In the past week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government have issued urgent appeals for communal harmony in the country. Were these forced by the terrifying prospect of hundreds of thousands of jobless and Covid-19 positive Indian worker expats stranded in the Middle East landing in India?

Yesterday, it was minority affairs minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi who was trotted out to declare that “those targeting Muslims are a few isolated people”. In an interview to PTI , Naqvi was mindful when he said: “These people are trying to spread misinformation, and we should be united and isolate such elements.”

Curiously, just a few weeks ago, Naqvi had called the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in New Delhi a “ Talibani crime ”.

Naqvi’s rejigged statement came on the heels of Modi himself declaring , rather belatedly, that the Covid-19 pandemic “does not see race, religion, colour, caste, creed language or border before striking”. He further underlined, “Our response and conduct thereafter should attach primacy to unity and brotherhood. We are in this together.”

If only Modi had paid heed to the response and conduct of his own party colleagues, the irresponsible and unaccountable media, and an indifferent judiciary, would he have had to rush to make amends at all?

The discovery of positive Covid-19 patients from the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Nizamuddin, New Delhi, in mid-March — and the consequent spread of the virus to various parts of the country — led to the demonisation of the whole Muslim community for weeks. The Tabligis’ disregard of the Delhi government’s health advisory to not have large meetings was inexcusable, but the blame also falls on the negligent Delhi government and the Union home ministry, from which the Delhi police takes orders.

As cases of positive Covid-19 cases were traced back to members of the Tablighi congregation, sections of the media and the BJP troll brigade led by Amit Malviya began to refer to Tablighis and Muslims as “ super spreaders ”, “ corona jihad ”, “ Covid-786 ”, and the like.

Soon, BJP lawmakers jumped in to vilify the community. Karnataka’s BJP MLA, MP Renukacharya, asked for those Tabligi members refusing to be tested to be “shot dead”. Kapil Mishra, a BJP leader in Delhi, who is notorious for his hate speeches, said that Tablighi Jamaat members were “spitting on doctors and health workers to infect as many people to kill them”. Mishra said the Tablighis should be “treated as terrorists”.

The Supreme Court too refused to intervene when a petition was filed by the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind pleading that the media be stopped from making communal and bigoted statements against the Muslim community. The bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde said it “cannot curb the freedom of press”, despite evidence of false reporting.

But all hell broke loose a few days ago when the Middle East haute monde reacted sharply and decisively against the bigotry displayed under the nose of Modi and his government. A series of tweets by a Sharjah princess, an heir to a wealthy business conglomerate, and a human rights lawyer, among others, all put Islam-haters on the mat.