Why Asaduddin Owaisi is losing the trust of young Indian Muslims
Fiercely articulate, legally astute and unapologetically Muslim, Asaduddin Owaisi has carved out a space where Indian Muslims can feel represented, not merely as a vote bank but as citizens with constitutional dignity
But he has unleashed a torrent of disappointment with his recent participation in an all-party delegation to the Gulf to explain the government’s position after Operation Sindoor. In news clips, Owaisi can be seen fiercely denouncing Pakistan while insisting that Muslims in India are in a way better shape, has unleashed a torrent of disappointment.
What happens when a voice of dissent begins to echo the narratives of the establishment it once challenged?
Critic echoes the state
It was not Owaisi’s criticism of Pakistan that sparked outrage. Indian Muslims have no illusions about the Pakistani state. Far from offering it support, they do not even have any expectations of it.
Rather, it was Owaisi’s tone and timing, his eagerness to present a sanitised picture of India abroad, at a moment when Muslims at home are being subjected to bulldozer justice, arbitrary arrests and public lynchings by the same establishment he was representing overseas. This made many of those who looked up to him feel abandoned.
Amid this deeply violent landscape, what does it mean for Owaisi to offer the narrative...
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