Islamophobia is a current concept that has entered our agenda after the Cold War. The Runnymede Trust defined the term as what we understand today. Islamophobia, as defined by the Trust, is an outlook or worldview involving an unfounded dread and dislike of Muslims, which results in practices of exclusion and discrimination. It has been stated that it corresponds to the exclusion of Muslims from social life and politics. As it is understood, Islamophobia is not only a psychological concern but also includes discriminatory practices. Islamophobia is associated with concepts such as identity construction, marginalization, and racism. Due to recurring Islamophobia in the West, it has been noticed that the way drawn in the distinction between the self and the other reinforces Islamic concerns and discriminatory practices. In this identity construction, the support of some segments of society was obtained and this situation was reinforced by emphasizing the opposing stance of Islam toward Western values like secularism and democracy. However, unfortunately, Islamophobia is not unique to the West. With the influence of the colonization process, a kind of Islamophobia has developed in the East, even in Muslim societies (Bayraklı & Yerlikaya, 2017). Although eastern native Islamophobia has its own cultural and local internal dynamics in every community, it we must not forget that it emerged in the modern period. In the case of India, the struggles between Muslims and Hindus throughout history can be presented as a cross-section of the background of the current violence, nonetheless, it should not be overlooked that the main reason that triggered the current situation was the racist demonstrations of marginalized groups supported by the state and their own national goals.

India is a multilingual, multicultural, multi-religious state governed by a federal structure. There are representatives from nearly all religions in the world within the borders of India (Aygul & Fatima, 2021). India is the country, which has the second-largest Muslim population in the world, roughly 180 million. Known as the "world's largest democracy" on a global scale, India has been reigned by an "ethnic-nationalist", racist government for the past 8 years. Particularly most of the news published about India areis about violence in the last 5 years. State-sponsored violence seems to be taken for granted by the public. In this article, the effects of Islamophobia, which has risen throughout the country under the influence of the last government, and how it spreadedspread through state power will be discussed. First and foremost, the identity of the current government, subsequently the laws enacted and the violations of rights against the Muslim people, and finally the impact on the people in the country and the global world will be discussed.

Extreme Nationalist Political Party-BJP

The person who revealed the concept of Hindutva, which is used to describe ethnic and ultranationalist groups, is Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, a Hindu, Indian nationalist, and one of the leading figures of the Hindu Mahasabha (Great Society of Hindus) (Kıllıoğlu, 2021). Since his studentship years, he has been arrested several times due to political events that he was involved in and the articles he wrote. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for his involvement in the murder of a British district judge in India, and in these years, he wrote the Hindutva by asking the question: "Who is a Hindu?". This concept he created has become a key principle of Hindu nationalist ideology. The society he was a member of (Hindu Mahasabha) defended that Hindus are culturally and religiously superior to Indian Muslims by resorting to military methods. In addition, India's famous leader Mohandas K. Gandhi was killed in 1948 by a former member of the Hindu Mahasabha. Savarkar was also accused of this assassination but was acquitted due to a lack of evidence (Social Movement | Definition, Types, Theories, & Facts | Britannica, n.d.).

Hindutva doctrine pioneered the institutionalization of Hindu nationalism. It is a concept that emerged as a result of the modernization and reinterpretation of Hinduism and Hindu values while preserving their essence. The main purpose of Hindutva is to get rid of the elements that spoil the Hindu culture such as Muslims and Christians. In addition, to live in the lands where Hindu unity is achieved and where the caste system is applied. However, Hindutva has no such discomfort with other religions (Sikh religion, Buddhism, etc.) that have significant representatives in the region. According to Hindutva ideology, Hindus and India had their own Golden Age in ancient times, but Muslims came and interrupted this golden age. This ideology has been adopted by extremists (Kıllıoğlu, 2021).

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), (Hindi: “National Volunteer Organization”) also called Rashtriya Seva Sangh, organization founded in 1925 by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar (1889–1940), a physician living in the Maharashtra region of India, as part of the movement against British rule and as a response to rioting between Hindus and Muslims. The RSS presents itself as a cultural, not a political, organization that nevertheless advocates a Hindu nationalistic agenda under the banner of hindutva, or “Hindu-ness.” The group is structured hierarchically under the guidance of a national leader, while regional leaders are charged with overseeing the local branches. A major emphasis is placed on dedication and discipline, both mental and physical, as a means to restore strength, valor, and courage in Hindu youth and to foster unity among Hindus of all castes and classes. Paramilitary training and daily exercise and drills are part of this discipline. (Ram Nath Kovind | Biography & Facts | Britannica, t.y.).

