*Paromita Das
The ruling BJP government at the Centre has had a week to forget as it scrambled to put out the fires ignited internationally in the Muslim world by comments made by some of its top leaders against the Prophet.
The party has suspended national spokesperson Nupur Sharma and expelled Delhi BJP media cell Chief Naveen Kumar Jindal, the two people at the center of the controversy, labelling them “fringe elements.” On June 8, the Delhi Police filed a FIR against the two and a few others, alleging that their social media posts could cause a rift. According to a senior police official, the FIR names people “from various communities.”
However, while the country’s ambassadors in West Asia and elsewhere work to contain the damage, the BJP leadership in India faces the difficult task of appeasing its enraged core right-wing supporters. Anand Ranganathan, a scientist and right-wing expositor, tweeted that,
“The Islamists only asked the BJP to bend, but it chose to crawl.”
Others, such as Subramanian Swamy, have spoken of the Modi government performing “shastangam dandawat before tiny Qatar.” As the hashtag #SupportNupurSharma spread, there was a flood of right-wing social media support for the suspended leader. However, a top BJP leader defended the government’s actions, saying, “We are not at war with Muslims, and modern-day Muslims cannot be held responsible for the actions of those who lived 500 years ago.”
In her defense, Nupur stated that her remarks were in response to “insults” directed at Lord Shiva, while Jindal quietly deleted his offensive tweets. The damage, however, had already been done.
On June 7, Kanpur saw violent protests and a subsequent police crackdown, with 12 people arrested. Harshit Srivastava Lala, a BJP Yuva Morcha leader, was among those detained, reportedly for tweets and other messages about the Prophet.
But it was international reaction, particularly in the Gulf countries, that brought the party to its knees. All the more so because Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu was just returning from an official trip to Qatar to discuss ways to commemorate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties. Messages about boycotting Indian products, rejecting our human resources, and so on flooded social media spaces in the Arab world, all citing Nupur’s comments. On Saturday, the V-lunch P’s meeting with the deputy emir was canceled at the last minute due to “medical reasons.” Fearing a media backlash, New Delhi also canceled Naidu’s press conference in Qatar.
On Sunday, June 5, Qatar Foreign Minister Sultan bin Saad Al-Muraikhi summoned Indian Ambassador Deepak Mittal to hand over an official note expressing Qatar’s “disappointment and total rejection and condemnation of the controversial remarks made by an official in India’s ruling party against Prophet Muhammad.”
As word spread, other countries in West Asia, including Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, summoned Indian envoys to express their displeasure. The OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation), Pakistan, Indonesia, and other Muslim countries soon followed suit.
West Asian countries, particularly those of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), are important trading partners for India. India relies on them for more than 40% of its energy needs, and more than 5.9 million Indians work in these countries, sending home billions in foreign remittances. India has more than $155 billion in trade with the GCC countries alone. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made significant investments in these countries’ relations over the last eight years.
Senior BJP leaders claim the offending leaders’ statements went against the stated party line. “As representatives of the ruling party, spokespeople attend TV debates…but there are conditions attached to this privilege. One must not get carried away “says a high-ranking official Critics, on the other hand, argue that the party has given office-bearers and serial offenders like Nupur a long rope for far too long. According to party sources, the timing of the incident is unfortunate because the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) have been trying to prevent fringe elements—both within and outside the party—from dominating the Hindutva debate.
They claim that with Modi gaining political points for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya and the Yogi Adityanath government winning a second term in Uttar Pradesh, the party was in a position to advance the larger Hindutva agenda. Indeed, BJP-ruled states have resumed highlighting contentious issues such as uniform civil code, anti-conversion laws, and so on.
The BJP is now treading carefully on the Hindutva path. The party’s image has suffered internationally, and it has no standing among Muslims in the United States. Indeed, the party will have no Muslim representation in Parliament following the retirement of cabinet minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, editor-turned-neta M.J. Akbar, and spokesperson Syed Zafar Islam from the Rajya Sabha. In the ongoing controversy over the mosques at Mathura’s Krishna Janmabhoomi and Varanasi’s Gyanvapi, the party and RSS leadership are also taking a cautious stance. Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat stated on June 2 at an RSS training programme in Nagpur, “History cannot be changed. Several temples were desecrated by Islamic invaders, and complaints have only been filed in places where Hindus have a special devotion “. Having said that, he added, “if the matter goes to court, the decision should be acceptable to both sides.” At a press conference in Delhi, BJP President J.P. Nadda said, “The court and the Constitution will decide (the disputes), and the BJP will follow their verdict in letter and spirit.”
The heat isn’t going away on the ground. Al Qaeda has issued suicide bomber threats; Delhi Police has increased security for Nupur after she allegedly received death threats, and in Uttar Pradesh, the Yogi regime has returned with a bulldozer and a list of 40 rioters in Kanpur. The Centre must navigate these turbulent waters while restoring order throughout.
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