Why did Modi call India’s Muslims ‘infiltrators’?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s power is secured on Indian soil. Modi is deeply committed to a ‘Hindu-first’ vision. In recent years, he has highlighted his role as a global statesman with India’s economic and diplomatic rise. In doing so, Modi distanced himself from his party’s approach to polarizing India’s diverse population along religious lines. But his silence continues to provide unequivocal support to his party members. who continue to target non-Hindu minority groups. Members of his party routinely use hateful and racist language against India’s 200 million Muslims, even in Parliament.

Addressing a meeting in Rajasthan last Sunday, Modi said that while in the government, the Congress had said that the rights of Muslims over the country’s resources came first. That is, the wealth of the country will be distributed among those who have more children in their families. The wealth of the country will be handed over to the intruders.

It is said in the manifesto of the Congress, that wealth will be distributed by counting the gold ornaments of the mothers and sisters. Manmohan Singh’s government has said that Muslims have the right to the wealth of the country. Your mangalsutra will not be left out. Analysts say reflective expressions of such divisive religious ideologies have fueled his politics from the start.

The country’s watchdogs are largely drawn to the whims of his Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP. Abroad, partners are increasingly turning a blind eye to what Modi is doing in India; Because they have accepted India as a ‘democratic counterweight’ to China. “Modi is one of the most skilled and experienced politicians in the world, so maybe Modi is trying to show this impunity,” said Daniel Markey, senior adviser for the South Asia Program at the US Institute of Peace.

Prime Minister Modi is focusing on himself as the builder of modern India aiming for international respect. But he also wants to leave a legacy that is distinctly different from the country’s founding leaders as a secular republic after British colonial rule. Modi spent more than a decade as a soldier of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, or RSS, before joining the BJP’s political wing. This right-wing organization was founded in 1925 with the aim of making India a Hindu state. When independent India agreed to partition and created a separate state for Muslims, Pakistan, the RSS saw it as a betrayal. It was then that secularism and the idea of ​​equal rights to all citizens took a hit. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was outraged.

During his decade in national power, Modi has succeeded in pushing forward the Hindu ideology. He abolished the semi-autonomy of the Muslim majority state of Jammu and Kashmir. He enacted a citizenship law widely seen as anti-Muslim. He helped build a huge temple to the Hindu god Rama on a plot long disputed between Hindus and Muslims. The mosque standing on that land fell under the grip of violence in 1992. Hindu groups claim that there was a temple here earlier. Modi came to power with the agenda of building Ram temple in front. More profoundly, Modi has shown that the larger goals of a Hindu Rashtra can be achieved largely within the confines of India’s constitution—by co-opting institutions for the sake of equality.

His party officials are ready to refute any allegations. They said, how can Modi discriminate against anyone? Because all Indian citizens benefit equally from its government’s developmental programs like toilets, roof over head, monthly ration. Analysts say the argument shows how Modi has become a strong liberal, balancing democratic forces. He has in effect redefined citizenship to make it clear that India has a second class. Officials under Modi have openly mixed prayer with politics, cracking down on public expressions of other religions, violating India’s secular character.
However, BJP spokesperson Tom Bhadakkan said the Prime Minister’s comments on Muslims have been misinterpreted. Privately, Western diplomats in New Delhi try to hide as much as possible their discomfort with some of Modi’s moves, from targeting minorities to his crackdown on opposition and dissent, as democratic allies. They recognize that Modi is exploiting the current moment in the global system. Markey, a Washington-based analyst, said the US government has refrained from publicly expressing concern for several reasons beyond its national interest to use India as China’s economic and geopolitical adversary.

According to Daniel Markey, the United States realizes the increasing limits of its public criticism in changing the behavior of partner countries. This was recently demonstrated by repeated examples where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ignored the president’s demands that the Israeli military change its behavior amid the Gaza war. Modi’s criticism, Markey added, could also backfire on US politicians who don’t want to engage with the Indian diaspora. But Modi may not be immune; Because he is pursuing a close partnership with the US in areas such as joint arms development, high technology transfer and intelligence sharing.

Markey believes Washington’s growing discomfort with Modi’s domestic politics is slowly reducing the limits of possible US cooperation with India. The question is how much Washington is willing to trust India. Will India be treated as an ally at all, or as a partner like Vietnam or Saudi Arabia?