Here, There, Everywhere

Several bulldozers demolished the homes of poor Muslim families in Jahangirpuri, New Delhi, early last week on the 20th of April. The Bharatiya Janata Party-led North MCD carried out the demolition. One of the most significant outcomes of this incident is that not a single prominent political leader except Brinda Karat of CPI (M) and Asaduddin Owaisi of AIMIM went to the spot and stood beside the Muslims. This demonstrates how frightened India's non-BJP political parties are to take a stand for Muslims by standing alongside them on the ground.

During a Hanuman Jayanti procession in Jahangirpuri, Delhi, on April 16th, communal clashes erupted. Thereafter, Adesh Gupta, the Delhi BJP Chief, ordered the BJP-run North Delhi Municipal Corporation to demolish the alleged illegal encroachments in Jahangirpuri. He also claimed that Bangladeshis and Rohingyas were responsible for the encroachments.

It would be wrong to say that the political parties supported the incident or the BJP. However, the majority of these protests took place on social media and through press statements.

"This is a demolition of India’s constitutional values. This is state-sponsored targeting of poor & minorities. BJP must bulldoze the hatred in their hearts instead, "Congress leader and MP Rahul Gandhi tweeted.

Similarly, Bengal CM and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee said, "We don’t want to bulldoze. We don’t want to divide the people, we want to unite the people. Unity is our main strength. Culturally, you will be very sound if you are united. But, if you are divided, it will fall. "

Manish Sisodia, Senior Aam Aadmi Party leader and Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, said, "The illegal constructions have been demolished. Now the homes of those BJP netas should be demolished who gave protection to them...The BJP must give an estimate of how many Rohingyas and Bangladeshis have settled here in the past eight years and where."

These statements point out that the opposition parties in India are ready to take on the BJP but are not on the side of the Muslims. Political parties deliberately did not mention the word Muslim in their statements.

Rahul Gandhi replaced the word Muslims with minorities. It is pertinent to note that Muslims are not the minority in India. The minority population in India includes caste minorities and other religious communities as well.

On the other hand, the Aam Aadmi Party replaced the word Muslims with Bangladeshis and Rohingyas. The zone of Jahangirpuri

where the demolition took place is a Muslim-dominated area. Here, migrant labourers from Bengal reside. The BJP and AAP attempted to portray Bengali-speaking Muslims as Bangladeshis and Rohingyas. All these statements not only expose the xenophobia of the Indian political parties but also their fear of being dubbed as pro-Muslim.

Under the Bharatiya Janata Party regime, there has been a massive increase in the atrocities against Muslims across India. Atrocities against Muslims are not restricted to physically harming the community. There is systematic discrimination against Muslims. The state and rightwing organisations have interfered with what the community eats or even wears. The whole hijab ban controversy that broke out in Karnataka shows how the current regime is trying to control every aspect of the lives of Muslims. Inside educational institutions, authorities refused entry to young Muslim girls wearing hijab. Some institutions even forbid these girls from taking exams while wearing hijab.

In such a situation, the opposition political parties have not been able to provide a platform for Muslims. The Modi regime has demonstrated that elections can be won in India without the support of Muslims. All of the opposition political groups are working hard to counter the polarisation that the Bharatiya Janata Party has already created. Unfortunately, the majority of Indian non-BJP political parties believe that being pro-Muslim will affect their Hindu vote bank. There is a growing feeling within the political dispensation that standing beside Muslims can hamper the political future of these parties.

The non-BJP political parties of India have not only abandoned the vulnerable Muslim community but also made them politically insignificant. In the ruling regime, there is no representation for Muslims. Similarly, the representation of Muslims is going down in the opposition too. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, only 27 Muslim MPs were elected out of 543 seats.

Unfortunately, the growing belief within the Opposition is that Muslims will vote for these political parties because they are standing against the BJP. Taking a community for granted is disgraceful and dangerous.

Secularism is an integral part of India's culture. Former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru said, "We talk about a secular state in India. It is perhaps not very easy to find a good word in Hindi for secular. Some people think it means something opposed to religion. That is obviously not correct. What it means is that it is the state that honours all faiths equally and gives them equal opportunities. "

Today, it is time for the opposition to re-think its stand on Muslims. Standing beside the Muslims cannot be a crime. It is neither unprecedented nor to be ashamed of. As Zakia Soman, cofounder of the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan noted in an article, "Muslims in India do not need political parties to be 'Pro-Muslim'. It would be enough if they were secular and abided by their constitutional obligations to all citizens and communities. "

This is the need of the hour. When Muslims' homes are bulldozed and their communities are dubbed Bangladeshis or Rohingyas, the last thing they expect is discrimination. Just as the BJP's atrocities against Muslims are heinous, if the opposition fails to give Muslims space, it is a violation of India's culture and constitution.

The BJP and AAP attempted to portray Bengali-speaking Muslims as Bangladeshis and Rohingyas. All these statements not only expose the xenophobia of the Indian political parties but also their fear of being dubbed as pro-Muslim.

The author is an independent journalist based in Kolkata and a former policy research fellow at the Delhi Assembly Research Center. Views expressed are entirely personal. He tweets at @sayantan_gh