Eye on UP polls? BJP’s line on Muslims softens

There has been a formal intervention from the BJP on the broad issue of the “Muslim question” in India after a long time. It is a considered intervention, for it came in a speech of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the BJP’s national council meeting at Kozhikode on Sunday. And it is not a typical RSS-Jan Sangh-BJP type characterisation of Indian Muslims exemplified in the writings of Guru Golwalkar, the longest-serving RSS chief, whose writings are gospel to the faithful. This RSS supremo had said that Muslims live in India on the sufferance of Hindus and thus should do as Hindus ask.

Mr Modi chose instead to project a softer side. He quoted from a later RSS icon, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, who has gained traction in the saffron camp of late as Golwalkar’s thoughts are just too embarrassing. Deen Dayal’s notion of “integral humanism” is much spoken of in saffron circles these days but is hard to pin down and elucidate.

What the Prime Minister quoted suggests that Muslims should neither be “rewarded”, nor “punished”, but “enabled”, and shouldn’t be treated as commodities in the vote market. Some clarifications on first principles are required, and the BJP may be hard put to supply these. For one, why was this not said of other religious or caste groups in the country? Two, is there a group of citizens that needs to be either especially “rewarded” or “punished”? Three, are there any citizens who do not deserve to be “enabled”?

And four, are Muslims — which the above attribution impliedly suggests are an undifferentiated group — a commodity for purchase at election time? To say this is to fly in the face of scholarly evidence which suggests that, like other communities, Muslims vote for different parties, generally in the same broad direction as other citizens. The caveat here is that in general Muslims avoid voting BJP, though there have been exceptions. Many voted for Atal Behari Vajpayee’s BJP, for instance, back in 1999, specially in politically-significant UP. Mr Modi is evidently trying to be solicitous of Muslims. He is saying we should treat them as equal citizens. Who can differ? The point, however, is that among major parties it is only the BJP which has looked at Muslims differently.

Mr Modi’s words will be judged against the context. Since he became PM, Muslims have been reviled and targeted by Hindutva-type bodies and prominent BJP leaders, with the PM looking the other way. Also, the crucial UP Assembly elections are near and the BJP’s aim could be to soften up a section of the Muslim vote. But it’s to be welcomed that the minorities are not being demonised.

Mr Modi is trying to be solicitous of Muslims. He is saying we should treat them as equal citizens. Who can differ? Among major parties it is only the BJP which has looked at Muslims differently