Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent speech at the Jahan-e-Khusrau Sufi music festival in New Delhi left many of his fans – and detractors – surprised. Extending wishes for the month of Ramzan, he went on to praise the Sufi tradition as an integral part of India’s pluralistic heritage.
Instead of the typical exclusivist and majoritarian template of his political speeches, often based on a reductionist understanding of history, Modi on this occasion chose to dwell on the commonality of beliefs within India’s diversity.
Getting rather poetic, he asserted that the festival, which turns the spotlight on the world of Sufi poet Amir Khusrau, has “a distinct aroma, that of the mitti or soil of Hindustan (it may be noted the nation is not referred to as 'Bharat' as has become common in recent years).” He then named Khusrau among India’s top cultural icons and an essential part of our national heritage — and referred to Sufi poetry, music, and dance as a “shared heritage which we all have lived together, we have all grown up while listening to.”
This is the first time that the PM accepted the invitation from the festival organisers, the Rumi Foundation, which has been organising Jahan-e-Khusrau since 2001 as a platform for underscoring India's cultural plurality.