu vote and to prevent the opposition from making inroads through economic appeals,\u201d added Nooruddin. <\/p>\n
The prime minister has set an ambitious target for his alliance to win 400 seats in the country\u2019s Lok Sabha, or lower house of Parliament, in this election. <\/p>\n
Many in the country say their lives have been transformed under his leadership, aided by his far-reaching welfare and development schemes. Weeks before voting began, analysts were certain his party would sweep the polls yet again. <\/p>\n
Since April 19, millions have flocked to polling booths to cast their vote. But turnout across six phases so far has slightly dipped from the record highs of 2019, and this might be causing anxiety among BJP leaders, analysts say. <\/p>\n
The chief minister of Delhi, popular opposition leader and staunch Modi critic, Arvind Kejriwal, was temporarily allowed out of prison earlier this month after being arrested on corruption charges, in a case his allies claimed was politically motivated. His release has galvanized a once flattened opposition, uniting them to deliver a tough fight to Modi and his BJP. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis election is becoming competitive,\u201d said political researcher Ali, suggesting that a tighter race in key seats might be motivating the ruling party to ramp up the inflammatory language. \u201cThe BJP is a favorite but their target is ambitious, and this rhetoric appeals to their vote bank.\u201d <\/p>\n
Many have accused the prime minister of tacitly endorsing sectarianism to bolster his Hindu-nationalist credentials, while diverting from policy failures \u2013 such as youth unemployment, which now stands at close to 50% among 20- to 24-year-olds, and the vast wealth gap in the country, which according to a recent study is more unequal than it was during British rule. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe BJP\u2019s track record on economic growth, job creation, and poverty alleviation is weak,\u201d Nooruddin, from Georgetown University, said. \u201cThese bread-and-butter issues are central to election campaigns and the opposition has really sought to emphasize them. So, I think the BJP\u2019s resort to overt communal rhetoric is an effort to fight an election on its preferred terms rather than on issues where it is vulnerable.\u201d <\/p>\n
Muslim independent journalist Alishan Jafri noted that the day-to-day struggles brought by poverty and unemployment are \u201caffecting Muslims as much as it\u2019s affecting poor Hindus,\u201d pointing to some 800 million people dependent on rations provided by the government. <\/p>\n
\u201cTo tell (Hindus) that Muslims will take away even half of that is surely going to scare them and divide the communities on religious lines. That the mainstream media has refused to push back tells us two things: they are compromised, or they support it.\u201d <\/p>\n
Modi\u2019s government posits India as a leader on the global stage. His calendar last year included diplomatic trips to Australia and the United States, and he presents himself as a statesman cementing the country as a modern power. <\/p>\n
Last year India overtook China to become the world\u2019s most populous nation, while the year before it surpassed former colonial power Britain to become the world\u2019s fifth-largest economy. According to Vaishnav, the muted response to Modi\u2019s divisive language from Western leaders must be seen through the prism through which they view India \u2013 as a balance against an increasingly assertive China. <\/p>\n
At home, analysts say, his grip on power has allowed him to make such comments with little pushback from civil society. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe Election Commission is pretty toothless and what powers it has had have been further weakened by changes made to how commissioners are appointed by making the Prime Minister\u2019s Office more central to that process,\u201d Nooruddin said. <\/p>\n
Modi\u2019s April 21 speech about \u201cinfiltrators\u201d has ignited widespread anger among Muslim leaders and opposition politicians, and calls for election authorities to investigate. BJP party spokespeople subsequently said Modi was talking specifically about undocumented migrants. <\/p>\n
The election commission has asked the BJP to respond to the allegations. But opposition groups and critics say the response is not strong enough. <\/p>\n
Globally, independent polls suggest that India\u2019s image is declining in some countries around the world and there is some criticism about the government\u2019s Hindu nationalist ambitions. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe anti-Muslim rhetoric used on the campaign trail will unfortunately further damage India\u2019s reputation globally. This is unnecessary at a time when India should be ascendant,\u201d Nooruddin said. <\/p>\n
For Jafri, the journalist, the effects are clear. <\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t express what millions of people feel as a collective, but I am sure that nobody likes being constantly abused, bullied, betrayed, and singled out,\u201d he said. \u201cSome feel attacked and humiliated. Many have become cynical, and they don\u2019t expect any better from this regime and its supporters.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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