海角大神

India elections: Muslim voters warily eye frontrunner Narendra Modi

Modi, who represents a Hindu nationalist party, is widely blamed by Muslims for not averting a pogrom in Gujarat in 2002. The state's chief minister has since tacked to the center.

Like many Muslims,听Abdul Sheikh has strong views听about the prospect of听Narendra Modi becoming India鈥檚 next prime minister.

Mr. Sheikh鈥檚 wife and seven children were killed in communal pogroms听that shook this city in the western Indian state of Gujarat in 2002, and left 1,000 dead, mostly Muslims. Sheikh鈥檚 surviving son,听who lives with him in the shanties of Faizal Park,听a Muslim enclave, still bears scars from being set on fire by a mob.听

Mr. Modi was chief minister of the state during the riots,听and was widely blamed by Muslims for what happened.听鈥淚f he couldn鈥檛 save us in Gujarat, how will he take care of India?鈥� Sheikh asks.

Modi鈥檚听Bharatiya Janata Party has been running a high-voltage听election听campaign听that promises听economic growth and听improved听governance against a shambolic, scandal-ridden听incumbent听coalition government. But for many Indians, especially among minority groups, doubts over Modi鈥檚 role in the 2002 riots as well as the BJP's muscular Hindu听nationalism remain a sticking point.

Muslims make up less than 14 percent of voters in India, but they have a much larger presence in parts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, two populous northern states on which the election could turn. Despite efforts by the BJP to woo minority voters, polls indicate that Muslim voters in these states are likely to split their vote between other, secular parties. Almost half the states' seats will be decided in voting听Wednesday, the penultimate of nine days of staggered polling that ends May 12. [Editor's note: In the original version, the number of polling days was misstated.]

In recent weeks Modi鈥檚 鈥渄evelopment for all鈥� platform has been overshadowed by vitriol from members of his party and allied right-wing Hindu groups. One BJP leader told a rally听in Jharkhand听that those opposing Modi should be sent to Pakistan. The same week, Pravin Tagodia, the head of the right-wing Vishwa Hindu Parishad that stoked anti-Muslim feelings in the Gujarat riots, reportedly instructed a public meeting there听on how to evict a Muslim newcomer from their mostly Hindu neighborhood.

Modi has criticized these comments. But he听has also resorted to听divisive rhetoric himself. At rallies in the border states of Assam and West Bengal, where illegal migration from Bangladesh is a huge source of conflict, he suggested that only Hindu refugees are welcome in India.

The BJP in turn has accused the ruling Congress Party and others of stoking minority fears. An Aam Admi Party candidate told her Muslim constituents to vote 鈥渃ommunally鈥� against the BJP.

鈥淓ach side is playing the communal card, while accusing the other of polarizing voters,鈥� says D. L. Sheth, former director of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies in New Delhi.听

For Sheikh,听the widower听in Ahmedabad, Mr. Tagodia鈥檚 call to evict Muslims hurt the most. He invokes Mahatma Gandhi, Gujarat鈥檚 most famous son, who fasted to keep the peace between Hindus and Muslims during the bloody partition听of British India in 1947 that birthed听Pakistan.

鈥淚t was Gandhi who asked us [Muslims] to stay in India,鈥� and assured us of safety, he says.

Polarized by riots

In a city with a long history of communal violence, the 2002听massacres听have polarized people further. In 2012, a Supreme Court-appointed committee cleared Modi of complicity. But many of the victims who live in squalid conditions on the city fringes still believe that Modi听deliberately didn鈥檛 do enough to stop the riots.

鈥淚f Modi had ever visited us, said he鈥檚 sorry and that he鈥檒l take care of us, it would be different,鈥� says Mohammed Abdul, a furniture maker who lost his home and business in the riots, and lives in a refugee camp in the shadow of a hill of garbage. In 2002, Modi referred to these camps as 鈥渂aby-making factories鈥� for Muslims.

But some Muslims have swung to Modi鈥檚 side, including businessmen who have reaped the benefits.听Zafar Sareshwala, who owns a BMW showroom on an upscale avenue of malls and office complexes,听credits the chief minister with his prime location.听听

These areas fall under Gujarat's听Disturbed Areas Act, a law that restricts Muslims and Hindus from selling property to each other in 鈥渟ensitive鈥� areas, and which has increased Muslim ghettoization. Modi's intervention allowed Mr.听Sareshwala and other Muslims to open stores there.听

Sareshwala used to be a critic of Modi. Now he argues that听Muslims need to 鈥渟top being victim-centric鈥澨齛nd focus on rebuilding.听He points to the conviction of听around 400 people,听including a former state BJP minister, Maya Kodnani, for instigating or participating in the violence. That鈥檚 more than other riots including those under Congress rule, he notes.

Modi has also sidelined听militant听Hindu groups like the VHP that allegedly fomented the pogroms.听鈥淚鈥檓 not saying everything is perfect,鈥� he says. 鈥淥ut of 100 tons of dirt, maybe 40 tons have been removed.鈥�

Hindutva goes mainstream

Modi spent his early career with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a paramilitary group听closely aligned with the BJP. At the core of their ideology is Hindutva, a form of religious and cultural nationalism.

But some in Ahmedabad, including Sareshwala, believe that Modi is now more interested in political power than Hindutva,听while the BJP has tacked to the political center so that it can form national coalition governments.听听

In the 1990s, the BJP led a campaign to build a temple听in Ayodhya听on the site of a mosque, which resulted in the mosque鈥檚 demolition by Hindus and triggered riots across the country. When the BJP needed outside support to form a government in 1998,听it put the issue on the back-burner.听

The temple demand is at the bottom of听the BJP鈥檚 current听manifesto, and emphasizes constitutional solutions. Modi continually talks of the constitution, Mr Sheth notes, seeing this as part of his adaptation of Hindutva to a globally linked, modern economy. 鈥淗is Hindutva is now more about majoritarianism than religious solidarity,鈥� he says.

Even if the BJP has听softened, some of their supporters haven't.听In a mall in Nagpur, a city in central India, a young man working at a paintball studio said riots like those in 2002 need to happen every now and then to keep听India鈥檚听Muslims in their place. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e come up in the world, and they鈥檙e the most corrupt,鈥� he said.