Looking for Hope..

In a country where the government is openly inciting violence against Muslims, it's secular forces cannot afford to distance themselves from the Muslim community as an electoral strategy.

Editor's Note : Afreen Fatima, once a beacon of courage amidst the citizenship protests in India, found herself paying a heavy toll for her outspokenness. In a chilling spectacle broadcasted live, her home was mercilessly bulldozed, a tangible reprisal for her dissent. Adding to the agony, her father, a fellow activist, endured the indignity of arrest, subjected to the dehumanizing act of having a police officer press his slippers onto his face. Only recently released after two years of wrongful imprisonment, he emerged a testament to the injustices endured by those who dared to challenge the status quo.

As India tentatively rejoices in a diminished majority for Modi, hailed by some as a restoration of democratic principles, Afreen Fatima's voice rises above the din, intertwining threads of hope and despair. Her words, borne of firsthand experience as an outspoken Muslim in India speak to the resilience of the human spirit amidst adversity, yet also echo the somber reality of a nation grappling with the erosion of its democratic foundation.

Afreen Fatima at a protest against the proposed citizenship law in India

On June 4, as India was awaiting the 2024 general election results, many like me were cynical about the verdict. The previous month Prime Minister Narendra Modi, eyeing a historic third term, carried his campaign to his most preferred terrain, demonising Muslims. There were many who were surprised at the Prime Minister’s choice of words and rhetoric, which he is said to have not used before in such clear words ever since he assumed the highest office of the country. The opposition party leaders challenged Modi’s hateful rhetoric with their agenda concerning unemployment, social justice and supposedly, love. While the election results made way for a third term for the incumbent Prime Minister, it came with strings attached. Opposition parties performed significantly well, exceeding expectations of many, forcing the Prime Minister to form a coalition government.

The results were much celebrated, especially by those who were affected the most by this government’s highhandedness. It was a relief for many. Some were quick to term this as a defeat of ‘hate’. I was asked by a friend if the results gave me hope. I denied, not because I don’t have hope, but because of it's premise.

The hope we seek would entail Opposition ensuring a check on abuse of power, undermining rule of law and perpetrating unfair treatment to Muslim citizens like me and countless others. More simply, this hope is less about my faith and more about the actions or inactions of the Opposition parties.

India’s Opposition chose to fight this election on economic disparities, unemployment, equal representation and other important issues but at the same time it shied away from acting where it could. Muslim representation in parliament is at an all time low, lower than the previous term, with more than half of Indian states sending no Muslim parliamentarian at all. The most crucial reason for this underrepresentation is the Opposition’s unwillingness to field Muslim candidates. While the BJP machinery has had no qualms in targeting and demonizing Muslims and inciting hate against India's over 200 million strong Muslim population, the opposition's response has been to dodge it with broad strokes and generalisations.

Since BJP has risen to power, India has witnessed a sharp rise in incidents of hate crimes and hate speeches against Muslims. A significant number of Hindu youth have been radicalized by right wing nationalist outfits who have appropriated their faith to attack Muslims. The Opposition parties have mostly stayed silent on these issues. Opposition leaders and their supporters have insisted that BJP does it to shift the discourse from their agenda of all-encompassing social justice but it leaves it's Muslim voters with a feeling of abandonment.

On the rare occasions when leaders of Opposition did choose to address the hate speeches against Muslims or the growing radicalization within the Hindu society, they have been ambiguous and insincere. The usage of vague phrases like ‘Mohabbat ki dukaan’ by the Congress Party without providing context only suggests it to be a political necessity rather than a commitment. Furthermore, the Opposition parties, barring a few exceptions, have made it a point to avoid the use of the word ‘Muslim’ in their speeches so as to not appear ‘Muslim-friendly’. The strategic distancing of India’s leading secular parties from Muslims and their concerns does not inspire or instill hope.

In a country where the government is openly inciting violence against Muslims and risking its democratic credentials in favor of a theocratic Hindu state, its secular forces cannot afford to distance themselves from the Muslim community as an electoral strategy. This strategy might win elections but it cannot save the onslaught on democracy or Muslims. This strategy certainly does not inspire any hope. I believe it to be dishonest to hope on account of a shift in the Opposition’s presence in the parliament. In June of 2022, my home was bulldozed and the demolition was broadcast on live television to make a point that Muslims don’t belong. Is electoral alienation of Muslims and their issues the way to make a point that Muslims belong?

I am hopeful, hopeful that my home will be eventually reconstructed; hopeful that Muslims of India won’t be unjustly targeted and incarcerated; hopeful that Muslims would not be lynched in broad daylight; hopeful that Gujarat 2002 and Delhi 2020 won’t be repeated; hopeful that the mere electoral function of Muslims won’t be to defeat the BJP, hopeful that there will be ease in our existence, but the Opposition and its electoral gains is not and cannot be a reason for this hope.