IDEOLOGICAL MILESTONES
The 2019 mandate was interpreted by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as an endorsement of its longheld ideological beliefs. It also had the political confidence and legislative might to push through changes that it had long sought.
The BJP-led government began by leading the passage of what came to be commonly referred to as the Triple Talaq Bill — criminalising instant triple talaq. This, the government claimed, was a step towards gender justice. Critics, however, saw it as a step meant to alienate minorities and potentially victimise Muslim men.
On August 5, the government, in a surprise move, pushed through legislative changes on Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). This effectively nullified Article 370, removing the special status the state had enjoyed so far. It also reorganised the state, carving it into two distinct units of J&K and Ladakh. These units were also deemed to be union territories. The government claimed these measures would lead to the greater integration of the region with the rest of India, help citizens in the region enjoy the same rights as citizens elsewhere, and defeat separatism and terrorism. Critics, however, pointed to the fact that the move was not accompanied by consultations with the leaders and people of J&K; it was implemented with draconian measures including large-scale detentions; and could potentially lead to more alienation.
The government then pushed through the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in Parliament. This was aimed at fast-tracking the grant of Indian citizenship to persecuted minorities — Hindus, Christians, Parsis, Jains, Sikhs and Jews — from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The government argued this was a humanitarian gesture. Opposition parties claimed that the absence of Muslims from the list of communities eligible for citizenship was discriminatory and unconstitutional. They also linked this with a possible National Register of Citizens (NRC) as a step meant to disenfranchise Muslims; the government clarified that NRC was not on the agenda and the move had nothing to do with Indian Muslims.
There was one other significant milestone — which aligned with the BJP’s longheld agenda but where the government did not have a role. The Supreme Court, in a landmark verdict in the Ram Janmabhoomi case, while holding the destruction of the Babri Masjid in 1992 as illegal, awarded the disputed land in Ayodhya to the Hindu parties. This has enabled the construction of the Ram Temple at the disputed site.