IIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is under fire for invoking anti-Muslim tropes in a speech on Sunday as he campaigns for the country's ongoing general election.
Addressing a large crowd at a rally in the western state of Rajasthan, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader made controversial remarks describing Muslims as infiltrators. Modi said that if the main opposition party, the Indian National Congress, was voted to power at the end of the week-long election, it would distribute wealth unfairly.
When they were in power, they said that Muslims had the first right to resources. They will collect all your wealth and distribute it to those with the most children, Modi told a crowd of supporters. Do you think your hard-earned money should be given to the infiltrators? Would you accept this? he said of India's Muslim population, which numbers around 230 million.
These remarks appear to be a reference to harmful stereotypes that accuse Muslims of displacing Hindus by founding large families. The comments were widely criticized by opposition leaders and prominent Muslim figures and sparked anger around the world. Local election officials confirmed to Al Jazeera that they had received two complaints calling for the suspension and arrest of the Modis campaign.
As the world's most populous nation, India has a population of some 1.44 billion. Modis BJP party has been criticized for looking down on the Muslim community, which includes asylum seekers and refugees from Bangladesh and Myanmar, as foreigners.
Critics say Modi's comments, based on a divisive Hindu nationalism campaign, have been associated with the ruling BJP party, which is expected to seek a third consecutive term.
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Modi today called Muslims infiltrators and people with many children. Since 2002 till today, Modi's only guarantee has been to abuse Muslims and get votes, Asaduddin Owaisi, Muslim legislator and president of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen. said in a post on the social media platform
Meanwhile, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said Modi's comments amounted to hate speech and was a well-thought-out ploy to divert attention. In an article on, he added that Modi was influenced by the values of the Sangh, referring to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a right-wing Hindu paramilitary organization that Modi was affiliated with in his youth. In Indian history, no prime minister has lowered the dignity of his office as much as Modi, Kharge said.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest Muslim advocacy and civil rights organization in the United States, also condemned Modi's speech in a statement shared with TIME on Monday.
It is unacceptable, but not surprising, that far-right Hindutva leader Narendra Modi is targeting Indian Muslims with a hateful and dangerous diatribe, despite his role as leader of a nation with such a diverse religious heritage, said Nihad Awad, National Executive Director of CAIR.
CAIR also called on US President Joe Biden to declare India a “country of particular concern” due to the systematic treatment of Indian Muslims and other minority groups. Modi was previously denied entry to the United States in 2005, due to his proximity to the 2002 Gujarat massacres. have seen more than 1,000 people killed, most of whom were Muslims.
Modi claimed the country's top political role in 2014, with a focus on development and the fight against corruption. He was re-elected with a landslide victory in 2019 with a more Hindu nationalist agenda.
Anti-Muslim hate speech has been on the rise in India, with a recent report from Washington-based research group India Hate Lab. 668 cases in 2023. While 255 events took place in the first half of 2023, this figure increased to 413 in the second half, an increase of 63%. The report said that 75% of the total events that year took place in BJP-ruled areas. States.
In light of Sunday's remarks, opposition leaders are calling on the Election Commission of India (ECI) to investigate whether Modi's speech violated its code of conduct. The code states that politicians cannot appeal to voters on the basis of caste or community sentiments, nor run campaigns that aggravate differences, create mutual hatred or cause tension between communities.
