Perils of the soft Hindu card

This card, played by most opposition parties, hamstrings them from mobilising people against Hindutva or speaking up for Muslims, who have become desperate at the way they are demonised and targetted

The violence during Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti celebrations underscores the dangers of the soft Hindu card, which has Opposition leaders foregrounding their Hindu identity and projecting themselves as “good Hindus” in contrast to the “bad Hindus” who comprise the Bharatiya Janata Party leadership. It is presumed that the innately noble people of India will rally behind the Opposition to vanquish the BJP.

The soft Hindu card has repercussions for Muslims. The most severe of these is that the card has disabled the Opposition from countering the violent targeting of Muslims by the Hindutva brigade enjoying state patronage.

The soft Hindu card subliminally tells Muslims to not be provoked by insulting slogans, as were chanted during the recent religious processions, get beaten or lynched, have their community members tossed into prison on fake charges, watch their establishments demolished, and take in stride their demonisation by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and its affiliates.

It is in the interest of Muslims to show forbearance, it is argued, for Opposition leaders cannot publicly mobilise people against Hindutva lest they be perceived to be “anti-Hindu.” This charge they would invite in case they even speak up for Muslims—and, thus, risk losing Hindu votes.

Indeed, the soft Hindu card is merely an electoral strategy, not a political or philosophical intervention. It holds out an unsaid promise to Muslims that once non-BJP parties come into power, they would be protected from Hindutva. Till then, Muslims must stoically suffer and continue voting for the Opposition.

Occasionally, though, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi will write about the “virus of hate and divisiveness” damaging the nation—and Rahul Gandhi will hit out at the RSS. The Congress was among the 13 parties to recently issue a statement expressing horror over religious violence. The mother-son duo takes the moral high ground against Hindutva; Congress state units play the soft Hindu card.

Take Chhattisgarh, where Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel inaugurated the first phase of the Ram Van Gaman Project on Ram Navami. His government also held a Ramayana recital competition. In Madhya Pradesh, Kamal Nath issued an order asking Congress leaders to organise Ram Katha recitals, worship Lord Ram on Ram Navami, and recite Hanuman Chalisa on Hanuman Jayanti. Observe how Congress leaders refuse to take an unambiguous position on the hijab-halal controversy in Karnataka.

The Nationalist Congress Party of Sharad Pawar, one of the 13 signatories, is a member, as is the Congress, of the ruling coalition in Maharashtra, which has its chief minister regularly insist that his party represents true Hindutva; the CM’s son will be visiting Ayodhya next month. Outside the group of 13, Telangana Chief Minister K C Rao speeded up the completion of the Rs 1,200-crore Yadadri Temple, perceived to be his response to the BJP’s astonishing performance in the 2020 Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation election.

Then there is Akhilesh Yadav—behind whom Muslims consolidated in the recent Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh—who is palpably reluctant to use the M-word. This angered Muslim leader Azam Khan’s spokesperson into pointing to Yadav’s ingratitude to the community. Mayawati blamed Muslims for her party’s defeat.

Few have gone as far as Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to prove their “good Hindu” credentials. After striking out the M-issue from the list of topics to speak on, he famously recited the Hanuman Chalisa on a TV channel in 2020, took to visiting the Hanuman temple, and his party recently organised Sundarkand path on Hanuman Jayanti. For all their Hanuman bhakti, Aam Aadmi Party leaders lacked the fearlessness to step into Jahangirpuri, as communist leader Brinda Karat did so spectacularly, to stop bulldozers from flattening the establishments of those accused of hurling stones at the Hanuman Jayanti procession.

Kejriwal will say he cannot stop communal violence because the Centre, not him, controls the Police, a line non-BJP leaders also take in states where they are not in power. They should read political scientist Ashutosh Varshney, whose study shows that interethnic civic associational groups, such as peace committees, are a bulwark against communal violence.

Once the architect of peace committees, the Congress refrains from putting these in place, fearing the party would be tagged pro-Muslim and anti-Hindu. This is also true of other parties. Their inaction testifies to their dubious belief that Hindus are irredeemable Hindutva radicals disinterested in social harmony. Better to court than change them! Better not to be a Brinda Karat!

With some exceptions, non-BJP leaders have repeatedly proved AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi’s thesis right—that they do not speak up for Muslims because they presume the community will, out of their fear of the BJP, always vote for them. They may call Owaisi a BJP stooge, but are they even deserving of Muslim support?

Viciously targeted by the BJP and abandoned by the Opposition, the flame of hope among Muslims just about flickers. Once it is extinguished, the Muslim elite would likely wing abroad. The young may take to the streets to demand equality—and get battered. Many would withdraw from the democratic process or become radicalised, which can take several expressions. Remember then to also blame the Opposition’s soft Hindu card, which has created a political ambience conducive to Hindutva’s rise.

The writer is a senior journalist

Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com

The views expressed in this column are the individual’s and don’t represent those of the paper

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!