List of Acronyms
CAA – Citizenship Amendment Act
NRC- National Register of Citizens
UAPA- Unlawful activities Prevention Act
NSA- National Security Act
BJP- Bharatiya Janata Party
CPI- Communist Party of India
AIMIM- All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen
INC- Indian National Congress
Case Overview
On June 12, 2022, a Muslim activist from Uttar Pradesh, India, claimed that a law enforcement agency demolished her residence in retaliation for her protests against statements made about Prophet Muhammad by members of the country’s right-wing ruling party (Aafaq, 2022). Muslims in India saw the remarks made by BJP member Nupur Sharma and former Delhi press head N.K. Jindal (Barton, 2022), as the latest examples of the BJP’s anti-minority hate speech, which has escalated since Modi took office in 2014. Numerous Muslim countries have asked the Indian government to apologize. When their family home was broken apart, activist Afreen Fatima, politician Javed Mohammed, and wife Parveen Fatima confronted the illegal use of force (Aafaq, 2022). The municipality and the government argued that the house was built illegally (Kundu, 2022). Nonetheless, the family claimed that the accusations were baseless and denied all claims that the house was unauthorized. Additionally, the family stated that they had been paying their house taxes for over 20 years and that no official in Allahabad had ever notified them that their property was illegal (Aafaq, 2022). If it was an unlawful property, it remains unclear of why they would collect taxes at all. The family also presented water bill and property tax records to back up their allegation (Kundu, 2022).
It is critical to underline the Constitution’s preamble while analysing the incident. After the adoption of the 42nd Amendment in 1976, the Preamble of the Constitution proclaimed India to be a secular state (Baruah, 2007). In light of this, the emergence of BJP and Hindutva’s prominence in the country disenfranchised Muslims (Pundir, 2022). This is against the preamble’s values. The preamble also guarantees the safety of all persons, upholding the rule of law and declaring that everyone is subject to the law. This also supports the idea that Hindutva influence favours the Hindu narrative of the occurrence, devaluing the Muslim perspective. Ultimately, this case demonstrates a lack of secularism as well as press and speech freedoms. As a result, it is argued that the authorities and law enforcement used force to preserve the so-called security of the community from Muslims.
News agencies such as Al-Jazeera and Times Now have described the same event involving Afreen Fatima in varied ways. The Qatari news network Al-Jazeera is widely renowned for its support for the Islamic world (Miles, 2006). As a consequence, it is plausible to conclude that, since this event predominantly concerns a Muslim family experiencing difficulties, Religion is the underlying root of the problem in this case. Times Now, on the other hand, is seen as a pro-BJP media channel that promotes Hindutva ideology in domestic politics.
Dilemma
Under Hindutva politics, Islamophobia has risen in India. The current BJP administration and its affiliated groups are said to have pushed an anti-Muslim narrative through hate speech, regressive policies, and violence against Muslims. As a consequence, lynching’s, hate crimes, and systemic prejudice against Muslims in several aspects of society, especially employment and housing, have intensified. In particular, Muslim minorities have been targeted by the government’s discriminating legislation, such as the CAA and the NRC, which have been criticized for their nature and constitutional infractions (Ranjan & Mittal, 2023).
Due to the BJP regime’s growing Islamophobia, Muslims are now being treated unfairly in a variety of situations, which has led to a number of legal challenges. One of the legal concerns is the implementation of discriminatory regulations such as the CAA, which allows illegal immigrants from neighbouring countries to become citizens but forbids Muslim immigration (Toi-Online, 2020). Another legal issue for Muslims is the breach of the NSA and the UAPA, which were used to oppress the Muslim community (Saifudheen, 2019). To quell turmoil and target Muslims, policies allowing detention without a trial are introduced. Furthermore, the BJP has not appropriately handled the rise in hate crimes, which has provided perpetrators with a perception of immunity. Muslims currently live in an environment of uncertainty and instability since many do not believe they are protected by the law.
