Indian Muslims wary of Modi’s Hindu nationalist ties

[Zarvan]

• 
  
  An Indian Muslim stands at a market place in Ahmadabad. (AP)
  

AJIT SOLANKI | AP


AHMADABAD: With his long beard and white skullcap, Mohammed Naseem makes no secret that he’s a devout Muslim in a country where Muslims are often persecuted.
Now, after Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi was sworn in as prime minister following a landslide election victory, Naseem and other Muslims in this country of 1.2 billion are watching the direction of their nation with a mixture of caution and fear.
Modi, who is Hindu like most of India’s population, has long had an uneasy relationship with Muslims, in large part because he, as chief minister of Gujarat state, was in command in 2002 when communal riots there killed more than 1,000 people, most of them Muslims.
“What happened in 2002 still affects the minds of Muslims,” says Naseem, a real estate broker who lives in Ahmadabad, a Gujarat city where some of the worst rioting occurred.
But like millions of others, Naseem despaired of the policy paralysis and economic downslide that marked the last decade under the Congress party.
“On development, (Modi’s) performance here has been very good. Now there are many Muslims who are supporting him,” Naseem said. He added that he hoped the media glare on Modi as prime minister would also keep him in check.
Modi, who was sworn in Monday, has denied any role in the violence, and the Supreme Court said there was no case against him, but the killings continue to affect Muslims’ perceptions.
Muslims account for more than 13 percent of India’s population and face no legal discrimination under the country’s secular constitution. But while many Indian Muslims have held high government offices — current Vice President Hamid Ansari is Muslim — the community is largely poor and fares badly on most socio-economic indicators such as health and education.
Many Muslims say they face discrimination, sometimes subtle and at other times blatant, when looking for jobs or renting a house. Intermarriage between the country’s Hindus and Muslims is still rare.
The center-left Congress party, which has ruled India for all but 10 years but was routed in the recent elections, has traditionally been seen as more favorable to Muslim interests than Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.
Modi’s own political career started with the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Dal or the National Volunteers Association, a militant Hindu movement and parent organization of the BJP. The RSS has been widely accused of stoking religious hatred with aggressively anti-Muslim views.
Some Indians fear that Modi’s ties to the RSS may influence his decision-making. But Neerja Chowdhury, a political commentator and analyst, says that Modi, known for his autocratic and independent working style, will resist the pressure.
“The RSS will continue to have consultations with him but they will not be able to micromanage a person like Modi,” Chowdhury said.
“The compulsions of governance will also compel Modi to be neutral,” she added.
One of the BJP’s main promises to its largely Hindu supporters has been to construct a temple at the site of a 16th-century mosque in north India.
Over the years, the dispute triggered bloody communal violence.
In 1992, while the legal case to sort out the dispute lingered, tens of thousands of Hindu extremists, watched over by top BJP leaders and security forces, ripped apart the mosque with spades, crowbars and their bare hands.
The demolition sparked nationwide riots that killed 2,000 people and cemented the belief that India’s Muslims could not trust the BJP.
The area has since been split up between Hindus and Muslims by a 2010 court order, but the issue remains sensitive.
Modi’s convincing victory, however, suggests that many Muslims voted for the BJP anyway, out of concern for India’s economy.
The party grabbed 282 seats in the 543-seat Lok Sabha or lower house of Parliament.
“People were disgusted with corruption and price rise and therefore everyone, irrespective of religion, wanted a change,” said Ahmed Hussain, a school teacher in the northeastern city of Gauhati.
The most recent Congress-led government was mired in corruption scandals, and on its watch India’s economic growth slowed to less than 5 percent. Job growth has been poor and inflation high.
Modi’s campaign focused on Gujarat’s economic successes and promises that he could do the same across India. But for some Muslims, it is his handling of the riots that remains paramount.
“We know Modi’s past. He is communal to the core. His hands are stained with the blood of innocent Muslims,” said Monis Khan, a retired school teacher in the northern city of Lucknow.
“We are not afraid of him but we cannot rely on him,” Khan said.
“We Muslims have to watch his every move.”
Indian Muslims wary of Modi’s Hindu nationalist ties | Arab News — Saudi Arabia News, Middle East News, Opinion, Economy and more.
@nair @Areesh @Cherokee @OrionHunter @Aeronaut @IND151

 

[he-man]

• 
  
  An Indian Muslim stands at a market place in Ahmadabad. (AP)

