Rising Hindu nationalism leaves Muslims fearful in India’s holy city

The sun glistens on the Ganges as Hindu devotees bathe in the holy river’s waters, and the Muslim call to prayer reverberates through the dusty air. Varanasi, an ancient city of temples and gods, is India’s spiritual capital. And here, in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s political stronghold, tensions between the two faiths have come into open conflict.

The sun glistens on the Ganges as Hindu devotees bathe in the holy river’s waters, and the Muslim call to prayer reverberates through the dusty air. Varanasi, an ancient city of temples and gods, is India’s spiritual capital. And here, in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s political stronghold, tensions between the two faiths have come into open conflict. When Modi chose this holy city as his constituency a decade ago, it was the perfect setting for him to meld his party’s political and religious ambitions. Having risen to power on a promise of development and anti-corruption, his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) now stands accused of turning India – a nation constitutionally bound to secularism – into a Hindu rashtra, or homeland. As Sana Sabah celebrated the Muslim festival of Eid with her family in Varanasi, she raised these fears with trepidation in her voice. “It’s scary that someone like Modi … is not only celebrated but validated,” the 33-year-old entrepreneur said. The Hindu-nationalist right wing, she said, “is not even trying to hide it anymore. And it’s troublesome.” With voting now underway in the world’s most populous nation, a significant portion of its more than 200 million strong Muslim population express fear at the prospect of Modi’s re-election. Vying for a rare third term in power, he is defending his seat in the traffic-clogged, diverse city of some 1.7 million people. Yet, 10 years after his ascension, many of Varanasi’s Muslims feel neglected, even betrayed, especially now as a centuries old-mosque becomes the latest flashpoint in a case that tests India’s secular fabric.