Hindu Rashtra at work – By Anupama Katakam
…As the country celebrates the anointment of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister once again, Gujarat’s beleaguered Muslim community, which forms 10 per cent of the population in the State, sends out a cautionary message. Ever since the riots of 2002, the community members not only have faced constant attacks but have been part of a polarisation plan that is virtually complete.
They believe Gujarat is an example of the Hindutva project’s success. Modi is making the right noises on inclusiveness, but Gujarat’s Muslims are not buying his claim that there will be no discrimination on the basis of caste, sect or religion under his “trust for all” slogan. “What’s happening to us can happen to the entire country,” says Malek.
Modi and the newly sworn-in Union Home Minister Amit Shah have been charged with complicity in the 2002 violence. It was under their watch that 1,043 people died in targeted attacks on Muslims across Gujarat. Thousands lost their homes, hundreds of women were raped and many people still remain missing. Thanks to a sustained political campaign over 17 years, the duo today holds the most powerful positions in the country. It is not just that the Modi-Shah combine is a cruel reminder of the carnage, but that its agenda has played out and Gujarat’s saffronisation is complete.…
https://frontline.thehindu.com/politics/article27665568.ece
SEE ALSO:
- Making sense of Hindutva – By Ajay Gudavarthy (Jun 6, 2019, The Hindu)
https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/making-sense-of-hindutva/article27527418.ece - Why Hindutva nationalism is unsettling – By Mimi Mondal (Jun 3, 2019, Hindustan Times)
https://www.hindustantimes.com/columns/why-hindutva-nationalism-is-unsettling/story-oaf457C98yNsmCFiYA2ZeN.html - Picking Humanity Over Religion: A Small but Critical Step – By Subhash Gatade (Jun 7, 2019, News Click)
https://www.newsclick.in/Religion-Humanity-College-Admissions-BJP-School-Education - The RSS: Challenging the secular polity of India – By Shaikh Mujibur Rehman (Jun 7, 2019, The Telegraph)
https://www.telegraphindia.com/culture/books/the-rss-challenging-the-secular-polity-of-india/cid/1691919
