Modi's Muslim remarks: First big step towards winning back trust?

New Delhi: “Indian Muslims will live for India, they will die for India — they will not want anything bad for India,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an interview with CNN. A week ahead of his keenly-anticipated US trip, in response to a question on al Qaeda’s video appeal to Muslims of the Indian subcontinent to join the Indian arm of the terror outfit, he said: “My understanding is they are doing injustice to the Muslims of our country. If anyone thinks Indian Muslims will dance to their tune, they are delusional."

Has he put the onus of non-partisanship in the face of rising global Islamic terrorism on the Muslim community with this comment? Now it’s up to the Muslim population of the country to come good on the faith that the right wing PM of the country has reposed in them. Also, this may be the first big step of rapprochement by Modi towards the community that trusts him the least.

“What the PM has said is by and large true for liberal Muslims of India, as they may abuse Hindu hardliners or may not vote for the BJP, but they certainly won’t support terrorist outfits like al Qaeda. But, simultaneously, both, the government and the BJP, have to honestly engage with the Muslim community which no political party has ever done in India,” observes senior journalist and political commentator, Jagdish Upasane.

He strongly feels that the Congress policy of appeasement of the minority community won’t work anymore, and the benefits given by the government shouldn’t be limited to the affluent and elite Muslims. “There should be proper and true representation of Muslims in every sector. An average Indian Muslim can’t be profiled as a fundamentalist, just because he lives in a ghetto for his personal benefits and security or because he doesn’t vote for the BJP. One must not forget that the Muslims contributed equally in India’s freedom struggle against the British,” adds Upasane.

The PM’s statement, however, is likely to stir a hornet’s nest among the Muslims anyway, as those who are opposed to him would cry foul and the liberals are likely to feel indignant over the emphasis on their nationalistic credentials.

“In India, barring a few Muslims, the rest share a cordial relationship with the Hindus. But, if any Indian Muslim ascribes to radicalism or has an affiliation towards any fundamental outfit or nation, that person has no right to live in this country. Considering the years of exploitation that a large section of Muslims faced due to vote bank and divisive politics, they now have to rise above parochialism and get themselves properly educated to be a part of development. Sympathising with terrorists won’t help anyway,” says general secretary of All India Shia-Sunni Front, Zulfeqar Ahmed Chhamman.

Echoing a similar sentiment, Bahadur Abbas Naqvi, general secretary of Anjuman-e-Haidari, a Delhi-based Shia organisation, says, “India is known for its principle of non-violence, and terrorism in any form or by the follower of any religion won’t be tolerated. I agree with PM’s statement on Indian Muslims, and no true Muslim, who’s a follower of Islam would support terrorism. But, the government also needs to fulfill its promises made to the minorities during elections. There shouldn’t be any difference between government’s words and action, as it leads to credibility gap.”

However, the rise of terror outfit Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Middle-East, a few Indian Muslim youths joining the outfit and the recent release of a a video by al Qaeda asking Muslims in the Indian sub-continent to join the outfit, have posed serious concerns for the Indian government and intelligence agencies. The growing terror activities of Indian Mujahideen, with large number of Muslim youths from various states joing terror groups, can blow the wind off Modi’s statement.

So, how can Narendra Modi truly reach out to the Muslims of the country?

“Given the pluralistic nature of our society, out of 170 million Muslims in India, a bulk of them won’t go with the radicals. But, we’re unable to control the psychological and electronic propaganda of terror groups, which is making a strong impact on young minds. Besides, Islamic scholars, there are very few experts in India outside Islamic fold who have a deep understanding of Muslim issues. Indian experts talk more on the basis of perception rather than on reality. There is a need of de-radicalisation in a calibrated manner, along with approaching the issues in a right manner, so that Indian Muslims could be prevented from getting attracted to extremist organisations,” says Alok Bansal, director, Centre for Security & Strategy.

“The religious leaders and clerics too have to take the responsibility of reaching out to the Muslim community with the message that terrorism is not only an evil but anti-Islam, and against the wishes of Allah,” adds Abbas Naqvi.