Modi’s ‘infiltrator’ slur

Indian PM Narendra Modi made perhaps the most explicitly anti-Muslim speech of his political career over the weekend, stopping just short of labelling Indian Muslims as “infiltrators”. Some analysts feel Modi’s extreme turn was triggered by the failure of the Ram Mandir campaign to enthuse Hindu voters in the first round of voting, where turnout decreased significantly from 2019. Past data suggests higher overall turnout helps the BJP win more votes, meaning the opposition INDIA alliance may have outperformed Modi and Co.

Though Modi did not explicitly name Muslims, the infiltrator reference is a dog whistle reference to the Mughals and aims to portray Muslims as disloyal or as ‘outsiders’. However, studies show that a significant share of the 20% of Indian Muslims who claim to have Mughal or Arab ancestry actually have none — almost all Indian Muslims are not only born and bred in the country, but so are many generations of their ancestors. In fact, as a Gujarati, Modi has a higher chance of having some foreign genetic ancestry than many Indian Muslims.

Modi’s speech was so inflammatory that even a few apolitical Hindu activists have slammed the politicisation of Hindu iconography such as ‘mangal sutra’ necklaces, but not a single Muslim member of the BJP has criticised Modi’s use of the word, let alone the speech as a whole. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has been rigged by Modi government to be a virtual rubber stamp for BJP — the opposition’s role in appointing commission members was taken away by the government in an outright abuse of its majority and existing laws. The ECI was swift in sending notices to opposition politicians for using religious rhetoric but stayed silent on Modi, meekly telling reporters “no comment” after several hours of ignoring them.

But Modi also has his own gripes — opposition leaders have compared him to Hitler, underworld dons, a “virus” and a “mad dog” while others called him “ill-mannered” and “stupid”. Modi’s smirk after referencing these comments in his speech suggested even he acknowledges that some of these are fair critiques.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 24^th, 2024.

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