AJIT SOLANKI | AP


AHMADABAD: With his long beard and white skullcap, Mohammed Naseem makes no secret that he’s a devout Muslim in a country where Muslims are often persecuted.
Now, after Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi was sworn in as prime minister following a landslide election victory, Naseem and other Muslims in this country of 1.2 billion are watching the direction of their nation with a mixture of caution and fear.
Modi, who is Hindu like most of India’s population, has long had an uneasy relationship with Muslims, in large part because he, as chief minister of Gujarat state, was in command in 2002 when communal riots there killed more than 1,000 people, most of them Muslims.
“What happened in 2002 still affects the minds of Muslims,” says Naseem, a real estate broker who lives in Ahmadabad, a Gujarat city where some of the worst rioting occurred.
But like millions of others, Naseem despaired of the policy paralysis and economic downslide that marked the last decade under the Congress party.
“On development, (Modi’s) performance here has been very good. Now there are many Muslims who are supporting him,” Naseem said. He added that he hoped the media glare on Modi as prime minister would also keep him in check.
Modi, who was sworn in Monday, has denied any role in the violence, and the Supreme Court said there was no case against him, but the killings continue to affect Muslims’ perceptions.
Muslims account for more than 13 percent of India’s population and face no legal discrimination under the country’s secular constitution. But while many Indian Muslims have held high government offices — current Vice President Hamid Ansari is Muslim — the community is largely poor and fares badly on most socio-economic indicators such as health and education.
Many Muslims say they face discrimination, sometimes subtle and at other times blatant, when looking for jobs or renting a house. Intermarriage between the country’s Hindus and Muslims is still rare.
The center-left Congress party, which has ruled India for all but 10 years but was routed in the recent elections, has traditionally been seen as more favorable to Muslim interests than Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.
Modi’s own political career started with the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Dal or the National Volunteers Association, a militant Hindu movement and parent organization of the BJP. The RSS has been widely accused of stoking religious hatred with aggressively anti-Muslim views.
Some Indians fear that Modi’s ties to the RSS may influence his decision-making. But Neerja Chowdhury, a political commentator and analyst, says that Modi, known for his autocratic and independent working style, will resist the pressure.
“The RSS will continue to have consultations with him but they will not be able to micromanage a person like Modi,” Chowdhury said.
“The compulsions of governance will also compel Modi to be neutral,” she added.
One of the BJP’s main promises to its largely Hindu supporters has been to construct a temple at the site of a 16th-century mosque in north India.
Over the years, the dispute triggered bloody communal violence.
In 1992, while the legal case to sort out the dispute lingered, tens of thousands of Hindu extremists, watched over by top BJP leaders and security forces, ripped apart the mosque with spades, crowbars and their bare hands.
The demolition sparked nationwide riots that killed 2,000 people and cemented the belief that India’s Muslims could not trust the BJP.
The area has since been split up between Hindus and Muslims by a 2010 court order, but the issue remains sensitive.
Modi’s convincing victory, however, suggests that many Muslims voted for the BJP anyway, out of concern for India’s economy.
The party grabbed 282 seats in the 543-seat Lok Sabha or lower house of Parliament.
“People were disgusted with corruption and price rise and therefore everyone, irrespective of religion, wanted a change,” said Ahmed Hussain, a school teacher in the northeastern city of Gauhati.
The most recent Congress-led government was mired in corruption scandals, and on its watch India’s economic growth slowed to less than 5 percent. Job growth has been poor and inflation high.
Modi’s campaign focused on Gujarat’s economic successes and promises that he could do the same across India. But for some Muslims, it is his handling of the riots that remains paramount.
“We know Modi’s past. He is communal to the core. His hands are stained with the blood of innocent Muslims,” said Monis Khan, a retired school teacher in the northern city of Lucknow.
“We are not afraid of him but we cannot rely on him,” Khan said.
“We Muslims have to watch his every move.”
Indian Muslims wary of Modi’s Hindu nationalist ties | Arab News — Saudi Arabia News, Middle East News, Opinion, Economy and more.
@nair @Areesh @Cherokee @OrionHunter @Aeronaut @IND151

dosen't matter.............muslims need to step up and start attending better schools than madarassas.
thats the reason they are backward,,,to get any job u need to be qualified and good in english nowadays..........

