In a concerning turn of events, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent election speech in Rajasthan has sparked outrage for promoting fear and spreading misinformation about India’s Muslim community. Modi alleged that the Congress party harbors plans to confiscate Hindu land, savings, gold, and ‘mangalsutras’ (marital necklaces), distributing them to Muslims.
Moreover, the Prime Minister employed derogatory language to refer to Indian Muslims as ‘infiltrators’ (‘ghuspetis’) and members of ‘that community’ known for having ‘too many children.’ This represents a new low for a speech delivered by a national leader.
Modi based his claims on a supposed statement made by then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2006, wherein Singh allegedly declared that Muslims should have the first right to India’s resources. However, this claim is entirely false.
Examining the actual statement made by Dr. Manmohan Singh on December 9, 2006, at a National Development Council meeting, we find that Singh emphasized the need for collective prioritization. He highlighted crucial investments in rural infrastructure, general infrastructure, and programs aimed at uplifting marginalized communities, including Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), other backward classes, minorities, women, and children. Singh specifically mentioned the need to revitalize plans for SCs and STs and implement innovative strategies to empower minorities, particularly the Muslim minority, to ensure their equitable share in the nation’s development. He stressed that they should have the first claim on resources.
It is clear that Manmohan Singh’s remarks encompassed all underprivileged sections of Indian society, advocating that none should be deprived of their due share of national resources. However, Modi’s speechwriters chose to isolate the last two lines of Singh’s statement, taking them out of context and twisting their intended meaning.
This is not the first instance of the BJP raising false alarms about this issue. BJP spokespersons have cherry-picked and misrepresented Manmohan Singh’s words since 2006. In 2023, ahead of the Chhattisgarh Assembly elections, Modi cited the same speech at an election rally, reiterating the same baseless claim.
In this recent speech, Modi’s words were further distorted to instill fear and vilify India’s Muslim community. He raised the bogey of birth rates, falsely linking them to religion. Data, however, paints a clearer picture, establishing strong correlations between birth rates, poverty, female literacy, and female health. This explains why Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have the highest birth rates in India, while Karnataka and Kerala have the lowest.
One wonders if the Prime Minister’s speechwriters are unaware of these facts or if they conveniently ignore data that contradicts their agenda.
Another puzzling aspect of this speech is the repeated use of the false claim that Muslims are ‘infiltrators’ who have ‘infiltrated’ India. It raises the question of why an entire community is being insulted and made to feel like they are not part of the country. Why is there a persistent need to suggest that Indian Muslims are not entitled to equal opportunities and access to the nation’s resources, as if they are second-class citizens?
Such dangerous rhetoric seeks to garner Hindu votes by creating fear about Muslims based on false claims. It goes against the very essence of the Prime Minister’s role, which is to represent all Indians.
It is crucial to recognize that such statements, especially when coming from the Prime Minister, send a clear message to extremist Hindutva leaders, granting them an unspoken license to do the same. It is our hope that this will not manifest into further incidents in the coming weeks.
India is the world’s largest democracy, and it is imperative that we do not forget the true meaning of that. Let us hold our leaders accountable for their words and actions, ensuring that they uphold the values of truth, unity, and inclusiveness that define our nation.
