In this overheated, protracted election season, Muslims are the ‘unpeople’ of India | The Indian Express

In this overheated, protracted election season, Muslims are the ‘unpeople’ of India | The Indian Express

Written by Abdul Khaliq |Updated: May 20, 2019 10:02:34 am

The writer, a former civil servant, is secretary general of the Lok Janshakti Party.

In this overheated, protracted election season, Muslims are the ‘unpeople’ of India

Election rhetoric has only exacerbated Muslim fears. The new government’s first task would be to combat the overpowering atmosphere of distrust and hate bedevilling society which constitutes the foremost threat to the nation, more so than terrorism.

Muslims now have to live with the bleak truth that the most powerful political party and its ideological parent, with tentacles spread across the country, are pathologically hostile to Muslims.

I fear for our future as a secular, multicultural country that once celebrated a richness of culture and tradition. Till not long ago we affirmed our common humanity even as we celebrated our differences. Our nation represented diversity, kindness, compassion and a revulsion of extremist views. But, over time, our collective souls have been deadened by violence, deepening communal and caste divides and the most perverse thinking. The cosmopolitan spirit has been throttled by hyper nationalism, populism and a deep distrust of the liberal values of tolerance and inclusion. A creeping majoritarianism is spreading across the land.