After the much-talked-about Pasmanda Muslim outreach of the BJP, endorsed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself, the ruling party has set in motion a parallel outreach programme with the country’s largest religious minority in mind — the Sufi Samvad Maha Abhiyan or the Sufi dialogue. The BJP’s Minority Morcha organised a programme under the Sufi Samvad Maha Abhiyan in Lucknow on October 12 where nearly 200 Sufis from more than 100 dargahs were present. They were requested to take the message of the Modi government’s policies and schemes to Muslims across India. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi admires the Sufis as an important part of Bharatiya tradition. The Sufis lived among the common people, taught pluralism, and were inclusive towards all, irrespective of religion, caste, creed or belief. He wants the BJP to reach out to the Sufis across the country to share the vision of the PM and information about the welfare policies of the government. This is a specific outreach apart from the Pasmanda outreach. It is aimed at taking through Sufi spiritual leaders the message of the BJP among their followers, who come from all strata of society, particularly Muslim society,” Minority Morcha president Jamal Siddiqui told The Indian Express. Siddiqui said the idea was not to make Sufis join the BJP but to begin a dialogue with them and reach out to common Muslims. “The party will get to know about the problems they face or the demands they have and these can be conveyed to the government,” he said. The Minority Morcha leader said committees had been formed to reach out to Sufis in 22 states. He said he believes support for terrorism weakened wherever Sufism strengthened and it struck deep roots wherever Sufism weakened. The outreach comes months before the Lok Sabha elections and just before Assembly polls in five states. In Uttar Pradesh alone, the party is set to organise outreach to connect with the heads of more than 10,000 Sufi dargahs. “The party will try to contact all the Sufis in the state. It will hold meetings with those who show a positive response and convey to them how Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji regards Sufis. The PM believes that the influence of Sufism spreads the message of love, peace and brotherhood. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is also a saint like them. They will be told how Opposition parties like the Congress and Samajwadi Party (SP) spread false propaganda in the Muslim community against the BJP,” said Kunwar Basit Ali, UP president of the Minority Morcha. Ali said a slogan was coined at the Lucknow meeting — “Na doori hai na khaai hai, Modi hamara bhai hai (there is neither a distance nor a gorge, Modi is our brother)”. He added, “If Muslim people in any locality express the desire that a senior BJP leader should meet them, the party will send a minister, MP or MLA to meet them and listen to what they say.” Sufi saints, he said, believe in brotherhood among all communities and can be a good medium to develop the BJP's reach among Muslims. Having already consolidated among large sections of the Hindu vote in north, central, western, and eastern India, the BJP is now slowly trying to address Muslims, not as a homogeneous community but in segments. The Pasmanda outreach is aimed at backward-class Muslims and also pushes forward the idea that caste, seen as hierarchical and divisive, is not just a phenomenon in Hindu society but pervades all communities in India. The latest outreach to sections of Muslims is through Sufis who are seen as more inclusive, particularly if one looks at the Chishti Order. With this, the BJP is also projecting the idea that Sufis strike a contrast with the “dogmatic” sections of Muslim society.