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), English Indian People’s Party, the pro-Hindu political party of post-independence India. The party has enjoyed broad support among members of the higher castes and in northern India. It has attempted to attract support from lower castes, particularly through the appointment of several lower-caste members to prominent party positions. The BJP traces its roots to the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS; Indian People’s Association), which was established in 1951 as the political wing of the pro-Hindu group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS; “National Volunteers Corps”) by Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. The BJS advocated the rebuilding of India in accordance with Hindu culture and called for the formation of a strong unified state. (Bharatiya Janata Party | Biography & Facts | Britannica, t.y.) Plagued by factionalism and internal disputes, however, the BJS government collapsed in July 1979. The BJP was formally established in 1980 instead of BJS, following a split by dissidents within the Janata coalition, whose leaders wanted to prohibit elected BJS officials from participating in the RSS.

The BJP advocated Hindutva (“Hindu-ness”), an ideology that sought to define Indian culture in terms of Hindu values, and it was highly critical of the secular policies and practices of the Indian National Congress (Congress Party). The BJP began to have electoral success in 1989, when it capitalized on anti-Muslim feeling by calling for the erection of a Hindu temple in an area in Ayodhya considered sacred by Hindus but at that time occupied by the Babri Masjid (Mosque of Bābur). By 1991 the BJP had considerably increased its political appeal, capturing 117 seats in the Lok Sabha (lower chamber of the Indian parliament) and taking power in four states.

The demolition of the Babri Masjid in December 1992 by organizations seen to be associated with the BJP caused a major backlash against the party. Since 1996, it has been the largest party in the Lok Sabha and has tried to form a coalition several times, but failed. As the 2014 Lok Sabha elections grew near, however, the BJP’s fortunes began to rise, largely because of growing discontent with Congress Party rule. Narendra Modi, the longtime chief minister (head of government) of Gujarat state, was chosen to lead the BJP electoral campaign, thus making him the party’s candidate for prime minister. The polling—held in several stages in April and May—produced an overwhelming victory for the BJP. Indeed, Narendra Modi met the National Security Organization (RSS) at a very young age and started to participate in their training. (Bharatiya Janata Party | Biography & Facts | Britannica, t.y.). He joined the BJP in 1987, and a year later he was made the general secretary of the Gujarat branch of the party. He showed himself in the 2001 elections in the state of Gujarat and became the head of state in 2002. However, in the appalling events that took place in 2002, he was first accused of being unresponsive and later found responsible and received long prison sentences.

Government-sponsored Islamophobia

Modi, who took office in 2014 as a prime minister, and his Party BJP were interested in India's economy, which was in a troubling situation in the first period. After the tax regulations he made, the economic situation disappointed the people, but as a result of the turmoil in the Kashmir region in 2019, he was re-elected and managed to stay in power. The second period is a period in which more radical moves are made than the previous one in order to spread and protect the Hindu culture. The most critical application made in this period is the Citizenship Change Act (CAA).

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 was passed by the Parliament of India on 11 December 2019. It amended the Citizenship Act, in 1955 by providing a pathway to Indian citizenship for persecuted religious minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan who are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, or Christians and arrived in India before the end of December 2014. The criteria for immigrants coming from these lands are to have entered the country before the specified date and not to be a Muslim. Thus, citizenship status in the country is tied to a religious criterion. The act was the first time that religion had been overtly used as a criterion for citizenship under Indian law and attracted global criticism. Other critical regulations with which the CAA is linked are the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Register of Populations (NPR). The NRC is known as a proof of citizenship practice and was put into effect in 2003. When it comes to NPR is a list that collects demographic and biometric data of all individuals residing in India. NPR includes the provision of "suspicious citizenship" in it. Documentation may be requested from any 'suspicious citizen' to prove their nationality while NPR is in effect. The problematic situation in these applications is that the status of "suspicious citizen" or "illegal immigrant" is not clear, and they are open to arbitrary practices. This makes Muslim citizens an obvious target. Hence, millions of Muslims are in danger of being denied citizenship. Citizens of the other six religions are protected under the CAA even if they are declared 'suspicious citizens', but this is not the case for Muslims. (Aygül and Fatima, 2021) The government states that birth certificates will be accepted for National Citizenship Registration, but according to the IndiaSpend report, only 62.3% of children under the age of 5 had a birth certificate in 2015-16, compared to 26.9% in 2005-6. It is known to be around (Yadavar, 2020).

