Since early September, the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh has witnessed a disturbing rise in anti-Muslim violence, with far-right Hindu groups organizing protests and hate campaigns targeting Muslims in the state.
Tensions erupted first over the construction of a mosque in the state’s capital of Shimla. The issue escalated after a state minister from the Indian National Congress—the main opposition party nationally, but in power in Himachal Pradesh—made inflammatory remarks in the state assembly and linked the mosque to thefts and the anti-Muslim “Love Jihad” conspiracy. Far-right groups demanded the demolition of the mosque and held mass rallies where participants shouted Islamophobic slogans, blaming Muslim immigrants for communal tensions and economic struggles. They also launched violent campaigns targeting Muslims in the state, like “Roko, Toko, Thoko,” meaning “stop, refuse, kill.”
The violence quickly spread to other parts of Himachal Pradesh. In Solan, Hindu supremacists marked Muslim-owned shops with red paint, a chilling form of identification echoing apartheid-like tactics. In Sujanpur and Panchrukhi, Muslim places of worship were threatened with destruction. In Kangra, a mob attempted to storm a mosque, vandalizing shops owned by Muslims along the way.
These acts of violence bear striking similarities to communal incidents rampant in states governed by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, the ruling party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The fact that this movement is taking place in Himachal Pradesh, then, has raised questions about the inability of the Congress party to effectively curb escalating anti-Muslim rhetoric and violence in a state where it governs.
The issue is particularly troubling because the Congress has in the past repeatedly promised to stand up for the rights of Muslims and other minorities, portraying itself as a champion of secularism and social justice. In 2022, the Congress launched the Unite India March, a mass movement aimed at opposing the “politics of fear, bigotry, and prejudice,” while striving to unite the country against rising inequality. In its 2024 election manifesto, the Congress reaffirmed its commitment to minorities, pledging to ensure their freedom.
However, despite positioning itself as the principal opposition to the BJP and its majoritarian agenda, the Congress’ inaction in the face of anti-Muslim violence as well as its own sidelining of Muslim candidates have left many questioning its commitment to safeguarding minorities, especially India’s 200 million Muslims.
In large part, the Congress’ reluctance to openly support Muslim communities stems from a desire to avoid alienating India’s Hindu majority, which has increasingly gravitated toward the BJP’s majoritarian agenda. The rise of Hindu nationalism has played a significant role in fueling the BJP’s success over the past decade and made opposition parties like the Congress wary of being branded “pro-Muslim,” as this could result in a backlash from Hindu voters.
“They know that a large part of India’s [predominantly Hindu] middle class is radicalized to the extent that taking the name of Muslims might harm the fortunes of political parties,” Mohammed Ali, a journalist based in New Delhi, told Al Jazeera, referring to the Congress and other opposition parties.
This wariness to even be associated with Muslims was also evident in the general elections earlier this year, as the Congress deliberately avoided mentioning Muslims in its manifestos and public speeches. After the Congress outperformed expectations in that election, party leader Rahul Gandhi even acknowledged the support of various marginalized groups—including workers, farmers, Dalits and Adivasis—in his post-election address, but conspicuously excluded mentioning Muslims, despite their overwhelming backing of his INDIA alliance. Senior leaders, including Gandhi, have also yet to publicly condemn the recent violence in Himachal Pradesh or offer support to the affected communities.
Though framed as a defender of secularism, the Congress has often been guilty of fostering the conditions in which anti-Muslim sentiment could flourish.
The opposition also chose to field fewer Muslim candidates in states with significant Muslim populations like Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra in the election, a decision that reflects the party’s electoral strategy of broadening its appeal without alienating voters that may be more sympathetic to the BJP’s Hindu nationalist agenda.
But that approach comes at the cost of minority representation. The recent parliamentary elections resulted in one of the lowest representations of Muslim lawmakers in India’s history, with the opposition fielding fewer Muslim candidates than ever before. In the state of Maharashtra, home to 10 million Muslims, the Congress-led INDIA alliance did not allocate a single slot to a Muslim candidate. Similarly, in Uttar Pradesh, which has a Muslim population of 40 million, the opposition fielded only four Muslim candidates.
The INDIA alliance has also shown no hesitation in partnering with explicitly Hindu parties and supporting anti-Muslim candidates. The Shiv Sena—which was founded by a man who was accused, though never formally charged, of inciting anti-Muslim violence in the 1990s—remains part of the alliance, despite its continued Hindu nationalist stance. And in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, the Congress named Lal Singh, a former BJP leader who led a rally in support of the accused rapists of an 8-year-old Muslim girl, as a candidate for the recent local elections, though he lost.
These decisions speak to the Congress’ broader electoral calculus, but they have also exacerbated the growing sense of abandonment among India’s Muslim population toward the Congress. By reinforcing the majoritarian dynamics cultivated by the BJP, Congress and other opposition parties have further marginalized India’s largest minority in the political arena. The fact that this strategy resulted in the opposition’s strongest electoral outcome in the Modi era is only further cause for alarm.
This political exclusion is compounded by institutionalized policies that discriminate against Muslims. In Congress-ruled Karnataka, for instance, police have preventedMuslims from praying in public and suppressed pro-Palestine protests. In other Congress-ruled states, the inaction or passive indifference of local governments has allowed anti-Muslim violence to continue unchecked. Incidents of mob violence, such as those involving cow vigilantism—violent campaigns against the trade and consumption of cattle—in Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh, have gone largely unpunished. Muslim drivers, traders and shop owners have been harassed and attacked by Hindu extremists, with little intervention from law enforcement. During celebrations for the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha in Telangana, violent mobs attacked Muslim-owned properties and mosques, setting businesses ablaze and injuring several Muslims. The Congress’ inaction in the face of such violence has undermined its secular credentials and jeopardized the safety and security of the very communities it claims to protect.
To be sure, the Congress’ failure to protect minorities is not a new phenomenon. The party was complicit in a number of episodes of large-scale anti-Muslim violence in the 20th century. And the militarization of Kashmir, with allegations of widespread human rights abuses, including torture and extrajudicial killings, was instituted by a Congress-led national government.
Indeed, though framed as a defender of secularism, the Congress has often been guilty of fostering the conditions in which anti-Muslim sentiment could flourish. The party’s inaction, and in some cases its tacit support for communal elements within its ranks, helped pave the way for the rise of the BJP and its Hindu nationalist agenda, in which Muslims find themselves increasingly disenfranchised, even by parties claiming to defend secularism. As Arundhati Roy famously argued, the BJP is a specter created by Congress, which nurtured communal tensions through covert policies that marginalized Muslims, while publicly espousing secularism.
In an era of rising communal polarization, the failure of ostensibly secular parties like the Congress to protect minorities, and particularly Muslims, is symptomatic of a broader erosion of secularism and pluralism in Indian democracy. By sidestepping Muslim concerns, the Congress has allowed the BJP to dominate the political narrative, pushing India further toward majoritarianism. More importantly, it leaves India’s Muslim population vulnerable to the growing tide of hate and violence, with little hope for political representation or protection.
Rushda Fathima Khan is a journalist based in India. She has written for Al Jazeera, The New Arab and prominent national platforms on politics, human rights and religious freedom. She is pursuing a master’s degree in international affairs at King’s College London. She can be found on X/Twitter at @Rushda_Khan_.