Key Points
For the first time since Indias Independence in 1947, theruling partydid not have a single Muslim Member of Parliament.. . Tuesdays election results, in which Prime Minister Modisealeda rare third term, only enhance the sense of gloom and doom for Indian Muslims like me..
As it was before the vote, India is poised to continue transforming itself from a secular democratic republic into possibly a Hindu majoritarian state, with reduced rights and presence of minorities in general andof Muslims in particular.. . Ifafter Modis first victory in 2014, there was a sense of cautious hope, 10 years later, my Muslim community stands orphaned, not just jettisoned by the ruling BJP, but repeatedly marked out as the group responsible for the supposed ills of the nation.There is an overriding feeling of belonging to a group under siege.. ..
The state has only sent one Muslimcandidate to the Lok Sabha the Lower House of Parliament since the first election back in 1952.. . Inthis years election, the two leading political parties, the BJP and the Indian National Congress (INC or, simply, Congress),did not give a ticket to a single Muslim to contest the elections in Rajasthan..
Of course, Modi denied discriminating against Muslims, and in a widely televised interview claimed to havecelebrated the Muslim festival of Eid with his friends.. . Meanwhile the Islamophobia within the BJP hit a new low when the partyspromotional videoshowed caricatures of Congress party leaders placing an egg marked Muslims in a nest next to three eggs marked SC, OBC and ST (three lower caste groups)..
A community which has seen the 16th century mosque,the Babri Masjid, become a Hindu temple during Modis second term has reason to fear the worst.. . Weve seen BJP leaders talkingofclosing Islamic seminaries across the states of Uttar Pradesh and Assam.Inthe state ofUttarakhand, a hurriedly cobbled togetherUniform Civil Codeis in place essentially a single set of laws for all residents that does not take into account the customs or religious laws of different religions or minority groups.It could be the norm for the rest of India soon as the BJP tries to deny Indian Muslims the right to follow Islamic laws in civil matters, a right granted by the Indian Constitution.. . WithHinduRashtra a virtual reality, it is difficult to see a silver lining for Indian Muslims who chose pluralist India over the theocratic state of Pakistan at the time of Independence.. ..
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