A New India spews Islamophobic hate today. We see a new India calling for death to Muslims. We see a saffron Mumbai marching toward genocide. We see the saffron army marching towards “cleansing” Maharashtra of “jihadis”. We see involuntary celibate, saffron-adorning men wanting to go to ‘Taj nagar’ to violate a ‘burqe wali’ (woman wearing a burqa). A skull cap-wearing man is a jihadi for them, who allegedly drugs their impotency. They fear impotency as it may reduce ‘their’ numbers, and to avoid this, they hope to reduce ‘our’ numbers. They other us, call us invaders, a threat to their saffron land, they perceive us as pests infesting the country. They want a pesticide to make the country pest-free, Muslim-free.
For the last eight years, India has displayed an evident abhorrence for minorities. The anti-Muslim sentiment spreads throughout the country in various forms. This hate is characterised by the mob lynching of Muslims in the 2020 East Delhi pogroms, cow vigilantes targeting Muslim dairy producers, the economic boycott of Muslim traders, pushing for surveillance of inter-faith couples, and the auctioning of vocal Muslim women in the public sphere through apps such as “Bulli Bai” and “Sulli Deals”. The vitriol brews in this saffron atmosphere. Its aim is amply clear – establishing a “Hindu Rashtra”.
During the Covid – 19 pandemic, Muslims in India faced communal violence due to selective stigmatisation of the Tabhlighi Jamaat’s congregation in 2020. Several Muslims from different countries were stranded in India as all modes of transport were canceled. The pandemic witnessed an economic boycott of Muslims as they were blamed for the spread of the virus. Muslims faced dual isolation, as the quarantine was regulated harsher in Muslim areas by the state, and Muslim traders were also discriminated against due to communal hostility. This exacerbated economic issues for the community, deeply affecting their incomes and pushing them to impoverishment.
Muslim women specifically have been targeted to cause “shame” and dis-honour the community. The Hijab row in Karnataka attacks their freedom to practice religion. The online trolling, doxing, and cyber harassment faced by vocal Muslim women is traumatising, it pushes them to self-censor their opinions. As a result, families tend to take a protective stance towards them. This hinders their mobility in both domestic and public settings. The slogans for the abduction and rape of Muslim women are vulgar, despicable strategies to sexualise Muslim women, to “unveil and unravel” is an open to support rape culture wrapped in saffron.
Festivals and rituals have also been targeted and condemned for being “disruptive of public order.” There were efforts last year to curb Eid celebrations, the morning prayer – azaan –from (koudspeakers on) mosques was considered as “too loud”. This is ironic in a country like India, where most festivals are practiced with a lot of sound display, loudly. The Navratri celebrations, Ganesh Chaturthi, the bursting of crackers and fireworks during Diwali, Indian weddings, and the baraat (wedding) proceeding, the bursting of fireworks to celebrate cricket victories, all disrupt public order. Singling out Eid and Ramzan is a deliberate attempt to curb the minorities’ display of religion and rituals. It is to stop any kind of public visibility and congregation of Muslim communities in India.
Around 50 Hindu Janaakrosh Morchas have been organized in the past four months in Maharashtra. Such mobilisations give calls for Hindus to unite and boycott Muslims in three ways, love – jihad, land jihad, and economic boycott. On February 26, the meeting at Mira Bhayandar witnessed Kajal Hindustani calling for Hindus to unite and boycott Muslim vendors and traders. The land on which mosques and cemeteries are built are allegedly “illegal” constructions. She also mentioned how Mira Bhayandar no longer remains a Hindu-dominated area. Geeta Jain, the Independent-elected then BJP-turned MLA of Mira Bhayandar, also supported Jan Aakrosh Morcha. Despite Supreme Court’s order against hate speech, people chanted slogans against Muslims openly.
The collective memory of Muslims today is tainted in saffron; saffron posters, slogans, banners, and speeches. The hate-filled air causes nausea, and loud death calls instill fear. Such vitriol harms the Muslim identity at different levels. The Muslim identity is feared, othered, and now subjected to genocidal intent. These saffron demonstrations intimidate Muslim communities and also deride them of hope. The state-funded vitriolic atmosphere is a direct attack on the citizenship rights of Muslims. It causes deep insecurity in the Muslim psyche and leaves lasting trauma. Muslim folks are specifically being targeted by such mobs, and open calls to attack Muslim women reveal the state’s misogynistic character. Moreover, the early release of Bilkis Bano’s convicts and the garlanding of these men as they are Brahmins who brought honour to their community is an awful disregard for justice and a failure of the state. This hate is perpetuated at individual level by right wing Bhakts (devotees of the regime) who post Islamophobic slogans, statuses, and tweets online. It contributes to the larger agenda of associations like Hindu Sakal Samaj to continue hate-mongering as it is being mimicked by people.
This insurmountable impact of bigotry and hate on Muslims is immeasurable, it cannot be quantified, but the effects can be observed in the code of conduct and ethos of Muslims. Such treatment has had a tangible impact on people’s livelihoods. The barring of students from wearing Hijab to college increased the dropout rates amongst Muslim girls. Their right to education, social mobility, and their right to lead a life with dignity is all under threat. Moreover, it is a bigoted approach to relegate the constitutional rights of Muslims to simplified identity politics. Hindu liberals who support the Hijab believing this are ignorant of the larger narrative here. Through Hijab, the bodies of Muslim women become a site of regulation by the State and religious groups trying to impose modesty on women. Muslim women’s bodily autonomy has been token-ised, controversial-ised and problemat-ised by the State, media and the community. The hyper-masculine expression of adorning saffron scarves, spitting on Muslim women are beastly tactics to intimidate Muslim women. The bias while hiring professionals from Muslim communities affects the social and economic aspirations of both the individual and the larger demographic of Muslims. Muslim communities then resort to coping mechanisms like an overt expression of identity through clothes, preaching Islam emphatically, becoming more insular, and being sceptical of any interaction with non-Islamic groups.
The state expects Muslims to remain “good minorities, “silent and passive people who should not fight. The citizenship rights of Muslims are under threat. The lack of adherence to Supreme Court orders and verdicts shows the failure and disregard of state institutions. It is disheartening and threatening more when it’s closer to home. In Mumbai, the Jan Aakrosh Morchas put public peace and harmony in jeopardy. Muslims are vulnerable even while claiming space in the public sphere. Women wearing burqas face bigoted stares from co-passengers on trains and the metro. There’s a hateful tone in any kind of interaction between strangers. Moreover, when saffron-clad men notice Muslim women, they are harassed by their stares and catcalled. This saffronised chauvanism threatens Muslim existence in India.
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