Warnings Of West Asia: Economy Vs BJP’s Ideology

The international condemnation of the Islamophobic comments made by the suspended BJP spokesperson, Nupur Sharma and the expelled BJP Delhi’s staff Naveen Kumar Jindal has embarrassed India across the globe. Not only do these remarks hurt the religious sentiments of millions of Muslims in and outside the country, but also add to systemic hate against the community. The increased incidents of hate speech and consecutive violence have bloomed since the present ruling party came into power in 2014. The figures of hate crimes against the Muslims and the Dalits have increased exponentially in the past decade jeopardising the country’s internationally respected cultural diversity and coexistence.

To my memory, the initial incidents of lynching of Junaid, Afrazul and Razzaq, a few of many victims who lost their lives to cow vigilantism and unproven claims of beef consumption and trade has come down to genocidal speeches by several party officials and Hindutva nationalists. The silence of the government on lynching incidents has led to, for instance, public and unaccounted for calls of raping Muslim women by Hindu clerics. The mute mode of our otherwise vociferous Prime Minister on the escalating number of hate crimes has not only exacerbated the daily lives of Muslims but also emboldened the fringe elements of society. The BJP with its genesis RSS and its militias has cultivated the culture of hate against “other” communities for over a century and hence the decade long hate speeches and violence.

However, with the suspension and expulsion of its own members, the discourse has come to a point where the double standards of the government are questioned. On one hand, the BJP has applauded those who spur venom against Muslims and time-to-time elevated their position in the party. While on the other hand, the party made no delay in suspending its officials on a warning issued by the oil-producing countries. Soon after the Indian envoys were summoned in Qatar, Kuwait and Iran and calls for boycotting Indian products in these countries started flooding the social media, the Indian government distanced itself from its spokeswoman and the Delhi media head.

The collective anger of the Islamic world on remarks offending the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) is the manifestation of what values the Prophet (PBUH) holds in the lives of Muslims. The backlash is said to be ‘inevitable’ by some experts because the Prophet is a sacred figure for every Muslim across the world. The Muslims anchor their identities around him and derive their strength from his Sunnah and Hadith. The protests against the remarks on Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) snowballed earlier this week after the UAE, Oman, Indonesia, Iraq, the Maldives, Jordan, Libya and Bahrain joined in. This backlash is the clear manifestation of the fact that derogation of Muslims may be ignored but derogation of Islam will not be tolerated, especially when staged by a country that is extremely dependent on the Arab world for its fuel-related products.

While the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), a 57-member organisation strongly denounced the derogatory remarks, it also urged the United Nations to safeguard the rights of Muslims in India. Nayef Falah M Al Hajraf, the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), in his statement, condemned and denounced the statements made by Sharma and Jindal against the Prophet. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is an intergovernmental, regional and eco-political union of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates and contributes majorly to the economy of India. As tweeted by Ashok Swain two months ago, “India receives remittances of $87 billion per year & 1/2 of it comes from 5 Islamic countries: UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, & Oman. The Hindu Right Wing in India takes away basic jobs from Muslims. Have they thought if Islamic countries stop taking Hindu workers?” Millions of Indians work in GCC countries and build a lifestyle for themselves and their families miles away. Never did these politicians think that BJP’s patronage to hate politics will bring disgrace to the country coupled with the slamming economy.

Having said and read the theatrics of the matter, the question arises- in urgent situations like these who would the party prostrate to — its century-long ideology of “othering of Muslims and Christians” or the warnings issued by West Asia? Also, why this hypocrisy of embracing the genocidal calls for Muslims on one hand and acting against its own on an international warning? Is the party conning Muslims or its own? In my opinion, both.

The BJP has a history of conspicuously taking sides for disaster management. More than the LSE alumna spokeswoman and some random media person, the government cares about the strategic ties with the Gulf countries that it has built after investing a lot of time and energy over the course of time. And in securing this, the party will not hesitate to pulverize its own.

While the BJP in the past eight years watched the hate show silently and sometimes even fuelled it, suddenly remembers to publish that, “During the thousands of years of the history of India every religion has blossomed and flourished. BJP respects all religions. BJP strongly denounces insult of any religious personalities of any religion. BJP is also strongly against any ideology which insults or demeans any sect or religion. BJP does not promote such people or philosophy.” All these years, when numerous Muslim youth were engulfed by hate politics and minority rights were encroached upon- sometimes by associating jihad with anything (love, food, coronavirus, government jobs, halal products – literally anything) and sometimes stranding the Muslim women of their right to wear hijab; the BJP never thought of referring to the Constitution. And, with one warning from the Gulf States that India is most dependent upon for its fuel imports, the BJP General Secretary underscored their reverence for the Constitutional promises of equality and religious freedoms. Singh said, “As India celebrates 75th year of its Independence, we are committed to making India a great country where all are equal and everyone lives with dignity, where all are committed to India’s unity and integrity, where all enjoy the fruits of growth and development”. He added that the Constitution of India guarantees every citizen the right to practice and propagate any religion of their choice.

These statements do not come out of the goodness of their hearts but are strongly based on the affirmation that – what is at stake outside the country is worth more than that inside the country. The domestic matters can be taken care of by one orchestrated lynching or unevidenced sedition charge or “Mann ki baat” where the PM will remind his followers how the BJP executed Operation Ganga; but the diplomatic cost that the government will have to pay internationally may leave the country in years of debt.

The provocative remarks and hate speeches on national television are not a new phenomenon in India. Just that the matter involved the revered Prophet (PBUH) which the Islamic world could not overlook. To save its back, the BJP even called Sharma a “fringe element” and was later criticised for this deep sanctimony as Miss Sharma was not a random party worker but an official spokesperson pointed by the party to vocalise the party’s views.

In this fight between economy and ideology, BJP’s “Savarkarism” wins. This episode may get forgotten with passing time but has served more purposes than intended. Firstly, it has revealed the fragility of diplomatic ties between India and the gulf. Secondly, it has internationally unveiled the dangerous levels of Islamophobia in the country where the “fringe elements” have started to denigrate Holy figures. Thirdly, the Arab nations have reacted to ensure that India does not fall on the lines of Europe vis-a-vis Islamophobia. Fourthly, this row has materialised the significance of West Asia for the stability of the Indian economy. Fifthly, the gulf countries made it quite apparent that the systemic hate speech targeting Islam in India will be considered a deliberate insult against two billion Muslims in the world. Lastly, and humorously, submitting to these warnings confirms who the Big Daddy is.