 

[Tshering22]

• 
  
  An Indian Muslim stands at a market place in Ahmadabad. (AP)

AJIT SOLANKI | AP


AHMADABAD: With his long beard and white skullcap, Mohammed Naseem makes no secret that he’s a devout Muslim in a country where Muslims are often persecuted.
Now, after Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi was sworn in as prime minister following a landslide election victory, Naseem and other Muslims in this country of 1.2 billion are watching the direction of their nation with a mixture of caution and fear.
Modi, who is Hindu like most of India’s population, has long had an uneasy relationship with Muslims, in large part because he, as chief minister of Gujarat state, was in command in 2002 when communal riots there killed more than 1,000 people, most of them Muslims.
“What happened in 2002 still affects the minds of Muslims,” says Naseem, a real estate broker who lives in Ahmadabad, a Gujarat city where some of the worst rioting occurred.
But like millions of others, Naseem despaired of the policy paralysis and economic downslide that marked the last decade under the Congress party.
“On development, (Modi’s) performance here has been very good. Now there are many Muslims who are supporting him,” Naseem said. He added that he hoped the media glare on Modi as prime minister would also keep him in check.
Modi, who was sworn in Monday, has denied any role in the violence, and the Supreme Court said there was no case against him, but the killings continue to affect Muslims’ perceptions.
Muslims account for more than 13 percent of India’s population and face no legal discrimination under the country’s secular constitution. But while many Indian Muslims have held high government offices — current Vice President Hamid Ansari is Muslim — the community is largely poor and fares badly on most socio-economic indicators such as health and education.
Many Muslims say they face discrimination, sometimes subtle and at other times blatant, when looking for jobs or renting a house. Intermarriage between the country’s Hindus and Muslims is still rare.
The center-left Congress party, which has ruled India for all but 10 years but was routed in the recent elections, has traditionally been seen as more favorable to Muslim interests than Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.
Modi’s own political career started with the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Dal or the National Volunteers Association, a militant Hindu movement and parent organization of the BJP. The RSS has been widely accused of stoking religious hatred with aggressively anti-Muslim views.
Some Indians fear that Modi’s ties to the RSS may influence his decision-making. But Neerja Chowdhury, a political commentator and analyst, says that Modi, known for his autocratic and independent working style, will resist the pressure.
“The RSS will continue to have consultations with him but they will not be able to micromanage a person like Modi,” Chowdhury said.
“The compulsions of governance will also compel Modi to be neutral,” she added.
One of the BJP’s main promises to its largely Hindu supporters has been to construct a temple at the site of a 16th-century mosque in north India.
Over the years, the dispute triggered bloody communal violence.
In 1992, while the legal case to sort out the dispute lingered, tens of thousands of Hindu extremists, watched over by top BJP leaders and security forces, ripped apart the mosque with spades, crowbars and their bare hands.
The demolition sparked nationwide riots that killed 2,000 people and cemented the belief that India’s Muslims could not trust the BJP.
The area has since been split up between Hindus and Muslims by a 2010 court order, but the issue remains sensitive.
Modi’s convincing victory, however, suggests that many Muslims voted for the BJP anyway, out of concern for India’s economy.
The party grabbed 282 seats in the 543-seat Lok Sabha or lower house of Parliament.
“People were disgusted with corruption and price rise and therefore everyone, irrespective of religion, wanted a change,” said Ahmed Hussain, a school teacher in the northeastern city of Gauhati.
The most recent Congress-led government was mired in corruption scandals, and on its watch India’s economic growth slowed to less than 5 percent. Job growth has been poor and inflation high.
Modi’s campaign focused on Gujarat’s economic successes and promises that he could do the same across India. But for some Muslims, it is his handling of the riots that remains paramount.
“We know Modi’s past. He is communal to the core. His hands are stained with the blood of innocent Muslims,” said Monis Khan, a retired school teacher in the northern city of Lucknow.
“We are not afraid of him but we cannot rely on him,” Khan said.
“We Muslims have to watch his every move.”
Indian Muslims wary of Modi’s Hindu nationalist ties | Arab News — Saudi Arabia News, Middle East News, Opinion, Economy and more.
@nair @Areesh @Cherokee @OrionHunter @Aeronaut @IND151

Their solution is schools rather than madrassas; more interaction rather than ghettoization, less sharia more civil regulations and removing their aversion to nationalism.

The more they stay in Arab mindset, the more they will hate the host majority communities.

The more they say 'we Muslims' rather than 'us Indians' the more tensions and communal violence they will cause against everyone.

Indians have to be careful of such arab agents and closet jihadis. They should be monitored like how Chinese do.

 

[PlanetWarrior]

Muslims (particularly the poorer ones) need to start assimilating with the larger Indian society. If they for example have a problem with access to water, it automatically becomes a "vendetta against Muslims" and not a civic problem. They need to lose that chip on their shoulder and realize that India has its fair share of problems affecting everybody and not just Muslims.

 

[harpoon]

Yawn.....They can keep on warying for all care.

 

[Tshering22]

Muslims (particularly the poorer ones) need to start assimilating with the larger Indian society. If they for example have a problem with access to water, it automatically becomes a "vendetta against Muslims" and not a civic problem. They need to lose that chip on their shoulder and realize that India has its fair share of problems affecting everybody and not just Muslims.

When the religion itself considers others as inferior to be either converted or attacked, what to say about anything else? Lebanon and Egypt are living examples.

