Indian Muslims are fearing the future as a general election is imminent in the country, with a high probability that the BJP will form a government at the center. Ultimately, the indicators are dim. For the Muslims of India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ten years in office have not exactly been prosperous or safe, but things are clearly going to get much worse. A madressah had been bulldozed the day before, and on Friday there were skirmishes between protesters and police in the northern state of Uttarakhand that resulted in five deaths. Authorities in the BJP-ruled state say the structure was ‘illegal’. Certain media reports claim that all of the deceased were Muslims. The controversial Uniform Civil Code, which supersedes religious laws regarding marriage, divorce, and inheritance, was approved by Uttarakhand last week as well. Furthermore, at the end of January, federal authorities in New Delhi destroyed a centuries-old mosque in the Mehrauli neighborhood of the city under the pretense of conducting a “anti-encroachment” operation. Muslims have always been the target of discrimination during the BJP’s rule, especially in the states it controls, but in the wake of the Ram temple’s opening last month on the site of the Babri Masjid, harassment and violence have increased. It appears that the BJP aspires to realise the vision of its ideological parent, the RSS, by eradicating Muslim history and culture in India and offering the Muslim community itself only two options: either convert to Hinduism or live as a lifelong serf in Hindu rashtra.
It would be reckless to try to “reclaim” mosques by demolishing and converting them into temples. Hindu fanatics are already eyeing the mosques in Mathura and Varanasi. If these acts are permitted to go unchecked, India might descend into communal anarchy. Furthermore, it is a poor idea to impose a single legal code across the country. The BJP is not acting out of compassion for Muslims, particularly the women in the community. Instead, the purpose of this cunning plan is to eradicate Muslim religious and cultural customs and, in the end, to eradicate the Muslim identity from the so-called “pure” land of Bharat. The Sangh Parivar’s agenda for India is dangerous because it mixes 20th-century fascism with mythology from antiquity in a deadly concoction. It will have disastrous effects on minority communities, including Muslims in India, if it is permitted to go forward.
