Has Modi reached out to Indian Muslims by saying they will live and die for India?

Often observed through the lens of scrutiny when it comes to his relationship with the Muslim community for a multiplicity of reasons, it seems Prime Minister Narendra Modi has successfully shed some of the misgivings that are usually labelled against him. In an exclusive interview to CNN and the first after he became the prime minister, Modi said that there is absolutely no reason to doubt the patriotism of Indian Muslims when a question was put across to him if the al-Qaeda would be able to establish a base in India. [caption id=“attachment_1721421” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Prime Minister Narendra Modi. PTI[/caption] This is what the prime minister said in response to the question, “My understanding is that they are doing injustice towards the Muslims of our country. If anyone thinks Indian Muslims will dance to their tune, they are delusional. Indian Muslims will live for India, they will die for India - they will not want anything bad for India.” The directness of the statement was unmissable and it was immediately welcomed by the Indian Muslim community. “It is a very welcome statement. It makes me proud as as an Indian. If Modi is saying that, I feel that the community should be going an extra mile to prove that he was right. I am so happy with what he said. I wish to see much more positive statement from him and the BJP. It will integrate the country like nothing else,” theatre director Aamir Raza Hussain told CNN-IBN during a panel discussion. However, some members of the community although appreciative of the statement did not accept it at face value. “Modi is behaving like the prime minister for all Indians which is befitting on his part. But any prime ministrer would have given the same statement. But he has not given us anything in his budget. He has to prove his words through his actions. It is the constitutional duty mandated on the government to help communities which are socially and educationally backward. But this statement alone will not change the ground reality. For that he has to change the hearts of his party men and act for the Muslims,” said convener of Babri Masjid Action Committee Zafaryab Jilani. Another school of thought believed that Modi’s silence when the the Vishwa Hindu Parishad allegedly triggered violence against the minority community in Uttar Pradesh cannot be overlooked even though the statement made was positive in nature. “When you become the prime minister of the country you cannot ignore that if you want to govern the country in a democratic manner you need to have a discourse of inclusiveness. The statement, which is also an attempt to reach out to Indian Muslims, must also looked into in this regard. But at the same time his silence with what the VHP did recently in Uttar Pradesh is equally questionable,” said Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, assistant professor, Hilal Ahmed. However, despite his intense scrutiny he saw one ray of hope. “There is evidence that Muslims particpate in India’s polical process but retaining their identities as Muslims. Modi has recognised the Muslim identity in India through this statement,” Ahmed said. Many assumptions also cropped up soon enough if his statement was timed prior to his visit to the US later this month or aimed at the Assembly polls in Maharashtra or at something else. “I believe people should not be cyniocal but take the statement positively. All of us should shed our inhibitions and welcome it with open arms. I do not want to put any ifs and buts with the PM’s statement for now,” Hussain said.