After overtures to Christians during Easter, BJP leaders’ plans to reach out to Kerala’s Muslims during Id-ul Fitr turned a non-starter with the RSS putting its foot down.
Following BJP leaders’ much-publicised visits to various Bishop houses during Easter, and certain Christian leaders’ return visit to Hindu homes on Vishu, it was announced the party would visit Muslim households in Malabar on Saturday, when Kerala observed Id.
But nothing of that sort happened, with the RSS reportedly tightening the screws on the state BJP leadership. The RSS, which has over 5,000 shakhas in Kerala, is the backbone of the BJP in the state.
It appears that the Hindutva ideologues did not want the state BJP to “overdo” its outreach and told state party president K. Surendran to concentrate on the Christian community for the time being.
The RSS feels that since a section of the Christian community is willing to cosy up to it, even if for its own benefit, it’s better to pursue this minority segment alone. “One apple in the basket is good enough,” a pracharak confided.
During Easter, several BJP leaders had engaged in activities aimed at appeasing Christians. During Christmas last year, too, the party had organised extracurricular activities such as “love dialogues” with an eye on the community’s vote.
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi scheduled to arrive in Kerala on Monday on a two-day visit, the state BJP has drawn up a meeting between him and eight Christian leaders, including Cardinal Mar George Alancherry and Basellos Marthoma Mathews III of the Malankara Orthodox Mission.
No meeting has been scheduled with leaders of the Muslim community in the state.
Kerala’s Muslims had in the past been vocal in their protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act. Perhaps Union home minister Amit Shah had this in mind when he referred to Wayanad, the constituency that elected Rahul Gandhi in 2019, as “little Pakistan”.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath had in one of his campaign speeches in the heartland state asked his Hindu followers whether they wanted Uttar Pradesh to become another Kerala.
What he meant was that the Muslim community had a voice of its own in Kerala and he did not want that to happen in his state, where Muslims make up 19.26 per cent of the population.
However, the BJP central leadership has a member from the Muslim community in Kerala – A.P. Abdullakutty -- as one of its national vice-presidents. Abdullakutty, bereft of any following back home, has proved a damp squib for the party.
The BJP, it is said, had hoped that appointing a known Muslim personality like Arif Mohammed Khan as Kerala governor would help it mend relations with the community. But Khan gave up after a few initial attempts to identify himself as one of the Muslims’ own.
Khan’s outburst against eminent historian Irfan Habib at the Indian History Congress in Kannur in 2021 spoiled all his chances of building bridges with the Muslim community in the state. Since then he has turned his attention mainly to CPM-baiting.
While looking to woo Christians and Muslims, the state BJP had simultaneously been striving to drive a wedge between the two minority communities by raising issues such as “love jihad”, “narcotics jihad” and “halal jihad”. None of these has had any lasting impact on Kerala society.
The Muslim community in general, and a majority among the Christians, view the BJP’s newfound love for them as nothing but an election stunt. The RSS, which has its ear to the ground, knows it.