THE WIRE ANALYSIS
The NYT has noted that “the direct language” Modi has used against Muslims contrasts with the image he presents globally.
In recent years, the Hindutva Right and BJP leaders have often used “puncturewalla”, a colloquial term for someone who repairs tyre punctures, as a slur against working-class Muslims in India.
On Monday (April 14), Prime Minister Narendra Modi ostensibly criticised the Congress party’s policies regarding the Waqf Board and said, “If it had been used as per its purpose, then today, my Muslim youth would not have had to spend their lives fixing punctures on bicycles.”
While pretending that he was merely implying that the Congress’s policies had left Muslims economically disadvantaged, he referenced the occupation in a way that perpetuates stereotypes about the community in line with the more direct slurs used by his supporters.
Since his days as Gujarat’s chief minister, Modi has made a series of controversial statements about Muslims that have drawn widespread criticism for furthering anti-Muslim hatred and deepening communal divides in the country. His most notorious Islamophobic remarks include calling Muslims “infiltrators”, mocking their family size, referring to relief camps as “baby-producing centres” and repeatedly using dog whistles to vilify the community.
Modi often uses coded language, but the intent and target are widely recognised by his supporters, analysts and even victims.
As the New York Times noted in April 2024, “the direct language used against the country’s largest minority was a contrast to the image Prime Minister Narendra Modi presents on the world stage.”
Modi has often used indirect language and dog whistles, such as references to “appeasement”, “vote bank politics”, “Mughals” (historical Muslim rulers) and “outsiders”, to suggest Muslims are disloyal or a threat to the Hindu majority.
His anti-Muslim rhetoric has been most explicit during election campaigns, especially when seeking to polarise Hindu voters.
According to a Human Rights Watch report, Modi made anti-Muslim remarks in at least 110 out of 173 speeches during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, wrongly accusing the opposition of favouring Muslims and fostering fear among Hindus through disinformation.
His speeches included untrue claims that the opposition ‘only promoted Muslim rights’ and that Muslims would be given priority access to resources, furthering the narrative of Muslims as outsiders or threats.
The BJP, under Modi’s leadership, has released campaign videos depicting Muslims as threats, such as one showing opposition leader Rahul Gandhi placing an egg marked ‘Muslims’ into a nest, and another accusing the Congress of planning to redistribute resources to Muslims.
Here is a list of some of the past instances where Modi has used anti-Muslim slurs in his public speeches that have been reported by the media.
‘Baby-producing centres’/‘Baby factories’
After the 2002 Gujarat riots, Modi was reported to have referred to relief camps for Muslim riot victims as “baby-producing centres” or “baby factories”, perpetuating the stereotype of Muslims as hyper-fertile and a demographic threat. “What should we do? Run relief camps? Should we open child-producing centres?”
At a campaign rally, he insinuated that relief camps for riot-affected Muslims might turn into “baby factories”, implying Muslims have large families and do not deserve relief from the government.
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