Divided Muslim Vote Brings Bjp To Power In India

[baqar]

The Muslim vote in India has always been pretty effective in swaying the results one way or another.

 

But all Indians - Hindus, Muslims and others - have lost faith in the Congress.

 

They therefore had to choose between the powerful BJP and one of many minor parties.

 

Since BJP has instilled fear in the minds of minorities and they did not want to vote for the Congress party, they had to choose between one of the smaller ones.

 

Unfortunately, the divided Muslim vote was a bonanza for the BJP and it won.

 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/lok-sabha-elections-2014/news/Election-results-2014-Reverse-polarization-is-why-Muslim-votes-did-not-count-in-UP-and-Bihar/articleshow/35222065.cms,  

 

Let us hope and pray for peace and calm in a country with 1.2 billion people, among them about 20 million Muslims. 

[alisayyed]

even if muslim vote was consolidated, it would not have affected the results significantly.

 

The marketing amount spent by bjp was immense. Remember that DNA newspaper, dainik bhaskar (or jagran, not sure) and the entire Zee group belongs to the bjp.

 

congress may not have done a bad job, but not doing anyhting significant is a bad job in itself.

People would want change and would not want a party to stay for 15 years with moderate achievements.

 

Anyway the central government in India is not as powerful as all the state governments combined. Roads, electricity, education, health, bus transport, police, infrastructure etc. come under the state government's control. They can stop riots from spreading, if they want to, mostly and control most of the aspects of the peoples' lives.They can develop and destroy if they want to, the central government cannot do much about it.

 

The problem with the bjp being in power are mainly two-

Its closeness with the zionists

They share avery close relation with the israeli regime. More co-operation is expected.

 

Image of the muslims

The last time they came to power, they were constantly yakking on and on about terrorism. That word hogged the headlines, almost every few days.

The muslims were silenced with any chance of questioning and defence. Leading to not only islam and muslims getting a bad image, but also facing problems with their businesses, getting jobs and buying property.

 

Terrorism was also one of the main platforms of their election sloganeering in the last 2 elections when they lost.

 

It was only when they realised that muslim-bashing will not get them to power, that they concentrated almost entirely on development and corruption level, leading to an easy win.

Hoping that they walk-the-talk and dont get lured in the easy honey trap of riot politics of islam-bashing again.

[A true Sunni]

http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/lucknow/in-varanasi-modi-gets-unlikely-support-from-shias/

 

Remember the maxim the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Both Shias and Hindus hate the salafi movement that has infected the Sunnis

[skylight2]

^

 

lol - so Modi is a friend of Shi'as of India. I knew Indians were way out on extreme right field - thought Indian Shi'as were a little smarter, guess not. 

[A true Sunni]

^

 

lol - so Modi is a friend of Shi'as of India. I knew Indians were way out on extreme right field - thought Indian Shi'as were a little smarter, guess not. 

 

Choose between the idolatory of BJP and the idolatory of Saudi Arabia. LOL

[skylight2]

Is that all the Shi'as of India see as their choice? No wonder they are in such a despicable situation. What are they? A buncha ethnic/cultural Shi'as? 

[baqar]

Choose between the idolatory of BJP and the idolatory of Saudi Arabia. 

 

Hinduism is a monotheistic faith.     

 

Please read the Vedas. 

 

If you go to India, you will see every Hindu refer to "Ooper Wala"  (The One above), not "Ooper Walay" (The Ones above). 

 

With the beauty of the Vedas, one would think it  was introduced by prophets of God.

 

The idols are not of God but of the Autars.  

 

And they are not worshipped but venerated.

 

When someone speaks of gods, they are really talking about Autars, not God.

 

The word "Bhagwan" in Hindi is often used as a metaphor to denote someone very high.

 

It does sound confusing and has lead to slivers of polytheism seeping into the faith throughout its history but  the religion is essentially monotheistic.

And the Vice-President of the BJP is a Shia Muslim - Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. 

[Marbles]

What a remarkable rise for Narendra Modi, the new Indian prime Minister!

 

A decade and a half ago, after the Gujarat riots, the then BJP's premier Vajpayee was about to sack Chief Minister Modi for failing to prevent the religious riots under hs nose. Had Modi been sacked then, his career would have effectively ended. But at the last minute Vajpayee's ministers, LK Advani and Jaswant Singh stopped Vajpayee from taking action against Modi.

