The sword of Damocles continues to inch lower over the heads of Muslims living in India as they worry about which communal hellfire they would be forced to walk through next. It has only been two months since two frontline leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) trampled on the religious sentiments of Muslims around the world. The ire of the furious Middle East regimes and the possible consequences on the precious oil and gas supply had, however, made PM Narendra Modi walk away from his favourite pass time: peddling anti-Islam polemic.
This time too, another lawmaker from the same party has prompted protests both within and outside the tri-coloured land as he jumped to social media with a derogatory tirade against the Holy Prophet (PBUH). His arrest in the wake of multiple cases registered against him appeared for headline purposes only because Thakur Raja Singh walked out of jail the very next night. Just like last time, Pakistan has strongly condemned the “highly provocative and sacrilegious” remarks and called upon New Delhi to “take immediate and decisive action” against the seemingly habitual exercise “targetting the dignity of the beloved Prophet (PBUH).” What transpired in our neighbourhood should be called out as what it is: a naked attempt to hit the Muslims where it hurts the most.
And the so-called liberal commentaries on the protection of the freedom of speech as they question the silence over the persecution of Muslims in India would be well-advised to take a look at the message written on the wall. Despite every sixth inhabitant of the much-talked-about secular state being a Muslim, no part of the community–however high-profile–enjoys the immunity to openly speak against the widespread violence. Whoever dares step the line is immediately branded a “traitor.”
May it be a Bollywood icon ruling over millions of hearts or an ordinary butcher going about his life, one tiny argument can put the target on his back. So while the influential leaders should speak out whenever Modi’s vicious discrimination campaign targets anyone as a part of its heated mantra (Hindi-Hindu-Hindustan), some blows are delivered more lethally than others. For those still expecting the Muslim world to turn the other cheek better look at how something as trivial as the consumption of beef can cost a Muslim living in Incredible India his life and his livelihood.
