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Destroying the Soul

The BJP may have won the fight against Muslims but the soul of
Indian democracy has been destroyed in the battle.

By Atif Shamim Syed | October 2020

Three decades ago, the Bharatya Janata Party (BJP) made an explosive entry into mainstream Indian politics when it began a country-wide agitation for demolition of the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya, Uttar Pardesh. The BJP demanded construction of a temple in place of the mosque – a place which many Hindus believe is the birthplace of god Ram.

Narendra Modi first caught the eyes of the BJP leadership when he played a pivotal role in arranging the Ram Rath Yatra, a procession of hardcore Hindu nationalists leading from his hometown of Gujrat towards the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya.

The episode became a boon for the BJP. Its share of vote almost doubled and the party emerged as a formidable opposition to the secular Congress. The Babri Mosque was destroyed by BJP rioters in 1992. The communal riots that followed the mosque’s destruction claimed thousands of lives. However, the Babri Mosque – or what remained of it - continued to fuel BJP’s election campaigns because the courts were unable to decide what should be done with its ruins.

Narendra Modi continued to grow within the ranks of the BJP. He was young, driven and extremely efficient. His political career received another boost when a train full of Hindu pilgrims caught fire in his native state. These pilgrims were coming back from Ayodhya. 59 are said to have perished in the train fire.


The BJP was quick to point fingers at Muslims. Communal violence started once again with the tacit acceptance of the state administration. Around 1,000 Muslims lost their lives in the ensuing violence. Narendra Modi was the chief minister of Gujrat at the time. He was later cleared of the charges of inciting violence but the episode is still hailed by many BJP activists as the starting point of the reversal of fortunes of the Indian Muslims.

Narendra Modi reached his political zenith in 2014 when he became the prime minister of India. Under his leadership, the BJP had done what no other party in India could do in more than six decades after independence – bring the Congress to its knees. Modi was the embodiment of a new India. The country was finally relieved of the clutches of the Congress Party.

However, after years of Modi rule, Indians have finally realized that BJP is no better than the Congress – perhaps even worse. Under the BJP, the democratic credentials of the world’s so-called biggest democracy have disintegrated under the weight of the Hindutva ideology.

The foundations of Indian democracy were laid on equal rights for every citizen, regardless of cast, colour, creed or religion. The Congress Party deemed it as a salvation from hundreds of years of British rule that had fed on India’s inherent political, ethnic and religious divisions. The Congress leadership believed that a unified India would clear the path for a strong post-colonial nation.

Meanwhile, the sectarian strain within the Indian society, exemplified by the right-wing Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), believed that India belonged only to the Hindus. Gandhi’s assassination only months after independence was a manifestation of the clash between these two ideologies.

BJP is one of many organizations that sprouted from the ultra-nationalist RSS. Hindu nationalist ideology is its main strength. Over the past few years, Modi and the BJP have used anti-Muslim rhetoric to such an extent that it is now entrenched within the collective psyche of most Hindus. The BJP has furthered its anti-Muslim agenda by incorporating a nationalist ideology within the law. The democratic process is further jeopardized by the party’s attempts at declaring millions of Muslims in the state of Assam as refugees and, thus, not fit to vote.

The government has declared the Assam episode a success and seeks to replicate it in the entire country. If this happens, every Muslim in India will be required to provide proof of his Indian-ness.

The revocation of Muslim-majority Kashmir’s autonomous status in August 2019 was also part of a wider strategy to tame India’s Muslims. What most people failed to realize is that the BJP is slowly doing away with the very foundations of the country’s secular constitution. It is trying to construct a managed democracy where the authoritarian regime is elected with the full support of the people. A significant chunk of the majority Hindu population still backs Modi and his nationalist policies.

The BJP commands a majority in both chambers, allowing it to pass legislation uncontested. Until now the ruling party has shown good progress on its nationalist agenda. It has reclaimed the Babri Mosque from the Muslims, tamed Kashmir and made it a crime for Muslim men to divorce their wives instantly.

However, it has very little to show on the economic front. Millions of Indians are at the brink of extreme poverty. Soon they will find out that Modi had taken them for a ride.

The BJP may have won the fight against Muslims but the trophy – the soul of Indian democracy – has been destroyed in the battle.

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