Modi’s Muslim Model

AS HE FACES the General Election in 2024, has Narendra Modi, India’s three-time Gujarat chief minister and two-term prime minister, succeeded in outwitting and upending those who foisted the “anti-Muslim” tag on him? The simple and straightforward answer to this question should be “Yes.” Of course, neither he nor his party, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), are home and dry yet. But in the battle for the hearts and minds of Indian Muslims, not to speak of world leaders from the Muslim world, Modi has stolen a march on his rivals, opponents, and enemies.

If so, how has he accomplished this feat? A study of that would be a masterclass in political brinkmanship, narrative reversing, and image making. But even more importantly, policy planning and implementation, backed by ideological conviction—on a scale hitherto unprecedented in India. In doing so, Modi has overturned the dominant post-Independence approach to minorities, which we might call the Gandhi-Nehru model. This model, degenerating over time into the politics of minority appeasement, is what we see of its tattered remains and residues today.

What, then, is Modi’s counter or what may be termed “Modi’s Muslim Model” (MMM)? The Modi model is not unvarnished or even modified Hindutva. Rather, it is founded upon his own, unique, constitutionally premised idea of inclusive growth. As his popular slogan goes, “Sab ka saath, Sab ka vikas, Sab ka vishwas,” and now, one might also add, “Sab ka prayaas,”—together with all, development for all, entrusted by all, and endeavoured by all. This model, then, is not purely oppositive to the earlier kowtowing or mollycoddling. It is not, as his critics claim, merely Muslim-bashing or minority-whacking.

MMM is founded on political pragmatism combined with administrative fair-mindedness. The rhetoric of polarisation at the hustings, in other words, does not mean negative discrimination at the policy or governance levels. Modi has demonstrated that firmness, combined with consistency, does pay off in the long run. It creates trust and respect for the leadership even if the latter is considered somewhat severe, to the point of being harsh. But sometimes, as in ordinary human relationships, tough love works better than lies. If some would like to call this putting Muslims in their place in a Hindu-majority India, so be it. But it is not the same as majoritarianism or minority-bumping as the usual Modi-haters and baiters claim.

If we backtrack a bit, we will notice how all through his meteoric rise as India’s millennium man, Narendra Modi has been dogged by the tag “anti-Muslim.” Ever since the Gujarat riots of February-March 2002, less than a year of his assumption of the chief ministership of Gujarat in May 2001. The violence, we might recall, began with the burning alive at the Godhra station on February 28, 2002, of 58 Hindu kar sevaks (volunteer workers) returning from Ayodhya on the Sabarmati Express. This horrific mass murder triggered a spate of ferocious carnage and bloodletting which left, according to official figures, 254 Hindus and 790 Muslims dead. The unofficial figures put the death toll at closer to 2,000. Many more were displaced, not to mention much property burnt or destroyed.

In fact, so severe was a reaction to these riots, with Modi himself being the target, that the anti-Muslim label foisted upon him stuck for several years. So much so that Modi was denied visas to several countries, including the US. As recently as June 22, speaking to CNN, former US President Barack Obama said, “If President [Joe Biden] meets with Prime Minister Modi, the protection of Muslim minority in a majority Hindu India is something worth mentioning.” As if this wasn’t galling enough, Obama added, “Part of my argument would be that if you do not protect the rights of ethnic minorities in India, then there is a strong possibility India at some point starts pulling apart.”

Of course, Indian Muslims, Obama should have known, are not “ethnic minorities.” They belong to the same stock as Hindus. But by timing his remarks to coincide with Modi’s state visit, Obama was once again playing, for reasons best known to him, the “anti-Muslim” card against Modi. Nothing similar has been said about the ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Pakistan or Bangladesh by the proponents of the anti-Modi and anti-Hindutva narrative.

Several BJP leaders, including Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, reacted to Obama’s gratuitous advice. Sitharaman, for instance, pointed out that it was Obama who ordered some 28,000 bombs to be dropped on seven Islamic nations. But the most befitting retort to Obama, or the endorsement of Modi, came not from one of his own team players. It came from prominent Islamic scholar and Secretary-General of the Muslim World League (MWL) Mohammad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa. In his five-day visit to India, which concluded on July 15, Al-Issa appreciated India’s long history of diversity and respect for all faiths. He observed that despite being a Hindu-majority nation, India has a secular Constitution. He considered India a great model of coexistence of diverse religious communities for the rest of the world.

Obama, are you listening?

Now, let us look at how Modi has shifted India’s relationships with Muslim countries to a new high. He has visited the UAE, for instance, five times since he became prime minister in 2014. In August 2015, Modi’s visit to the UAE marked the first visit by an Indian prime minister in 34 years. It resulted in the signing of various agreements covering areas such as infrastructure, energy, and security. The UAE also conferred its highest civilian award on Modi, showcasing the growing significance of India in the Gulf region.

In April 2016, Prime Minister Modi visited Saudi Arabia, becoming the first Indian prime minister to do so in over a decade. Again, several agreements enhancing economic cooperation, investment, and security were signed. Both nations recognised the importance of countering extremism and terrorism and have jointly taken steps towards that end. Additionally, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to India in 2019 further solidified the ties between the two countries.

India’s relations with Iran, Saudi Arabia’s rival in the region, have remained steady. We still buy oil from Iran despite Western warnings against doing so. Modi was also the first prime minister to visit both Israel and Palestine. Only with Turkey, has India experienced a downturn in relations. Of course, closer home, Modi’s toughened stance against Pakistan means that it is under a virtual diplomatic boycott. With Bangladesh, however, India’s ties could not be better. The same holds true for Afghanistan—India is assisting the country in this phase of its reconstruction under the Taliban.

It was Saudi Arabia which in April 2016 conferred the King Abdulaziz Sash Award on him followed by the Amir Amanullah Khan Award by Afghanistan in June of the same year. He was honoured in February 2018 with the “Grand Collar of the State of Palestine.” The Maldives conferred the “Rule of Nishan Izzuddeen” on him in June 2019. In August of the same year, both the UAE and Bahrain awarded him with the Order of Zayed and the King Hamad Order of the Renaissance, respectively. Most recently, in June 2023, Egypt conferred its highest civilian award on him, the “Order of the Nile.”

Recognised with the highest civilian honours of seven Muslim nations, Modi has unpeeled the “anti-Muslim” sticker that his defamers attempt to stick on him and flung it back, so to speak, in their faces.

In the next part of this column, we will turn to MMM closer home and how that might impact his party’s electoral prospects in 2024.

Abdulkarim Al-IssaAfghanistanAmir Amanullah Khanelectoral politicsIndian MuslimsMuslim nationsNarendra Modipolitics