By Haamim Kutub Javed Ahmed
National Democratic Alliance ( NDA) is now no longer identified as such. It is Modi 2.0. The brand that catapulted in the market to grab the highest position is none other than Narenda Damodardas Modi. Rightly so, prior to 2014 Lok Sabha Elections, the one man hogging the limelight has been Narendra Modi. The BJP has been playing its cards meticulously knowing too well that its opponents will not be able to withstand the massive win in the table.
Post 2014, the NDA under his leadership has made long strides with the slogan “ Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikash”. The country saw clean environment under Swacch Bharat, every poor family was able to have a Bank Account under Jan Dhan Yojna. And these schemes touched every Indians so to say. The 15% Muslims in India were part of the beneficiaries too. Ironically the vote share of this Muslim population was a mere 8% in the LS Elections 2014. But unfortunately after 2014, the country saw killings when Muslims were killed on one pretext or another by “fringe” elements who had overtly vowed allegiance to save the country from Islamic extremism and strangely standing out as cow vigilantes as one of their prime objective. The country is witnessing a spate of such “mob lynching” for the 5 years till 2019 LS elections. It started in the name of cow protection and then forcing Muslims to chant “ Jai Sree Ram”.
India’s population comprises 80% Hindus and 15 % Muslims as per 2011 Census. Yet with turn of events, it seems this 15% have become a threat to the nation all of a sudden. 2019 again saw a massive landslide victory of BJP. And this time it is Modi 2.0. BJP alone winning 303 and rightly owing its win to one and only Narendra Modi. But the vote share of Muslims in this election still stood at 8 % to 9 %. Now, Nationalism, patriotism seemed to have been the latest trend and those who wear it all the time are the true patriots. Doubts are cast only on Muslims. Needless to say Muslims have become a target and are asked to prove their loyalty to the nation. Muslims always stood with the nation in all perils and joy. With mob lynching episodes of Muslims rising to over 210 till 2019, the Prime Minister walked the talk and said in the Central Hall of the Parliament that Muslims had been a vulnerable lot and had been “cheated” by Opposition. He asked his MPs to reach out to the Muslim community who has been living in an “imaginary fear”. All said and done, Modi 2.0 added “ Sabka Vishwas” ( earning everyone’s trust) with “ Sabka Saath, sabka Vikas”.
The first salvo fired by Modi 2.0 was announcement of scholarships for five crore students from minority communities, 50 per cent scholarships will be reserved for girls from minority communities, launching of ‘Padho-Badho’ awareness campaign to encourage education among girls. This was indeed a welcome step for the community known for its high rate of school drop outs and low literacy rate. And this was meant for the 15% Muslims of India. But the announcement of these schemes did not go down well with some of the “hardcore fringe” elements terming it a way to appease the Muslims. The scheme nevertheless talks of minorities, an inclusive package for minorities comprising Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsis including Muslims. This eventually saw more of violence against Muslims. Perhaps, some people out here are not going to toe the line in giving some mileage to this community by the BJP government who they had voted to build a Ram temple in Ayodhya. Muslims in general have no problem in having a Ram Temple there as the disputed structure in the form of masjid has already been brought down way back in 1992. But, given the present scene of events, it is difficult to foster a bridge of peace between the two “warring communities”. The recent spate of killings and lynchings have even made the 8% Muslims who voted for Modi 2.0 , to live under the scanner. No matter sooner or later, they might also be called up to the sacrificing altar and be asked to prove their loyalty towards the nation by asking them to chant “ Jai Sree Ram”.
The Muslim voter of the 8% in the village who had voted for Modi 2.0 for free toilets, free LPG, bank account will be in a quandary when he too will be subjected to a scrutiny by these “ fringe elements” of overt Hindutva and forced to chant glory to Sri Ram. Unfortunately, the cry of this voter who will be lynched by that time will reach Delhi late to even initiate any protective measures. Perhaps he would have been elated more than ever with the Government announcing scholarships for minority students but little would he know that he has to pay a price to get the benefits, that too in the name of bhagwan Sri Ram.
BJP being recognized as largest party in the world has a mass following comprising large number of Muslims as well. But then again, the Muslims of this party sporting a beard, wearing a skull cap can be subjected to scrutiny as well. Not that he will wear the party muffler all the time and when being stopped on the way by these “fringe elements” lesser will be the options left to prove his identity as a voter or party worker of BJP. The fact remains that Muslims are easily identifiable by their skull caps; beard and become easy targets for the “fringe groups”.
The government is serious about providing synergy to the “cheated” community with scholarships, women empowerment etc. But at the same time, distancing itself with “fringe elements” engaged in mob lynching without any effort to curb them perhaps will not fetch the desired results. The brand Modi 2.0 will nevertheless stay in the market as long it is holding to the clutches of nationalism.