The US Is Willing to Accept Modi as the Prime Minister of India
By Dr Aslam Abdullah
Las Vegas, CA
The reality has not yet dawned upon Muslim leadership in India that the forthcoming elections would be different from those that ever took place in the country. They would determine and seal the destiny of India for a foreseeable future. Muslim leaders are still pre-occupied with their lethargic and indifferent political attitudes coupled with sectarian, caste and political as well as religious squabbles. Among India's political elites they are considered a significant electoral chunk, to be manipulated easily, to be cheated speedily, and to be bought cheaply.
The coming election and their outcome would not alter India's commitment to secularism, it would not transform the country into a Hindu Rashtriya and it would not deny minorities the rights the constitution grants. India would remain a republic committed to secularism, pluralism and democracy. However, i f Modi becomes the Prime Minister, the definitions of secularism, democracy and pluralism would slowly be changed to accommodate the interests of a resurgent majority that wants to see its country reflecting its pre-Islamic past in a post-modern world. Thus educational curriculum would undergo monumental changes, history would be reproduced and recreated to suit the interests of the majority, and culture would be defined in the context of old traditions and customs. India would see the rise of a new nationalism that would be secular in external appearance but primarily upper caste Hindu driven in its spirit.
Two groups would immensely suffer from this change that may come once Modi becomes the prime minister. Women and religious, cultural and linguistic minorities would face the brunt of the political change. In the name of unifying India, unified civil code would be introduced with initially granting rights to minorities to follow their personal laws but gradually eroding their independence. Under the disguise of enforcing a national language, linguistic minorities would b promised protection to their languages but simultaneously making them irrelevant for future economic or financial growth.
Women' rights would suffer under the BJP administration, their quest for equal representation would be resisted, their demand for equal pay would be ridiculed. Their freedom to determine their own matrimonial and reproductive destiny would be met with resistance.
The changed political situation would see Muslim tomb, shrines and even religious institutions funded as long as they do not interfere in the politics of the state and keep quiet during elections. It would not be shocking to hear religious leadership approving of BJP administration and describing it the best for Muslims in independent India. There is no dearth of such people in the community who could issue whatever statement at whatever fees.
India would move to a totalitarian regime under the guise of democracy. It would happen because the new political power would ensure that those occupy top and middle management in bureaucracy, police, army and educational institutions come from a political ideology that wants to see the Hinduisation of India without using that term. RSS would no longer be an organization. It would become part of the state. Communalism, chauvinism and hatred would be institutionalized in a form and shape that no one would be able to point fingers at.
Under the new political administration, India would offer fresh blood to dying capitalism. It would sustain the unbridled capitalism for a few more decades as the country with its largest middle class would offer the best purchasing population to the world where consumerism would reign supreme and venture capitalism would thrive. Religion would be commercialized and rituals would become huge source s of income. Diwali, Rakhi and Kadwa Chod, etc. would become the pride of India's economy and a major source of providing boost to India's manufacturing sector. Entertainment would also use religious symbolism to create its own financial niche.
But something else may also happen. India would become the new policemen of the imperialist political powers in Asia. Through the new political administration, the big industrial nations and their ideologue would ensure that India does the dirty job for them in China, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Central Asia and even Russia. An RSS-inspired political leadership can play that role effectively and the big powers would not care as long as the target is not the Christian community. The RSS-led administration in India might be willing to let Christian missionaries work in areas that are ruled by Maoists in eastern or north eastern Indian regions.
All this may become a reality if Modi assumes powers as either the leader of the BJP in case it wins a majority or as the candidate of a coalition of parties. If he is a coalition prime minister, the outcome may not change. The only change would be in the timeframe of implementation.
The State Department in its internal discussions has realized the emerging reality in India. It believes that RSS is deeply entrenched in India's bureaucracy, police and the military. It believes that it has significant presence in the business and the IT sector in the US. The political parties have also realized the financial importance of the pro-RSS groups in the USA and both parties seem to be wooing this sector vigorously. Moreover, several think tanks in the US tend to believe that India could serve as a US guard in Asia against terrorist groups. The US political pundits and advisers to the State Department as well many State Department officials are of the opinion that Congress is not in a position to carry the day in the forthcoming election. Unless the situation changes dramatically in the next few months, Congress would not be able to secure enough votes and seats. They are not very hopeful of the third front that is primarily forged among leftist parties.
The scenario may change if the new political entity, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), manages to throw a few surprises here and there. The possibility that AAP, Congress and the third front may all come together to form a national unity government cannot be ruled out. But that would create an unstable and chaotic situation leading to re-election and paving the way for the emergence of BJP as the sole winner.
The Muslim leadership is the least concerned with the overall political situation. "Nothing would happen even if BJP assumes power and we shall see if that happens." This is their usual response to a BJP-led India scenario. They have not studied either Madhya Pradesh, or Gujarat properly where BJP has been in control for a long time. A careful study of the two states clearly demonstrates that the RSS is now well entrenched in all branches of government. The business favors BJP supporters. The educational institutions are focusing in symbols that promote RSS-brand of Hinduism. All this is happening within the constitutional framework of India. Perhaps Muslim leadership should seriously study the political culture in the two states before forming their judgment about the BJP.
Rather than focusing on developing a unified strategy to face the next election, they are fighting with each other. They have no trust in each other and even though they may claim that they are united, they are known to be working against each other in the background. Ask them what their agenda is: You would get 10 different responses. There is hardly any grassroots efforts to develop a bottom up agenda of the community keeping in view their aspirations and dreams. A top down agenda is all that everyone who is someone in the community is offering. Ironically, Rahul Gandhi, could grasp the essence of BJP politics when he said that the party is the mouthpiece of RSS, an organization responsible for the murder of Gandhi ji. An organization that can kill a Hindu leader for its gain, can commit any act for its politics.
Indian Muslims are victims of their own leadership. No single leader or party has ever cared for the faceless, nameless, helpless Muslim masses who are born in poverty, live in poverty and die in poverty. Not many have ever bothered to elevate their social and economic status and educational level. They live in a caste-ridden society and perpetuate the stratified system through their political, religious and social leadership. They have never been involved in decisions taken in their names by their leaders without even knowing what those decisions were. Political leaders have used them as vote banks to achieve higher political goals. Religious leaders have used them as means to flex their theological muscles and play the game of takfir on their shoulders. They feel betrayed and even though Muslim politics is run in their name, they have remained marginalized in India's politics. In the coming election, their status would not change. They would still vote on the basis of their caste, class, regional, sectarian and factional loyalties and follow different leaders at different levels without realizing where their true interests lie. Meanwhile, those who have a grand design for India and its future, would carry the day and would ensure that the already scattered minority of India is further divided into bits and pieces in the name of sect, faction, religion, ideology and caste. They know they would always find Muslim leaders to play their agenda properly. What they know for sure is that this time they would want to play to finish the game and what Muslim leadership would not be able to see even with its wide open eyes is that the game is to ensure that as a political entity in India's politics, they are finished as an effective unit.
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