F Z Khan
INDIA, for the last many decades, has been enjoying very good economic as well as diplomatic relations with the Arab world; a huge number of Indians, over seven million, are working in the Gulf states, and the trade ties with the UAE, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have earned India the biggest chunk of forex as well as prosperity. But, of late, these relations have been marred by the extremist Hindu regime’s anti-Muslim tirades; ever since the Modi-led RSS-fuelled BJP has started state-sponsored persecution of Muslims in India. Modi regime is out “to Hinduize India, where Muslims are no longer safe”, especially after the enactment of new Citizenship (Amendment) Act that denies Muslims and other minorities right of citizenship. The longest curfew in the IoK, the hell unleashed on Kashmiris and persecution of Muslim population in other parts of India has not only agonized the world, but the Arabs are also feeling its heat; they have started questioning the very nature of their governments’ relationship with New Delhi.
But what has added fuel to the fire, recently, are the highly insulting remarks made by a BJP MP, Tejasvi Surya, about the Arab women, which has sparked widespread hatred among the Arabs against Modi and his ideology. Surya, a fanatic from South Bengaluru, in a tweet said, “95% Arab women have never had an orgasm in the last few hundred years! Every (Arab) mother has produced kids as act of sex and not love.” This is too much, something indigestible; the people of Arab countries, especially women in KSA, UAE and Kuwait, are outraged over such remarks by an MP of a friendly country. Such a ‘friendly’ country that gets transferred every year over $55bn from Gulf countries, and more than $120 bn from all Muslim countries. ‘Friendly’ in a sense that the Indians are treated well by the Arabs, as much as the Indians in UAE constitute the largest part of its population: over 3,510,200 Indian migrants are living in UAE. In Kuwait 580,000 Indians are working while in Oman their number is 450,000.
“Is this the return of feeding the poor Indians, who have long been eating our share of meal for the last many decades?”, they question. “Isn’t it a backstabbing by a ‘friend’?” Swift reactions started coming in from eminent Arabs who demand ‘punitive action’ against Surya. “Pity your upbringing @Tejasvi_Surya that respect for women couldn’t be instilled you despite India having some great female leaders. Please note if someday the government bestows Foreign Ministry to you, avoid travelling to Arab lands. You are not welcome here. This would be remembered”. These are the words of Noora Al-Ghurair, a Dubai-based businesswoman, who now demands expulsion of Indians from the Gulf region. She wrote in another tweet: “World is suffering from Coronavirus and India is suffering from Corona via RSS. Hindutva is flourishing all over ME. They are persecuting and collecting extortion from Muslims in India. But no Hindutva has been forced to pay Jazia or any protection money to Muslims. If Muslims wanted, they could have easily extorted money from them but they didn’t.”
Surya is playing active role in BJP’s social media team, had recently called, “Islamofascism is [a] grave threat to civilisation.” Although he deleted his tweet, yet its screenshot is still being tagged. Mona Alarbash, a lawyer, says: “Indian MP’s deletion of this comment will not forget us of the heinous insult from it. We demand urgent and immediate accountability from (Indian) parliament and (Modi) government. We the Arab Muslim women, are generational educators and directors of global competencies. The outpouring of reaction doesn’t stop here; the royal family is also expressing resentment. Princess Hend Al Qassimi says, “UAE law applies on nationals and non-nationals in terms of hate speech… Anyone that is openly racist and discriminatory in the UAE will be fined and made to leave.”
She tweeted a screenshot of a law on hate speech that reads: “…The law prohibits activities the government deems supportive of political or extremist interpretations of Islam. These include the use of the internet or any other electronic means to promote views the government believes insult religions, promote sectarianism, damage national unity or the reputation of the state, or harm public order and public morals. Punishments include imprisonment and fines from 500,000 dirhams ($136,000) to one million dirhams ($272,000). In August the government increased the penalties for electronic violations of the law, including raising the maximum fine to four million dirhams ($1.09 million). The law prohibits membership in groups the government designates as terrorist organizations, with penalties up to life imprisonment and capital punishment.” Despite strong criticism, Modi Government hasn’t apologized yet. The row on Twitter however continues to trigger outrage amongst the Arabs.
— The writer is a freelance columnist.