By Apoorvanand and Suraj Gogoi
Assam under the chief ministership of Himanta Biswa Sarma has established itself as a state where Islamophobia is a crucial part of the state policy and statecraft.
In India, there is a general tolerance for Islamophobia in politics. It is argued that it is only a plank to mobilise your constituents in the time of elections. We must say, however, that it is only the Bharatiya Janata party which generates anti-Muslim hatred and uses it to mobilise voters around its platform and consolidate them. Islamophobia is the only glue which keeps its voters together.
The BJP leaders from the top to the bottom indulge in it and are given a free pass by the big media and even our political analysts who want you to understand that it is political compulsion of the BJP. How else can the poor BJP, then, fight against incumbency?
After the ascendance of Narendra Modi to the top position, Islamophobia has gained more currency in the BJP, where earlier, in the times of Atal Bihari Vajpeyi or Lal Krishna Advani, care was taken to couch it in acceptable social language. Modi did away with that pretence of civility.
It became an essential qualification for the BJP leaders to gain a position in the party or the government.
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here.