The Economist - USA (2022-05-14)

34 Asia TheEconomistMay14th 2022

enjoyed both democracy and relative

peace,evenasitsneighbourssuccumbed

tomajoritarianism.Pakistantriedtoshove

theUrdulanguagedownBengalithroats,

sparkingabloodywarthatgavebirthto

Bangladesh.Sri Lanka’sSinhalamajority

soughttolorditovertheisland’sancient

Tamilminority,triggeringa26­yearcivil

warthatleft300,000dead.EventinyBud­

dhistBhutanhoundedoutitsentireNepali

Hindu minority—a sixth of its popula­

tion—inthe1990s.Majoritymuscle­flex­

inghasreducedalltoomanyAsiansfrom

citizenshiptotenuoussubjecthood.

With its robustdemocracy, indepen­

dentcourts,noisypressandfissiparousdi­

versityevenwithinbigcategoriessuchas

Hindus,couldIndiareallyembracemajor­

itarianrule?Surelythisgoesagainstthe

grainofitsownhistory.Inthemessyparti­

tionattheendofBritishrulein1947,Mus­

limswho feared Hindu majoritarianism

createdthenewstateofPakistan,while

thosewhohopedforanall­embracing,sec­

ularcountryremainedwithIndia.

Whiteflags

Overtime,however,thesecular notions

enshrinedinIndia’sconstitutionhavede­

cayed.In1992,whenHinduextremistsde­

molisheda16th­century mosque, which

theyclaimedwasbuiltonthesiteofthe

godRam’sbirthinthenortherntownof

Ayodhya,theysparkeda decade­longcycle

ofbloodshed.India’sestablishmentwas,

byandlarge,appalled.Yetin2019,when

theSupremeCourtruledthatalthoughthe

demolition was a crime, the property

shouldbegiventoa Hindutrust,thesame

establishmentcheered.

Duringthisperiodtheinstitutionalvig­

ilance needed to sustain pluralism had

slowlyeroded,withpolice,courtsandthe

pressacrossmuchofIndiagrowingparti­

san.TheglobalwaveofIslamistterrorin

the2000s,whichalsostruckIndiahard,

didnothelp.Theuseofdisparaginglan­

guageaboutminoritieswaslongshunned

inpolitesociety.Itisnowincreasinglyac­

ceptable.EvenasMuslimsgrewasa share

of population, their numbers in Parlia­

ment,thecivilserviceandsecurityforces

didnot(seechart).

Hindu­nationalistdogma has filtered

intomainstreamdiscoursebya slow­drip

process.Thishasbeenpropagatedbythe

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sanghor rss, a

volunteer service corps foundedin 1925

and once regarded by many Indians as

cranks.Myriadaffiliatedgroups(including

thebjp)withtensofmillionsofmembers,

amplify the word. Their main message,

thatHindusmustunitetofaceimminent

danger, may sound absurdin acountry

with an unassailable preponderance of

Hindus.Buttheurgencyandpassionofthe

cry, setagainsttheheroicnarrativeofa

HindureconquistaaftercenturiesofMus­

limandEuropeanruleoverMotherIndia,

isirresistibleformany.

Andasthebjphasfound,promoting

“Hindu consolidation” by pointing to a

common enemy—generally Muslims—is

electoralmagic.Iterasesthedivisionsof

casteandethnicitythatfordecadesfrag­

mentedtheHinduelectorate,andindoing

so gave minorities some weight in the

game.Againandagainthebjphasentered

a contest,stirreduphatred,andwalkedoff

with victory. That success has brought

morepowerandmoremoneyina self­re­

inforcingcycle,suchthatevenMrModi’s

politicalrivalsnowcompeteinburnishing

theirpukkaHinducredentialsratherthan

indefendingsecularideals,letalonede­

fendingactualMuslims.