 

[PlanetWarrior]

When the religion itself considers others as inferior to be either converted or attacked, what to say about anything else? Lebanon and Egypt are living examples.

Well India has to either put up with the religion of some 200 million of its citizens (and offcourse some 70 million "permanent visitors" from Bangladesh) or ban it. I don't believe that it can even consider banning it. So the only remaining solution is to assimilate them into mainstream society by addressing their concerns and educating them adequately to move away from their communal mindset

 

[Android]

dosen't matter.............muslims need to step up and start attending better schools than madarassas.
thats the reason they are backward,,,to get any job u need to be qualified and good in english nowadays..........

It was mentioned in BJP's manifesto that they will take steps for modernization of Madarassas in the country hopefully that improves the situation.

 

[skullMAN]

dosen't matter.............muslims need to step up and start attending better schools than madarassas.
thats the reason they are backward,,,to get any job u need to be qualified and good in english nowadays..........

welcome back bhai!!

 

[JanjaWeed]

More to do with Modi not following with the appeasement policy rather than his ties to any organisation. Freebies band honewala hai... mehnat karna padenga abhi!

 

[Tshering22]

Well India has to either put up with the religion of some 200 million of its citizens (and offcourse some 70 million "permanent visitors" from Bangladesh) or ban it. I don't believe that it can even consider banning it. So the only remaining solution is to assimilate them into mainstream society by addressing their concerns and educating them adequately to move away from their communal mindset

It is not 200 million that are the problem.

It is a few thousand or a few lakhs that are the problem who receive aid from KSA and other radical countries. The issues that most of these few lakhs raise will never be over until India becomes islamic like they dream. That cannot be allowed under any circumstance.

Many are doing their daily jobs and living happily, but the clerical class, the mullahs and the 'community leaders' are the problem. They have to be dealt with.

More to do with Modi not following with the appeasement policy rather than his ties to any organisation. Freebies band honewala hai... mehnat karna padenga abhi!

That is what they want. Freebies on the hard earned money of non-muslims. Arab mentality.

It was mentioned in BJP's manifesto that they will take steps for modernization of Madarassas in the country hopefully that improves the situation.

I really hope that the modernization is done China style so that peace comes in our country and we stop making more Arab-wannabes.

 

[he-man]

btw we have smriti irani as the new hrd minister..................that sucks big time

It is not 200 million that are the problem.

It is a few thousand or a few lakhs that are the problem who receive aid from KSA and other radical countries. The issues that most of these few lakhs raise will never be over until India becomes islamic like they dream. That cannot be allowed under any circumstance.

Many are doing their daily jobs and living happily, but the clerical class, the mullahs and the 'community leaders' are the problem. They have to be dealt with.



That is what they want. Freebies on the hard earned money of non-muslims. Arab mentality.



I really hope that the modernization is done China style so that peace comes in our country and we stop making more Arab-wannabes.

its not that simple either......muslims have 0 reservation,,,,all other religions have reservation,all

 

[Black Widow]

Muslims have problem with all,
?
Being a Muslim is such a pain in a$$,then why don't you revert to your original religion?...

 

[Tshering22]

btw we have smriti irani as the new hrd minister..................that sucks big time



its not that simple either......muslims have 0 reservation,,,,all other religions have reservation,all

Dude are you okay?

Muslims have such a hefty reservation already.

The time has come to move beyond reservation and become an advanced scientific competing country.

How do you know Smriti Irani is useless?

Have you see her capability? She is a first time minister.

Give her a chance.

A tough taskmaster like Modi must have seen some cognitive ability to work in her which is why she got that post, other than being loyal to his setup.

India till now was being run like a zoo with satraps running loose all over, a begging puppet PM and a foreigner and her demented kids doing whatever they wanted.

Things have changed.

Learn to evolve.

 

[he-man]

religion sucks and people following a religion blindly suck even more

Dude are you okay?

Muslims have such a hefty reservation already.

The time has come to move beyond reservation and become an advanced scientific competing country.

How do you know Smriti Irani is useless?

Have you see her capability? She is a first time minister.

Give her a chance.

A tough taskmaster like Modi must have seen some cognitive ability to work in her which is why she got that post, other than being loyal to his setup.

India till now was being run like a zoo with satraps running loose all over, a begging puppet PM and a foreigner and her demented kids doing whatever they wanted.

Things have changed.

Learn to evolve.

are u smoking weed??
they have 0 reservation in jobs and education.

reservation is 22.5% for sc/st and 27% for obc's.muslims have nothing.

on the issue of smriti irani,,i am firm she is not qualified enough,anyone who is not even a graduate will have 0 idea of problems here