Looking back at history has its advantages. For example, it is much easier to see now why the reverse polarisation between Hindus and Muslims took place in large swathes of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in the recent elections, where the larger BJP alliance won 73 and 31 seats respectively, thereby contributing to its impressive victory. So here is the ques-tion: Why are many more Muslims now rooting for Narendra Modi?



First, the so-called secular opposition has been more or less decimated. Worse, the Congress, the Left as well as regional parties such as the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party, the DMK and even the AIADMK are either too diverse, too fragmented or simply not seriously interested in coming together to politically fight the BJP. As a re-sult, India's Muslims are wondering if it isn't better to simply join the BJP, especially since it tried fighting it in the recent elections-and failed.



Second, a section of Indian Muslims are wondering if compromise with Modi's BJP will allow them to share the fruits of economic growth, like other Indians. Since " achche din " are evi-dently around the corner, so much bet-ter to focus on "roti-kapda" issues of education and health than indulge in confrontational politics, right? After all, what did the Sachar Commission, set up by previous prime minister Manmohan Singh, do in the face of grotesque evi-dence that vast numbers of Muslims were actually among the poorest of the poor-poorer than the poorest Dalits or OBCs or tribals?



Third, see how Narendrabhai took on hardline RSS outfits such as the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) in Gujarat? Modi made no bones about the fact that he didn't see eye to eye with state VHP President Pravin Togadia.



Understandably, RSS elders have always played 'good cop-bad cop' among them-selves to attract different constituencies of Muslims-for instance Deendayal Upadhyaya vs Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Vajpayee vs Lal Krishna Advani, Modi vs Advani-but if the Prime Minister can restrain the crazier elements in the or-ganisation and prevent communal riots, like he did in Gujarat after 2002, then it may not be such a bad idea to come to terms with him. Better for the hearth and home to be safe, after all.



Fourth, why is it the responsibility of the Indian Muslim to take on the BJP? If the rest of the country, sick of the UPA's shenanigans over the last decade, simply wanted an alternative and somehow found Modi to fit the bill, why not the Muslim community?



And, finally, fifth: So much better to suppress your fear, put a brick on your chest at night and paste up your lips so that your inner voice, once made internationally famous by men like Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, slowly quietens down. Like Ahmedabad's or Kutch's trader Muslim community,"kaam se matlab rakho (just worry about your work)". Not whether the Saharanpur riots recently or the Muzaffarnagar riots last year were the result of alleged and deliberate polari-sation by BJP workers; or that the as-cension of Amitbhai Shah to the throne of the BJP, and especially on the eve of state elections in Maharashtra, Har-yana, Jharkhand and Jammu & Kashmir, is a likely indication of possible greater trouble ahead. So much better to fine-tune the double negative, sup-press your thoughts and look the other way. Perhaps, even, learn to turn the other cheek.























