ANY illusions that India remains a secular state that treats all its people equally should be put to rest, particularly as the BJP has waged ‘lawfare’ against Indian Muslims during its decade in power. One of the most blatant examples of using the law to disenfranchise communities has been the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, passed in 2019. The law calls for granting Indian citizenship to ‘persecuted’ minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Members of all faiths, except Islam, are welcome to apply for Indian citizenship under the law. On Monday, over four years after the CAA was passed, the BJP-led government notified the law. Critics of the ruling party are terming the move a cynical ploy to grab votes ahead of general elections that are due to begin next month. On one hand, the BJP, out of its apparent ‘benevolence’ towards South Asia’s non-Muslim communities, is inviting them to settle in India. On the other, it is championing schemes such as the National Register of Citizens, widely seen as a ruse to disenfranchise Indian Muslims if they cannot provide documents to prove their citizenship. This case of demographic gerrymandering seems to be in line with the BJP’s goal of rebranding India as an exclusively Hindu rashtra, while pushing its Muslims to the margins.

While the BJP seems overly concerned about the plight of non-Muslims in South Asia, under its rule, it has subjected India’s own Muslims to blatant injustice and stood by as Hindu zealots, as well as state institutions, have unleashed violence upon the community. Under the Sangh Parivar’s watch, Indian Muslims have faced discriminatory citizenship laws — such as the CAA and NRC — seen their homes and mosques bulldozed on flimsy grounds, and watched state functionaries publicly attack their religious and cultural practices. In other words, Muslims are the new untermensch of India. The notification of the CAA weeks ahead of polls is clearly an election ploy, though the BJP’s efforts to demonise Muslims in order to please its core constituency risks creating permanent communal fault lines. If the Sangh thinks it can bully minorities into submission, it is mistaken. This campaign of vilification will only expand social fissures, not heal them. Opposition groups and civil society organisations in India need to speak out and challenge the BJP’s politics of hate and division.

Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2024