 

Now, the same person who was banned from travelling to the US and UK and other countries due to this role in the Gujarat massacres becomes the prime minister of India. So was Modi totally innocent of the charges against him that even the Indian supreme court acquitted him? Or he was too popular and too big to be taken head on and punished?

 

BJP has no love lost for Shias; for them Shias are another group of the hated Muslims. But they are practical and they need votes and there's a significant Muslim vote bank in India that must be wooed. Contemporary Sunni-Shia antagonism provides them with good opportinity to break Muslim vote into Shia and Sunni, which is something that's probably never happened before at the national level.

[baqar]

BJP has no love lost for Shias; for them Shias are another group of the hated Muslims. But they are practical and they need votes and there's a significant Muslim vote bank in India that must be wooed. Contemporary Sunni-Shia antagonism provides them with good opportinity to break Muslim vote into Shia and Sunni, which is something that's probably never happened before at the national level.

 

Spot on!

 

But it is still encouraging to see that he found it useful to hire a Muslim - and a Shia at that - to the post of VP of the party.  

 

So was Modi totally innocent of the charges against him that even the Indian supreme court acquitted him? 

 

It is well-known that he was not innocent. But politics may force him to change his spots.

[A true Sunni]

 

Hinduism is a monotheistic faith.     

 

 

Please read the Vedas. 

 

 

If you go to India, you will see every Hindu refer to "Ooper Wala"  (The One above), not "Ooper Walay" (The Ones above). 

 

With the beauty of the Vedas, one would think it  was introduced by prophets of God.

 

 

The idols are not of God but of the Autars.  

 

 

And they are not worshipped but venerated.

 

 

 

When someone speaks of gods, they are really talking about Autars, not God.

 

The word "Bhagwan" in Hindi is often used as a metaphor to denote someone very high.

 

It does sound confusing and has lead to slivers of polytheism seeping into the faith throughout its history but  the religion is essentially monotheistic.

And the Vice-President of the BJP is a Shia Muslim - Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. 

 

 

Hinduism is a broad umbrella of a number of beliefs. They trot out whatever belief suits the particular moment. Contact with western theology and Islam makes them trot out monotheism. But equally they they trot out idolatry.

 

Haven't time to debate with Hindu apologists 

[Marbles]

Only if Imran Khan could channel his initial charisma into votes, we might have something to look forward to - but then Immy was never as astute and experienced as Narendra Modi and Pak electoral system not as transparent as that of India.

 

 

I think Geo should latch on to this picture to prove that Imran is a pro-India 'traitor' with links to the butcher of Muslims! Let Imran have the taste of his own medicine!

 

 

[The Green Knight]

Good. I can now see the prophecies coming true. Only BJP has what it takes to start a change in the region.

[Marbles]

Talking of divided Muslim vote, can anyone confirm the veracity of this posting? Sounds like a joke but who knows lol.

 

[The Green Knight]

A proper letter of congrats to him would have been written in Hindi no?

[alisayyed]

There is no breakup of sunni-shia vote. So no one will ever find out how many shia muslims voted for Modi. 

Overall 9% muslims voted for the bjp and 43%  for congress and the rest voted for the rest.

Thats it. No other info is available. So we can only guess. Wildly.

 

Shia muslims are too small a vote bank to be considered relevant. About 2-3% of the total votes/population, and that, too, scattered all over the country. Just like the other muslims. 

At the most, they can merely influence the outcome in very few constituencies.

[Inquisitor]

A proper letter of congrats to him would have been written in Hindi no?

 

Or Gujrati.

[baqar]

Talking of divided Muslim vote, can anyone confirm the veracity of this posting? Sounds like a joke but who knows lol.

 

Why does it sound like a joke? Indian Muslims are clutching at straws. They have to live in a real - not an imaginary - world. 

 

I have not seen this specific one. But I have seen similar ones.

 

A proper letter of congrats to him would have been written in Hindi no?

 

Thanks to the creation of Pakistan, Indian Muslims have been constrained to learn Hindi. But Urdu is still kicking and well.

 

Come to think of it, only 150 years ago, there used to be Hindu teachers of Farsi in India.

 

What a tragedy! 

[Marbles]

Why does it sound like a joke? Indian Muslims are clutching at straws. They have to live in a real - not an imaginary - world. 

 

I have not seen this specific one. But I have seen similar ones.

 

I am not sure but I heard that of whatever percentage of Muslim vote went to BJP, most of the votes came from the same Gujarat sate where the Muslim massacre occurred in 2002. What does it say about the status of Modi in the eyes of Gujarati Muslims?

