By Sushil Kutty
It is getting awfully crowded in that space where Muslims hold the key to any secular party’s electoral advantage. Every secular politician of note, even those with linkages to communal elements, is out to assure the growing Muslim population that “protection” is theirs for the asking; in fact, there is no need to even ask, it is there for the taking!
This comes in the midst of unprecedented violence in RSS bastion Nagpur, where Muslims felt they had to take to the streets and display some might for which the BJP-led Maharashtra government has not taken kindly to. On Friday, March 21, Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar stepped out of the Mahayuti box and held out a stern warning: “Anyone who shows an eye to our Muslim brothers and sisters will not be spared.”
The Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar) Chief made it clear the warning shouldn’t be taken lightly. The “stern warning” was given at an ‘Iftaar’ hosted by Ajit Pawar himself. “No one should fall into the trap of divisive forces…India is a symbol of unity in diversity…We have just celebrated Holi, Gudi Padwa and Eid is coming – all these festivals teach us to live together. We should all celebrate it together because unity is our real strength.”
Ajit Pawar left it at that. He should have clarified who made up the “our”. Did the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiv Sena (Shinde) also make it to “our”? Many friends of Ajit Pawar will admit the NCP strongman does leave a gap between what he preaches and what the faction practices. At least in terms of the impression he leaves behind with his words and his actions.
But then politics dictates every politician’s words and moves and Ajit Pawar, especially with his background, cannot be an exception. Deep down where it matters, this once favourite nephew of Sharad Pawar, is as secular as Prime Minister Narendra Modi isn’t!
Besides, this is a time of flux in Maharashtra politics despite the fact that not even half a year has passed after the BJP-led Mahayuti scored an extraordinary victory in the Maharashtra Assembly elections. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis appears to have lost grip.
On top of that, there’s the row over Aurangzeb, and the realization that the Bharatiya Janata Party shouldn’t have taken the ‘Alamgiri bait’. Did the movie ‘Chaava’ lead to ‘Aurangzeb ChayaHua’? Did the BJP walk into a trap? Fadnavis was set to visit Nagpur, his home district, on Saturday, March 22, to find some answers, the first time since the March 17 violence.
Will Fadnavis also do an Ajit Pawar and assuage the “hurt feelings” of the Muslims, whose “Aurangya” was set for a lynching? Did deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar signal a shift? “Your brother is with you,” Ajit Pawar told the “beleaguered Muslims”, who are always and invariably hounded, at times for alleged crimes committed by “extra-strong Mughals” of India’s medieval history.
Ajit Pawar was not sparing with his assurances. No beating around the bush. The younger of the two dominating Pawars warned that nobody who creates fissures between communities will be spared. “If anyone tries to create a fight between two groups and takes law and order in his hands, whoever he is – he will not be spared, he will not be forgiven.”
Ajit Pawar didn’t mention names. His focus was on assuring the Muslim “minority” community that they had his back. Nagpur had seen large-scale violence on March 17 and there were BJP-backing TV anchors who openly alleged “Muslim mobs” were the exclusive perpetrators. In earlier times no community would be named for communal violence. The terms allowed were “minority community”, “sensitive area” and the “vishesh samudai” prefix alongside “stone pelting and arson”.
The Nagpur protests were also unprecedented because Nagpur is ‘RSS Headquarters’ and has a history of non-communal violence. The March 17 violence was preceded by rumours of “chadar with holy inscriptions” and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal clamouring for the removal of Aurangzeb’s tomb from Sambhajinagar.
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s support for the Muslim community stretches beyond “brotherly love” and “bad eye”. The NCP (Ajit Pawar) Chief had also batted for ‘Halal’, slamming BJP’s Maharashtra minister Nitesh Rane for seeking “Malhar certification” as a replacement for the “Halal certification.”
Of late, Ajit Pawar has been reflecting on the “legacy of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj”, arguing that Shivaji’s vision of “Hindavi Swarajya” was about bringing people of different faiths together. Ajit Pawar certified the “patriotism” in the Muslims of Maharashtra: “There is a large Muslim community in our country and Maharashtra who love the country…Among the people who were with Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, there were also Muslims. Who was handling his ammunition? Many examples can be given.”
Knowingly or unknowingly, Ajit Pawar’s assurance of “protection” to the Muslim community comes on the heels of a new study of the Pew Research Center which predicts that “Islam will replace Christianity as the world’s largest (religion) and the global Muslim population will surge by a whopping 70 percent in the next 35 years, breaching the 3 billion mark by the year 2060.”
According to Pew, Islam will surge ahead of Christianity and Hinduism for three reasons: “Young population, high fertility rate and the practice of religious conversion.” The Pew report says global population will increase by “around 32 percent” by 2060 but Muslim population will go up by 70 percent, “more than double the global average.”
The Pew study says India’s Muslim population will see a “mild increase” and India’s Muslim population will be “around 19.4 percent”. In absolute terms, there will be 33crore Muslims residing in India in 2060. Does that sound like Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister is in a right frame of mind when reaching out to “Muslim brothers”. The Pew study also notes that in the same time-frame, India’s Hindu population will grow by 27 percent, well below the global average. At present, Christians and Hindus constitute 34 and 15 percent of the global population. (IPA Service)
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