'Why do I fear to go out in my country?' In Modi's India, rising unease among Muslims
Muslim men offer Friday prayers under a makeshift tent in a parking lot in Gurugram, a suburb of New Delhi. Authorities designated the spot for worshipers after Hindu extremists disrupted prayers in the city last year. By Joanna Slater Joanna Slater Foreign correspondent covering South Asia Email Bio Follow May 13 at 6:00 AM GURUGRAM, India — For Abdullah Ashraf, the changes in his country can be measured by the things he no longer does.
“Sometimes I think, ‘Why do I fear to go out in my own country?’ ” he said. “This is the truth of India now.” BJP leaders also accuse the Congress Party, which governed India for most of its post-independence history, of pandering to Muslim voters. At stake in this election is the trajectory of the world’s largest democracy. If Modi returns to power with a strong mandate, “India will become an irrevocably majoritarian state,” Pratap Bhanu Mehta, a political scientist and vice chancellor of Ashoka University, said in a recent speech. “Basic assumptions we made about Indian democracy … will be up for grabs.
Although India has a reputation for vegetarianism, the true picture is complicated: Many Hindus eat meat and fish, as do nearly all of India’s religious minorities. Under the current government, the rhetoric around vegetarianism has grown more strident and even has been used by extremists to justify violence against people suspected of harming cows.
The activists who pushed the market to close were part of the Joint Hindu Struggle Committee, an umbrella group of 22 right-wing Hindu outfits with chapters in Gurugram. Rajeev Mittal is a leader of one such organization, the All India Hindu Revolution Party.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Perspective | Calling the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group would make all Muslims scapegoatsPerspective: Calling the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group would make all Muslims scapegoats
Read more »
Is Jacinda Ardern really the inclusive leader she's been made out to be?New Zealand's prime minister has been rightly applauded for her response to the attacks against Muslims in New Zealand, but that shouldn't obscure the fact that she has helped to empower anti-Muslim bigotry in her rise to power.
Read more »
Perspective | Calling the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group would make all Muslims scapegoatsPerspective: Calling the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group would make all Muslims scapegoats
Read more »
Japan's economy likely shrank in first quarter on weak domestic demand, exports: Reuters pollJapan's economy likely contracted slightly in the first quarter as corporat...
Read more »
Biden: Democratic field will shrink rapidly early next yearJoe Biden predicted Wednesday that the field of Democratic presidential candidates would be “winnowed out pretty quickly” next year
Read more »
The Mexican-American population is shrinkingThe total number of Mexican-born immigrants in America has stopped climbing and started to fall
Read more »
Indian polls: Modi's rhetoric on national security obscures local issuesPrime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking to boost the popularity of the Bharatiya Janata Party by harping on national security issues and decades-old disputes with nuclear rival Pakistan. Will it help the party earn electoral dividends?
Read more »
Michigan city worker fired for anti-Muslim Facebook post about Sports Illustrated modelBill Larion's attorney said his client is not anti-Muslim. 'He just thought it was a funny joke.'
Read more »
Muslims gather in Jerusalem for first Ramadan Friday prayersCrowds of worshippers have gathered at a Jerusalem holy site the first Friday prayers of Ramadan, Islam's holiest month.
Read more »