The 'othering' of Indians isn’t new; it’s got stronger since 2014

On October 16, 2024, a court in Bengaluru issued a non-bailable warrant against senior BJP leader Basanagouda Patil Yatnal after he refused to appear before it in connection with a defamation case filed against him.

The case was filed by Tabassum (Tabu) Rao, the wife of Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao.

Yatnal is reported to have made a statement in April 2024 that “half of Pakistan is in Dinesh Gundu Rao’s house”. This remark led Tabassum Rao to file a police complaint against Yatnal.

Also read: Political metamorphosis of Muslims in Karnataka after Assembly polls

More trouble followed for Yatnal in the form of a police case filed against him in Vijayapura (Bijapur). The complaint pertains to abusive remarks he is alleged to have made against Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

Dog-whistle politics

Any person familiar with Karnataka politics will know Yatnal, a former Union minister, was referring to Tabassum Rao, who was born Muslim. Politically ambitious — observers say he wants to be chief minister — Yatnal is known for making wild allegations, many of them of a communal nature.

It is tempting to call Yatnal’s inflammatory statements dog-whistle politics, which it no doubt is. Most leaders from his party, including Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, play politics designed to deepen suspicion and create hatred between religious communities. They spare no effort to polarise people.

Also Read: Why attempts at religious polarisation have not worked in South India

Is their rabble-rousing meant merely to enthuse the foot soldiers of Hindutva? No.

Target: Common citizens

Their messaging is meant for the common citizen who has been fed stories, from generation to generation, of how men from the "other” side looted, raped, killed and displaced "us” during Partition. This indeed happened.

But what is conveniently concealed is that men on both sides of the communal divide did the same. Hindus and Sikhs, on the one side, and Muslims, on the other, inflicted horrors on millions of innocent people. All parties had blood on their hands.

Watch | The Federal webinar: 'The othering of Muslims is a reality'

Rape and murder have regularly been carnivalised after India became an independent country. This was witnessed soon after the Babri Masjid was razed, and after hundreds of people were butchered in Gujarat in 2002.

Today rapists and murderers are not only released from prison and felicitated, but also granted parole multiple times to suit the BJP’s political ends.

These disturbing events remind one of Sahir Ludhianvi’s words: "Ye Katlon-khun ka rivaj kyon hai, ye rasm-e-jango jadal kya hai (Why is this custom of killing and bloodshed? What is this ritual of war?)"

Two-nation theory

A two-nation theory of sorts has existed in people’s minds. Nearly eight decades after India gained Independence from British rule, many people can’t seem to reconcile themselves to the fact that Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and others live in the same country. Their thinking is betrayed by their remarks.

Three-and-a-half decades ago, I was surprised when a colleague of mine referred to Munireddypalya, a central Bengaluru locality with a large Muslim population, as a “mini-Pakistan”.

This happened a long time before 2014, the year since when the ordinary Indian has been radicalised with quasi-official support.

Also read: Modi should walk the talk, quit public life for fostering hatred: Kharge

Labelling matters

In 2006, a relative who was visiting us asked me: “Does Bangalore have many Muslims?” During a drive into the city, he had seen five or six topi-wearing Muslim boys, clad in kurta-pyjamas, heading to school.

In the 1980s, during every visit to Maharashtra, I would hear at least once about ‘Hindustan Pakistan’. These were not any geo-political cold wars or armed battles but quarrels between small children from middle-class Maharashtrian families.

Squabbles over colour TV, batting first, a lost ball, or riding a cycle had to be likened to conflicts between the two neighbouring countries. One can imagine the effect such labelling had on impressionable minds.

'Us and them’ mindset

The “us and them” mindset permeates all castes and religious communities.

A few months ago, I visited a government office to get some work done. I had to wait a few minutes because the officer I wanted to meet was busy in a telephonic conversation. She spoke with the caller in fluent Kannada.

Also read: How Hindu-Muslim unity was buried under a 400-year-old Sufi shrine in Ahmedabad

 As soon as the conversation ended, and before I could speak with her, a third person present in the office remarked in Urdu that she need not have spoken in Kannada because the person at the other end was apnaich aadmi (our man). I then realised the two persons on the phone as well as the third person were Muslim.

During my first visit to Pune, in 1989, my host’s son, a relative of mine, told me about his city. Sadashivpeth, Deccan, Lakshmi Road and Tilak Road were good areas, he said, adding that foreigners had their localities on other side of the railway line.

Surprised, I asked whether foreigners were so numerous that had their own localities. “It’s the Christians and those others,” the young man replied confidently.

Beginning of bigotry

For a large number of Indians, people from their state, caste, community and religion are “our people”. This thinking, openly voiced, is problematic because it implicitly excludes those who do not fall in their narrow categories. “Us and them” is potentially a starting point for bigotry and chauvinism.

Also read: Banishing Shirdi Sai Baba, or battling Hinduism's inclusivity?

Will Indians ever quit viewing each other through the prism of “us and them”? Unlikely.

When will the “othering” of people on the basis of caste and religion cease? May not be any time soon.

We can take solace from Majrooh Sultanpuri’s words that seem mythical in these times:

"Jo ek ho to kyon na phir dilon ka dard bant lo, lahu ki pyas baant lo, rukhon ki gard bant lo, laga lo sabko tum gale habib kya, rakib kya (If you are united, why not share the pain in each other’s hearts. Banish the thirst for blood, clear the dust over attitudes. Embrace everyone, be it friend or rival.)"

Rabindranath Tagore’s desire — “Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls” — remains a distant dream.

(The Federal seeks to present views and opinions from all sides of the spectrum. The information, ideas or opinions in the articles are of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Federal.)