Some regulations enacted by the government create various difficulties and dangers for Muslim citizens in social life. The hijab ban, which is one of these practices, is a major obstacle to Muslim women's presence in the public sphere. A solution has not yet been found for the application, which caused large-scale protests and disruption of education throughout the country. In addition, most states have criminalized the transportation and consumption of beef. Consequently, the number of Muslims who were killed and subjected to heavy interventions is increasing. According to a 2019 report by Human Rights Watch, radical cow protection groups in India have killed at least 44 people in the last three years, gaining support from law enforcement and Hindu nationalist politicians (The Economic Times, 2019).

Global and Local Repercussions of Islamophobia

Due to the laws enacted especially in the northern regions of India, severe violence broke out. In the state of Assam, the status of "suspicious citizen" or "illegal settler" is applied to Muslims, makes indigenous people the focus of violence of the police and marginal organizations by the state. Solely more than 5000 people from the villages on the banks of the Brahmaputra River were thrown from their homes and opened fire on them (“Column”, n.d.).

Instead of producing solutions to the happenings, government officials are making statements about creating deeper Hindu victimization with the support of media organs. Many Hindus are convinced that India's biggest problem is Muslims. Indian social media is flooded with videos of violence by marginalized Hindu groups who have made it their mission to lynch Muslims. However, these violent incidents also lost their newsworthiness. Interior Minister Amit Shah, one of the leading figures of the BJP, never hesitates to use genocidal expressions such as "leak" and "termite" for Muslims in his statements. The Prime Minister himself also openly targeted the Muslims at the election rally, saying that “violent” people “can be recognized by their clothes” (Iftikhar, 2020).

The Nazi sympathies of those who introduced the Hindutva principle are clear. It is seen that Prime Minister Modi and his government were inspired by the practices of two states that are accepted as anti-Muslims around the world. Firstly, the practice of religious belief-based national identity and mass denial of citizenship is very similar to Myanmar's citizenship law, which recognizes 130 minority groups of eight different races but somehow does not recognize 1 million Rohingya Muslims. Secondly, the Modi Government is building a giant concentration camp for Muslims who have been declared "foreigners" in Assam, according to NDTV India. It reminds the detention camps in China where more than 1 million Muslim Uighurs stay (Iftikhar, 2020).

While provocative anti-Muslim rallies continue, some turn into violent events. In February 2020, some regions of New Delhi were burned, and more than 53 people were killed. Most of the victims are Muslims. The police, contrarily, instead of stopping the torture inflicted on Muslims, take the brutality naturally. According to a published report, 2 out of 3 police officers stated that they reckon that such violence is “natural to a large extent” and “somewhat natural” (Team, 2019).

Much of India appears to be beset by Islamophobia. The press speaks through the supremacist elite. People seem to have become desensitized to anti-Muslim extremist thinking, which has normalized the division of "us" and "the others" in Indian society. A group of 17 Human Rights and interfaith organizations accused Modi of inciting the public with Islamophobic rhetoric to create and protect his political basement, at the congress briefing held in Washington on 12th January (The American Bazaar, 2022).

The antagonism towards Muslims by supporters of India's Hindu nationalist government has been globalized by the influence of social media and a devoted diaspora. This is particularly evident in the Persian Gulf region, which is home to millions of Indian ex-pats. Modi's painstakingly established bonds with the Gulf regimes are now threatened by ultranationalist Indian expatriates spewing Islamophobic rhetoric online. While the posts of Indian nationalists were initially aimed at Indian Muslims, they now seem to be more targeted toward Islam and Islamic values. As a result, Prime Minister Modi was criticized by the Gulf authorities. The posts made after the BJP government blamed Muslims for the spread of the Covid-19 virus and restricted only Muslims' collective worship and gatherings were criticized by the Kuwaiti government. In addition, on the continuation of the racist posts of the diaspora, Dubai-based Gulf News published an article in May calling for India to stop "exporting hatred" to the Gulf (Zhou, 2020).

A similar situation occurred in Canada in April, when city councils in Canada decided to allow the azan to be broadcasted for a few minutes a day during the holy Ramadan. The decision sparked a massive backlash through petitions signed by a large group of people and online hate, as far-right groups claimed that "Islamism" had infiltrated Canadian society and politics. Aggressive tweets of some members of the Indian diaspora in Canada against the adhan azan and Islam have entered the international trends (Zhou, 2020).

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