Modi walking the Sheikh Zayed mosque – Symbolism or Strategy?

Modi walking the Sheikh Zayed mosque was a unique sight for most of his loyal followers and his steadfast critics. I am not really a big fan of the politics of tokenism. But tokenism even the most brazen ones work in Politics. Arvind Kejriwal is one modern day politician who has made the maximum out of politics of tokenism to earn quick brownie points. Rahul Gandhi has been doing it without much success from a long time now. From Dining with Dalits to Tearing archaic ordinances, RaGa has tried his luck in the Tokenism genre of politics relentlessly. Sheikh Zayed mosque 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi (erstwhile the CM of Gujarat) politely refused Muslim clerics who wanted him to don the Muslim skull cap. While there was a lot of hullabaloo in the Media circuits about the “anti-Muslim BJP Leader” that time, but many people appreciated the gesture. Most of the ones appreciating the polite no to Muslim Skullcap gesture were the hard core Hindutvawaadis and ultra-right folks but many of them were also the ones who weren’t fond of tokenism politics. Iftaar parties have also been a grand occasion for the politicians to prove secular credentials. Modi said no to Iftaar parties too. The media and most of the Muslims made an issue out of it too. Sheikh Zayed mosque 

And now Modi did the unthinkable, the champion of Hindutva walked with the Sheikhs in the “Sheikh Zayed mosque”. He even went ahead to write this in the guestbook of the mosque “This magnificent place of worship strikes you with its size and beauty. It brings together exquisite skills and creations from around the world, and serves as a fine example of human achievements and unity”. Sheikh Zayed mosque 

This gesture was censured by the Hindutvawaadis and ultra-rights but wasn’t praised by the Muslims and Media either. In fact a cloud of cynicism engulfed the social media. They called him a showoff, a two faced oppurtunist. Some even had the audacity of calling him a gutless man. While Modi’s Sheikh Zayed mosque act was widely praised and circulated in UAE media, the reaction of the Indian Media ranged from a complete silence to downplaying the news. Modi walking in the Sheikh Zayed mosque was a big win for the Politics of tokenism but they called it Modi’s cheap antics to win the Bihar elections.

This is amusing at so many levels. So Modi’s skull cap and Iftaar episodes reeked of communal-ism but Sheikh Zayed mosque episode reeks of gimmickry and opportunism. I am amused at the level of hatred that a section of Indian Muslims and Media hold for Narendra Modi. They jump off to bizarre conclusions and create news out of thin air whenever there is a slight chance of branding Modi as the perpetrator of Muslims but when the tides turn in the opposite direction, they downplay it. No Politician of India has been harangued by a religious group and the so called fourth pillar of democracy, the way Narendra Modi is. Sheikh Zayed mosque 

So what do the Indian Muslims and Media expect from Narendra Modi? I believe they only expect comfortable excuses. They expect excuses to conveniently accuse Modi of being anti-minority. They expect excuses to suitably downplay anything that may put Modi in a good standing with the minorities. People, clerics and politicians with vested interests are behind it but their target audience is too naïve to decode the complexities of the equation. Sheikh Zayed mosque 

But the bright streak in the dark cloud is that Modi made a strong statement against terrorism from UAE soil. Modi condemned Pakistan for its double standards on terrorism, He urged the world to unite against countries that promote terrorism and he got the Sheikhs to speak against Terrorism and pledge an investment of Rs 4.5 lakh crore in India. He was the only PM in last 34 years to do so makes it all the more enticing. Sheikh Zayed mosque 

In my humble opinion, Modi mustn’t fall prey to the politics of tokenism to woo a certain section of society or to be hailed by the wretched Indian Media because that is not going to happen. Sheikh Zayed mosque 

Or maybe the tokenism was never on his mind, stand against terrorism and investment proposals were. I would like to believe that. Sheikh Zayed mosque