Inthisway,a narrativeoftheawfulness

of Muslims has grown increasinglyen­

trenched,andisallthemoreeasilyexploit­

edbythesangh’s zealots.Instatesruledby

thebjpthisshowsinpoliciestocounter

suchimaginedabusesas“lovejihad”,“land

jihad” and “job jihad”, supposed cam­

paignstousurpHinduwomen,property

andopportunities.Pettyrulesareimposed

tobanveilsinschools,banpublicprayers,

bantheMuslimcalltoprayerand,inthe

bjp­ruledstateofKarnatakathisyear,even

tobanMuslimstreettradersfromplying

theirwaresnearHindutemples.Tightened

restrictionsoncattleslaughter,violently

enforcedinmanypartsbyvigilantestacitly

supportedbythestate,haverecentlybeen

followed by efforts to proscribe halal

butchery ofanykind.Yet anothercam­

paign seeks to delete Muslim­sounding

namesfromIndianmaps.

AtthemostextremeendoftheHindu­

nationalistspectrum, speakersatpublic

rallies across northern India in recent

years have launched bidding wars of

threatsagainstMuslims,frommassrapeto

massexpulsion.OnMay7thHaribhushan

ThakurBachaul,abjppoliticianinBihar,

in easternIndia, declared that Muslims

shouldbeburnedalivejustlikeeffigiesof

theHindudemonRavana.

Allbuta tinyportionofHindusregard

suchtalkasmadlyoverthetop.Yetinpart

becauseofthereluctanceofeitherMrModi

orhisrssmothershiptointervene,thede­

monisingtonehasbecomecommonplace,

andnotjustregardingtheMuslimsminor­

ity.OthergroupssuchasDalits,leftistac­

tivists (dismissed as “urban Naxalites”)

andliberaldo­gooders(smearedas“lib­

tards” and “pseudo­seculars”) have be­

comethetargetsofdigitaltrollarmiesand,

dismayinglyoften,ofthelaw.

The large Christian (35m) and Sikh

(25m) minorities are notspared, either.

Falserumoursofconversion,inmanycas­

esfannedbybjp­appointedofficials,have

ledtomobattacksonpriestsandchurch­

runschools.Whenfarmers,manyofthem

SikhsfromPunjab,protestedagainstfarm­

ingreformslastyear,thebjptriedtolink

themtoSikhseparatistgroupsthatmount­

edanarmedinsurgencyinthe1980s.

Greenlight

Such charges carry ominous echoes. In

1984, angered by military operationsin

Punjab,SikhbodyguardsassassinatedIn­

diraGandhi,theprimeministeroftheday.

Anti­Sikhpogromseruptedinsome 40 cit­

ies,withpoliceoftenfailingtointervene.

The death toll is estimated at 10,000­

17,000.Giventhemountingdrumbeatof

intimidationagainstthefarbiggerMuslim

minority,itisfrighteningtothinkwhat

sparkitmighttaketosetoffa similarcon­

flagrationtoday.AndMrModi’srecordas

chiefministerinGujarat,wherehisgov­

ernmentdidnothingtopreventbloodshed

duringanti­Muslimriotingin2002,does

notofferreassuranceincaseit does.

Sofar,India’sMuslimshaveresponded

totheaccumulatinghumiliationswithre­

markablecool.Whenthecity’sbulldozers

growledintoa MuslimpartofDelhionMay

9th for more punitive “enforcement of

building codes”, residents simply sur­

roundedtheminsuchnumbersthatthey

couldnotmove.Butitwouldbefoolishof

MrModitoimaginethatmoreandmore

woodcanbepiledona pyre,withoutriskof

burningthewholevillagedown. n

Minority concern

India, share of Muslims, %

Sources:PewResearchCentre;CommonCause;Lokniti-CSDS;SupremeCourtofIndia;pressreports

*2011-1average †AmongnewjoinersrecruitedbytheUnionPublicServicesCommission ‡Thelower house

§Shareofdirectorsandseniorexecutivesinthebiggest00companiesontheBombayStockExchange

Business§

SupremeCourt

Police

Parliament‡

Bureaucracy†

Population

Prison*

20151050

2022 orlatest,estimate

15

12

9

6

3

0

19102000908070601952

Population and Parliament

Total population

MPs in Lok Sabha‡