One of the political challenges they face is the lack of representation of Muslims in democratic structures like parliament, councils, and local authorities (Sharma, 2019). Lack of engagement and advocacy for Muslim concerns in policy-making has resulted in seclusion and marginalization. Prosecution of Muslim political leaders and activists by law enforcement agencies leads to suppression of resistance and political involvement, which is another political problem. Muslim activists and politicians are routinely subjected to unwarranted arrests and unfounded accusations, making it complicated for them to participate in politics (Civicus, 2022). The BJP’s discriminatory actions have further marginalized Muslims in politics and damaged the Rule of Law, which ensures equal rights and protection for all citizens.
Political parties in India have varying perspectives on the impact of Hindutva politics. Since it promotes the primacy of Hindu cultural values, the BJP has been accused of fostering Islamophobia through instigating violence and passing unfair policies against Muslims. The party refutes these claims and argues that it is devoted to the betterment of all citizens, regardless of their religion. On the contrary, opposition parties have attacked the Hindutva laws and the party for exposing majoritarianism and division of the Indian population. The INC, AIMIM, CPI, and various regional parties are among these parties.
Synthesis
Considering the nature of the Indian political system, various political parties have approached the issue of Afreen Fatima in varied contexts. The fact that Afreen Fatima’s home was demolished with official assistance has become a representation of how Muslims are mistreated in India, where illegal force is often used towards them. We can see from the last section that the dilemma in this scenario is Islamophobia. Since the BJP is the dominant party, it may believe it is permissible to employ Hindutva and state-sponsored violence to demonstrate its authority and “neutralize” the impact of Islam in the region. Nevertheless, the BJP denied the charges and claimed that the home was destroyed owing to unlawful construction (Aafaq, 2022). This could mean that the BJP wants to send a message to Muslims and other minorities that India is a Hindu-dominated country and that anybody who opposes Hindutva philosophy would be excluded immediately. As a consequence, pro-BJP media channels like as Republic TV, Zee News and Times Now did not report the Afreen Fatima event in depth. For example, a newsroom debate about the event was shown on Republic TV and Times Now once each. The majority of the event was covered by anti-BJP news channels such as Mirror Now, India Today, NDTV, TRT Network, and Al-Jazeera. The lack of broadcast indicates that either the event was concealed and information was suppressed, or that news outlets did not want to report anything that might undermine Hindutva ideology.
The moderator of Republic TV’s news discussion gave greater weight to the guest who was Hindu nationalist. The headline of the Times Now YouTube video was “Bulldozer Raj: The government did not target just Muslims, but all other communities as well” (TIMES NOW, 2022). These news angles, as per analysis, are slanted in favour of Hindutva politics. Yet, the narrative has been extensively carried on Al Jazeera, India Today, and NDTV for many weeks. It is difficult to see the situation from both perspectives since leading TV outlets, which are primarily pro-BJP, broadcast disinformation. The family’s taxes were highlighted on Al-Jazeera and India Today. Yet, this fact was not publicized by BJP-controlled news agencies. Moreover, hate crimes, mob violence, and acts of aggression by Hindu nationalist groups violate the values of the constitution’s preamble undermining the country’s Rule of Law authority for the purpose of so-called citizen protection. Consequently, this erodes the integrity of the rule of law in the guise of “citizen protection” is detrimental to minority population.
Conclusion
With the growth of the BJP, Islamophobia has grown, and since Modi’s victory, India’s politics have been dominated by religious differences rather than other issues. The ruling right-wing, Hindu nationalist party denied that the family house in Prayagraj was brutally demolished. Moreover, pro-BJP news outlets such as Times Now and Republic TV, either broadcast misleading material or suppress it from the general public. This event is very similar to past incidents affecting Muslims since 2014, and it is clear that this is another statement addressed against the Muslim community. This illustrates the governing party’s lack of support for the commitment towards secularism. Moreover, these groups keep undermining the rule of law under the guise of defending civilians.
Bibliography
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