Islam and the BJP: Beyond the Nupur Sharma Drama

On May 26, Nupur Sharma, national spokesperson of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), made offensive remarks about Islam and Prophet Mohammed during a live television debate. Another BJP leader, Naveen Jindal, who is media head of the party's Delhi unit, also posted a derogatory tweet referencing the Prophet. Their comments went viral on social media and before long, angry protests erupted in both India and across the Muslim world.

Over a dozen countries including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Indonesia, Libya, and Bahrain lodged protests with the Indian government. Some countries demanded a public apology. Several Indian ambassadors were summoned by host governments. Pakistan and Bangladesh witnessed massive protests. There have been calls for the boycott of Indian goods, and in Qatar and Kuwait, Indian products were removed from store shelves.

The anger and outrage expressed by governments and people of Muslim countries, especially those in the Gulf region, rattled India’s diplomatic establishment.

The Gulf plays a major role in India’s economy. Not only does the region account for 16 percent of India’s total imports, but it also meets 40 percent of the country’s fuel needs. Around 9 million Indians live and work in the Gulf and the money they send home accounts for 55 percent of India’s foreign remittances. Should the Gulf countries send Indian workers home, it would add to India’s unemployment burden and millions of families that live on their remittances would be denied that support. Thus India cannot afford to alienate the governments or the publics of the Gulf countries.

When Sharma and Jindal’s comments ignited rage in Muslim countries, the BJP government responded swiftly. Sharma was suspended from the BJP, while Jindal was expelled from the party altogether. The government distanced itself from them; the “tweets and comments do not reflect views of [the] government," Arindam Bagchi, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs said. “These are the views of fringe elements," a spokesperson of the Indian embassy in Qatar said.

The BJP “strongly denounces insult of any religious personalities of any religion” and “is also against any ideology which insults or demeans any sect or religion,” its leaders claimed, seeking to give the party an inclusive and tolerant image.

But these statements run counter to the reality on the ground in India for Muslims.

In the eight years that it has been in power, the BJP and its supporters have humiliated Muslims, demonized them, and systematically targeted their faith, heritage, dress, and culture. Hundreds of Muslims have been beaten, some even lynched to death. In anti-Muslim violence in New Delhi in February 2020, 53 people, mostly Muslims, were killed. The BJP government has adopted policies and enacted laws that marginalize Muslims and are aimed at denying them rights, even their citizenship. Their homes and businesses have been bulldozed, as have their places of worship.

Contrary to the BJP’s claims of being inclusive, the party’s Hindutva ideology and that of its fraternal organizations, such as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, is based not just on Hindu supremacism but on a virulent strain of anti-Muslim violence.

Importantly (and worryingly), those engaging in anti-Muslim hate speech are not fringe elements but the core of the BJP and other right-wing organizations. While many of those who indulge in hate propaganda are anonymous trolls on social media, BJP leaders have mocked Muslims, issued threats, and endorsed targeting of Muslims on public platforms.

As Gujarat’s chief minister, Prime Minister Narendra Modi often justified the 2002 mob violence that left over a thousand Muslims dead. Muslims needed “to be taught a lesson,” he said at one point, mocking them as “baby-producing factories.” More recently, he claimed that Muslims can be identified easily by their attire, a dig at the traditional skull caps worn by many Indian Muslims.

At a public rally during the 2019 general election, the BJP’s then-President Amit Shah described Bangladeshi migrants as “termites” and vowed to drive them into the Bay of Bengal if his party returned to power. Shah went on to become home minister.

“Goli maaro desh ke gaddaron ko” (shoot the traitors dead), junior Finance Minister Anurag Thakur incited the audience at a public rally in New Delhi during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act in early 2020. Mob violence targeting Muslims in the Indian capital followed soon after. Over the past year, Hindutva activists and leaders have repeatedly called for violence to rid India of Muslims.

None of these hate-mongering leaders has been arrested, reined in, or admonished by the government or the BJP leadership.

In response to Sharma’s inflammatory comments, there was no response from the Modi government at first, even after violent protests erupted in Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh.

It was only after Sharma’s remarks drew the ire of governments in the Gulf that the Indian government decided to act. The potential implications of Gulf countries cutting oil supplies to India or sending back Indian workers for the Indian economy forced the Modi government to distance itself from Sharma and Jindal.

Over the past eight years, Modi and other BJP leaders have encouraged, nurtured, and even rewarded those who engage in hate speech and violence against Muslims. Many of these people have now come out in support of Sharma. They believe she did no wrong and are angry with the government for acting to appease angry Gulf governments.

Hate and violence targeting Muslims have grown phenomenally in India over the past eight years. It cannot be silenced easily. Neither is the Modi government genuinely keen to halt this violence. It is only a matter of time before a BJP leader or Hindutva activist makes yet another offensive remark about Islam and the Prophet.

The Modi government has managed to smooth over the crisis vis-à-vis the Gulf governments for now. However, the storm is far from over.