Muslims’ dilemma in Modiland

“What is the future of Muslims in the world, particularly the Western world? If you have a beard, you are considered a jihadi,” is his counter-question.

The same situation prevails in India, especially Gujarat. Asking educated and liberal Indian Muslims to ruminate, he asks: “Don’t Muslims tend to be over-sensitive and over-react to situations? If Indian Muslims are underprivileged, without homes, education, employment, a lot of it had to do with wrong leadership.”

Muslim vote redundant

I am in Ahmedabad to look at election issues as Narendra Modi is headed for yet another term — his third — in Government. Unlike in other States such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, or West Bengal, where an important election issue is which way the Muslim vote is headed, in Gujarat, the Modi magic — or mania, if you please — has made the Muslim vote redundant. The clear feeling you get is that, irrespective of only a small section of Muslims voting for him, and the bulk going the Congress way, the BJP is headed for a convincing victory.