Following his re-election as the Prime Minister of India in May 2019, Narendra Modi vowed to protect the interests of the nation’s minority groups in his acceptance speech addressing the members of the new Indian parliament. However, what has been championed since by the government – led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – has previously been and is currently being described as an extreme, far-right brand of Hindu nationalism resembling fascism in a classical sense.
The effects of this ideology have been seen in the past; namely the 2002 Gujarat riots. Three days of inter-communal violence in the western Indian state of Gujarat were followed by further violent outbreaks across the state. The then Chief Minister of Gujarat, Modi, was accused of initiating and condoning the attacks consisting of brutal murders and rapes, as well as widespread looting and destruction of property. Although officially cleared of complicity in the violence, he did little to curb the violence and allegations were made that evidence for his guilt was suppressed. Official figures report 1,044 deaths as a result of the riots; with the majority of casualties being Muslims. Other sources estimated death tolls exceeding 2,000. Commentators have referred to the events as “organized political massacres” and “state terrorism”.
More recently, we have seen hate crimes against Muslims being perpetrated with increasing severity. In June 2019, a viral video circulated; a young man bleeding profusely all over his body, tied up and being forced to chant a Hindu nationalist slogan now associated with the BJP; ‘Jai Shri Ram’ (meaning ‘Glory to Lord Rama’). The man, 24-year-old Tabrez Ansari – was shown crying and begging for mercy in the video; he was beaten for hours until he eventually died. The same week, Hafeez Haldar was thrown out of a train in West Bengal and Faizal Khan was assaulted at night just minutes from the celebrated city of Mumbai. The perpetrators in these two incidents acted in a manner very much akin to the lynching of Ansari; themselves chanting and forcing their victims to chant the aforementioned phrase employed as a rallying cry for Hindu nationalists across the country.
In late February of this year, mobs roamed New Delhi burning and looting mosques as well as shops, businesses and homes belonging to Muslims. Fifty-three people died and hundreds more were injured. A two-year-old baby was stripped by a gang to see if he was circumcised, in an attempt to determine if he was a Muslim. The same thing was also done to a Hindu journalist despite him having recited Hindu prayers to prove his faith; he recalled he feared for his life and was ultimately escorted out of the area by Muslims to a hospital – outside the Muslim-majority area – for treatment. Like the 2002 riots, these events are being referred to as an “attempted genocide” and a “pogrom”, and like 2002, little is being done to bring the perpetrators to justice.
The rioting began in response to protests, the majority of which were non-violent, from Muslims opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The NRC requires residents to prove their citizenship using documents that predate 24th March 1971. Under the NRC, if someone does not possess documents that meet this standard – which most Indians do not – they are classed as an illegal immigrant. However, after its implementation in the state of Assam, the BJP found that more Hindus would lose citizenship than Muslims. So, they reintroduced the ‘anti-constitutional’ Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), intending to grant citizenship to non-Muslim migrants and stripping Muslims without the appropriate documents of their citizenship. Specifically, it allows Hindus, Jains, Parsis, Buddhists, Sikhs and Christians to retain their citizenship or gain citizenship faster than Muslims. Amidst the protests that erupted, they passed the bill, making it the CAA, and have plans to implement the two pieces of legislature nationwide. The sheer number of people whose livelihood this threatens should not be understated; Muslims in India number close to 200,000,000 (according to figures from 2015) – that is, 11% of the global Muslim population. Such a population would form the world’s seventh-most populous country. In addition to this legislation, the government have already built sixteen detention centres (and counting) to hold ‘foreigners’ for an undefined period, with ten of them already operational, in anticipation of the large number of people that will be robbed of their future as Indian citizens.
The lengths to which the BJP will go with their anti-Muslim sentiment and dehumanisation has already been evidenced by what has taken place in Jammu and Kashmir. The revocation of Articles 370 and 35a of the Indian constitution has stripped the region of the autonomy it had as a Muslim-majority state and has laid the groundwork to execute a plan to forcibly establish Hindu settlements in the region – paralleling the Israeli settlements in the West Bank – by permitting outsiders to purchase land and permanently settle. Some tens of thousands of troops were deployed in the region, keeping it locked down since August 2019 when Articles 370 and 35a were revoked. A telecommunications and internet blackout sealed off the region from the outside world, meaning security forces have been able to do as they please; “mass detentions and torture are the norm according to the few witnesses able to report what they have seen” and “distraught family members complain that they cannot find their relatives or that they are too poor to visit them in prisons that may be 800 miles away”.
In the late 1980s, it was the BJP that led a nationwide movement to illegally tear down the Babri Masjid and build a Hindu temple in its place, causing the party to come to national prominence. Ultimately, the BJP and another right-wing group rallied over 100,000 people to tear down the mosque. Sparking a month of nationwide religious riots that left approximately 2,000 dead, many of which were Muslim, the demolition of the Masjid created a fissure in Hindu-Muslim relations that have only since worsened.
As Muslims we are obligated to do what is within our ability and sphere of influence. We are told by Rasool Allah ﷺ “Whoever among you sees evil, let him change it with his hand. If he is unable to do so, then with his tongue. If he is unable to do so, then with his heart, and that is the weakest level of faith.” If you are someone who holds a high position of influence in society, speak out. If not, make use of the influence you do have – speak to your friends and family and make the intention that if Allah SWT grants you more ability in the future – you will make use of it and won’t stand by whilst evil occurs.
Alhamdullilah, we all have different skills that Allah SWT has bestowed upon us. Perhaps you are skilled with media and can create infographics and videos that can go viral and highlight the atrocities, perhaps you are a talented public speaker and can give a speech that will embed the cause into the hearts of thousands. Make use of these ni’am and show gratitude to Allah by striving to help His servants.
As well as this, you can write to the media, push your local politicians, work with youth groups to nurture the next generation of young Muslims to lead change. Strengthen our brothers and sisters by letting them know we are thinking of them. It can be so detrimental to feel that the Ummah has forgotten about you and does not care about your hurt – make them know that this is not the case.
It is the right of our Muslim brothers and sisters of India that we think about them, expose the nature of the injustices against them, and make dua for their safety and future. We would unquestionably expect the same if something similar happened to us.
We ask that Allah alleviates the suffering of the Muslims of India. May He grant the highest abodes of Jannah to the martyrs of New Delhi. May Allah bring peace, love, kindness and compassion among the people of India. May Allah replace this rise of right-wing hatred with love and peace all around the world. Ameen.
“يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَاكُم مِّن ذَكَرٍ وَأُنثَىٰ وَجَعَلْنَاكُمْ شُعُوبًا وَقَبَائِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوا ۚ إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِندَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌ
O mankind! Indeed, We created you from a male and a female and We made you nations and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, (the) most noble of you near Allah (is the) most righteous of you Indeed, Allah (is) All-Knower, All-Aware.
— Surah al Hujurat, verse 13
“وَلَمَنِ انتَصَرَ بَعْدَ ظُلْمِهِ فَأُولَٰئِكَ مَا عَلَيْهِم مِّن سَبِيلٍ
إِنَّمَا السَّبِيلُ عَلَى الَّذِينَ يَظْلِمُونَ النَّاسَ وَيَبْغُونَ فِي الْأَرْضِ بِغَيْرِ الْحَقِّ ۚ أُولَٰئِكَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ
But indeed if any do help and defend themselves after a wrong (done) to them, against such there is no cause of blame. The blame is only against those who oppress men and wrong-doing and insolently transgress beyond bounds through the land, defying right and justice: for such there will be a penalty grievous.
— Surah ash-Shuraa, verses 41 and 42
