In June, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid his first visit to a country with a Muslim majority; back in India, he met a delegation of 30 Muslim “leaders”, interacted with envoys from Muslim countries, and in another first, tweeted in Urdu on Thursday to greet the community for Ramzan. All these in 18 days.
Joining the dots, particularly his adoption of Muslim sartorial styles, sceptics see an effort to build bridges with the community before the crucial Assembly elections in Bihar this year and in the spring of 2016 when Assam, West Bengal and Kerala go to the polls. All four States have a sizeable Muslim population: Bihar (16.5 per cent), West Bengal (25.2), Kerala (24.7) and Assam (30.9).
Winning these elections is crucial for the ruling party to pick up more seats in the Rajya Sabha, where it is in a minority. Several Muslim “leaders” who met the Prime Minister or those consulted in endeavours such as bringing out the book Yoga and Islam have either been associated with the BJP or are part of the Muslim Rashtriya Manch, an RSS initiative.
The Manch website describes the alleged Ajmer blasts mastermind, Indresh Kumar, as a “messiah of Muslim intellectuals and religious leaders” who have “embraced” the Sangh.
Are they representative of Muslims?
Sceptics question the credentials of the “Muslim leaders” who met Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently to represent the community since none of the key Muslim umbrella organisations have ever put in a presence.
But Syed Zafar Mahmood, former Officer on Special Duty to the Sachar Committee, says “meeting” is better than nothing. “When you begin meeting from zero-interaction, it has to begin with those close to you,” he says. “Exchange of pleasantries apart, the government has very little to show as far as improving the lot of the community is concerned.”
Another keen watcher of the community, who preferred not to be named, says the sudden increase in interactions with Muslims clearly appears to be with an eye on the Bihar elections. “There are reports suggesting that the BJP is in contact with small community organisations in Bihar. It is quite akin to what they did in Uttar Pradesh before the Lok Sabha elections. Take the case of the Peace Party which joined the BJP some months before the polls. This divides the Muslim vote even as a secular alliance in opposition facilitates a Hindu consolidation in BJP’s favour,” he says.
