Modi’s ‘infiltrator’ slur stirs anti-Muslim feeling
Narendra Modi has referred to India’s Muslims as “infiltrators”, prompting accusations of hate speech as he promotes his brand of Hindu nationalism on the election campaign trail.
Claiming that the opposition Congress Party would prioritise Muslims if elected, the prime minister told the crowd at a rally in Banswara, Rajasthan: “When they were in power, they said Muslims have first right over resources. They will gather all your wealth and distribute it among those who have more children. They will distribute among infiltrators. Would you accept this?”
His remarks were met with cheers. It is a widely held belief among his supporters that Muslims deliberately have large families to overtake the Hindu majority. Muslims account for 230 million of India’s 1.4 billion people.
In a bid to damage the Congress party, Modi declared this month its manifesto bore the “imprint of the Muslim League”, a political group that lobbied the British Government for the creation of Pakistan as a separate state for Muslims. Mallikarjun Kharge, president of the Congress party, said Modi’s “infiltrator” remark would increase animosity. “What Modi said is definitely hate speech, but it is also a deliberate ploy to divert attention.”
The first phase of polling in the staggered 40-day election took place on Friday. Modi is widely forecast to win a rare third term, although the result will not be declared until June 4.
India’s opposition parties claim that it is premature for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party to expect an easy win on the back of Modi’s personal popularity.
“This election is going to give sleepless nights to Narendra Modi,” said DK Shivakumar, the Congress leader in the southern state of Karnataka. The party has cast the election as “the last-chance saloon”.
It has already demanded a rerun at 47 polling stations, alleging rigging by the BJP government which rules Manipur. The region has been racked by ethnic violence for months, with at least 220 people killed over the past year. There were reports of further clashes on Friday, including between armed groups, and damage to voting machines. The Election Commission, which is majority controlled by Modi, agreed to reruns in only 11.
The vote is being further complicated by a heatwave and the rise of deepfake technology, with AI-generated videos, supposedly by the Bollywood stars Aamir Khan and Ranveer Singh, condemning Modi and urging people to vote for the Congress. Temperatures in most parts of India have soared to 44C, well above normal levels.
In the initial phase of polling, the turnout has been 66%, three points lower than in 1999. –