 

I read somewhere that putting aside grievances vis-a-vis Modi's role in Gujarat massacre, Muslims there are happy with his governance because Gujarati Muslims have equally benefited from the great financial prosperity that the state of Gujarat has achieved under Modi's 12 years rule.

 

Would that, in your opinion, be a true assessment of reality?

 

Thanks to the creation of Pakistan, Indian Muslims have been constrained to learn Hindi. But Urdu is still kicking and well.

 

Come to think of it, only 150 years ago, there used to be Hindu teachers of Farsi in India.

 

What a tragedy!

 

I would say that Farsi in India was already a dying breed by the mid 19th century. Only learned men studied it and only literary types worked in it. Even those who knew best how to read and write Farsi could hardly speak it. For instance, could anyone say that Muhammad Iqbal, whose Farsi canon is so famous in the Persianite world, could hold an ordinary conversation in Farsi only falteringly, with great difficulty? But anyone who is able to read his Farsi verse knows that he was a maestro of the written form. By the turn of the century 19th century common man couldn't understand Farsi anymore.

 

But you're right. Learned Hindus and Sikhs studies Farsi with as much enthusiasm as Muslims. They also learned and taught Urdu in great numbers. There were top Hindu writers who wrote fiction and poetry in Urdu till Partition when Urdu in India was overtaken by Hindi.

 

But we should also do well to remember that Hindi-Urdu problem had been there even half a century before Partition, and it was feared by Urdu wallahs that Hindu-dominated Congress would give in to the demands of Hindu right wing parties like RSS and Hindu Mahasabha, and impose Hindi language on Muslims after independence, and that Urdu would be relegated to background. It happened in India anyway, no?

[baqar]

I read somewhere that putting aside grievances vis-a-vis Modi's role in Gujarat massacre, Muslims there are happy with his governance because Gujarati Muslims have equally benefited from the great financial prosperity that the state of Gujarat has achieved under Modi's 12 years rule. Would that, in your opinion, be a true assessment of reality?

 

Yes, to some extent. But India will remain forever a lopsided place. On the whole perhaps Muslims have forgiven Modi for his crimes. But bitterness and fear linger. Everyone is hoping that  he needs to do a fair bit to erase the impression he created for himself in 2002 in the eyes not only of Indian Muslims, but the entire world.

 

I would say that Farsi in India was already a dying breed by the mid 19th century. Only learned men studied it and only literary types worked in it. Even those who knew best how to read and write Farsi could hardly speak it. For instance, could anyone say that Muhammad Iqbal, whose Farsi canon is so famous in the Persianite world, could hold an ordinary conversation in Farsi only falteringly, with great difficulty? But anyone who is able to read his Farsi verse knows that he was a maestro of the written form. By the turn of the century 19th century common man couldn't understand Farsi anymore.

 

I think Farsi was hanging on as a conversational language on the state level right until the Mutiny (aka the war of inependence) when the last Mughal king was exiled to Burma. At that time, India was still under the East India Company, not the Crown. 

 

And in theory at least, Bahadu Shah Zafar was still king of India. So Farsi did have not only a written base but also a conversational platform. But you are right - it was not a very strong base anymore. Because even in the Mughal court, Farsi had been slowly giving way to Urdu. 

 

But unfortunately, with the transfer of power to the Crown and the rise of British authority, Farsi's fate was sealed. By 1860, Farsi had been phased out as a state language.

 

But we should also do well to remember that Hindi-Urdu problem had been there even half a century before Partition, and it was feared by Urdu wallahs that Hindu-dominated Congress would give in to the demands of Hindu right wing parties like RSS and Hindu Mahasabha, and impose Hindi language on Muslims after independence, and that Urdu would be relegated to background. It happened in India anyway, no?

 

Not quite half a century, brother. But yes, history was slowly eroding the Urdu-Farsi fabric. Urdu continued to dominate Northern India (and parts of South India like Hyderabad) even after partition.

 

Hindi took its place in the Indian landscape with the formation of the Mahasabha in Amritsar in 1914 and the RSS in 1925. 

 

And funnily, even though Urdu's traditional home was the Delhi-Lucknow belt, the place Urdu had in the Punjab was simply supreme.  

 

Right until about 1956 or so, the lingua franca of Indian Punjab continued to be Urdu. But as the children who were born after partition were growing up, the old guard began to crumble and give way to the new.