Far from being ‘appeased’, Muslims are out of the reckoning in three states.
Not long ago, Muslims were a major vote bank in India. In the poll-bound states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana, however, there is no talk of a Muslim card or the usual “appeasement” rhetoric. The ruling BJP is accused by its opponents of whipping up issues that reinforce a binary narrative of the country’s demography, which muffles the political substance of Muslims. Referring to illegal immigrants as “termites” to be thrown out, BJP president Amit Shah has been talking of an Assam-like National Register of Citizens (NRC) process in states such as Rajasthan too, while RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has spoken on the need for a law to build a Ram Mandir on the disputed site in Ayodhya. Campaigning in the poll-bound states is yet to pick up, but these remarks do portend the issues the BJP will be harping on, probably right up to the 2019 general elections.
Not far behind, Congress president Rahul Gandhi is making the rounds of temples, even as senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad recently lamented that he isn’t called for campaigning as the Congress fears it would cause the loss of Hindu votes. While his party members have contradicted his statement, Azad has surely managed to highlight the feeling of alienation among Muslims in an increasingly polarised political scenario.
In Rajasthan, Muslims have never had much political significance, perhaps because of their share in the state’s population—nine per cent, according to the 2011 census—quite less than their share in Uttar Pradesh (19.2%) and Bihar (16.8%). No wonder the first palpable assertion of the “Modi wave” was in Rajasthan, when the BJP won 163 seats out of 200 in the 2013 assembly polls. The representation of Muslims in the assembly plummeted to a measly two—both from the BJP. And Muslim morale was dealt a body blow by a spate of hate crimes and mob lynchings.
This story is from the November 05, 2018 edition of Outlook.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the November 05, 2018 edition of Outlook.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
The Propaganda Files
A recent spate of Hindi films distorts facts and creates imaginary villains. Century-old propaganda cinema has always relied on this tactic
Will Hindutva Survive After 2024?
The idealogy of Hindutva faces a challenge in staying relevant
A Terrific Tragicomedy
Paul Murray's The Bee Sting is a tender and extravagant sketch of apocalypse
Trapped in a Template
In the upcoming election, more than the Congress, the future of the Gandhi family is at stake
IDEOLOGY
Public opinion will never be devoid of ideology: but we shall destroy ourselves without philosophical courage
The Many Kerala Stories
How Kerala responded to the propaganda film The Kerala Story
Movies and a Mirage
Previously portrayed as a peaceful paradise, post-1990s Kashmir in Bollywood has become politicised
Lights, Cinema, Politics
FOR eight months before the 1983 state elections in undivided Andhra Pradesh, a modified green Chevrolet van would travel non-stop, except for the occasional pit stops and food breaks, across the state.
Cut, Copy, Paste
Representation of Muslim characters in Indian cinema has been limited—they are either terrorists or glorified individuals who have no substance other than fixed ideas of patriotism
The Spectre of Eisenstein
Cinema’s real potency to harness the power of enchantment might want to militate against its use as a servile, conformist propaganda vehicle