Author: Mehraj Din
Affiliation: Islamic University of Science and Technology, Kashmir
Organization/Publisher: Muslim Matters, USA
Date/Place: June 10, 2020/ USA
Type of Literature: Article
Word Count: 1796
Keywords: India, Democracy, Muslims, Hindu-Extremism, Coronavirus
Brief:
The author sketches the condition of Muslims in modern India as the post-partition era Indian Democracy unravels within its historical lines filled with different colors of ethnicities. The two pillars of modern India were defined as secularism and democracy. However, India was more united and progressive before partition when the sectarian colors were merged in one society. The modern India is less moderate and more of a violent state based on Islamophobia and Hindu extremism. Hindu-Nationalists view India as Hindu Rashtra (Hindu Nation-State). Constituting 80% of the population, this hatred is demonizing the Muslims in India. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is the ruling party, is the main cradle behind this abhorrence. Thus, the secular factor from the society is weakening day by day. This is how the politics of othering started, and with the revocation of article 370 in Kashmir, Hindus have gotten further license to humiliate and marginalize the Muslims of India. With Covid-19, this hatred is once again surfacing on social media. Under the hashtags of “Corona Jihad,” Hindus are impugning Muslims for spreading the virus. Such state-sponsored antagonism then results in pogroms and massacres, which are very common in BJP’s rule that chooses to diminish by calling them protests. The recent massacres in Delhi were the result of an organized plan of marginalization and ethnic cleansing.
By: Maryam Khan, CIGA Research Associate
