The hawkish prime minister of India who is generally prompt in denouncing terrorism anywhere in the world remains quiet over the recent killings of four members of a Muslim family in Ontario.

Last Sunday, 74-year-old Talat Afzaal, her 46-year-old son Salman Afzaal, 44-year-old daughter-in-law Madiha Salman, and 15-year-old granddaughter Yumma Afzaal were deliberately struck by a vehicle in London, Ontario, while the family was out on a walk. A nine-year-old boy is still recovering from his injuries in the hospital.

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau has already described this as a terrorist incident; police believe it is a hate crime.

However, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, who is fond of making statements on Twitter on terrorism-related incidents, has not reacted.

This stands in sharp contrast to his tweets condemning a similar terror attack in London in the U.K. in June back in 2017. Eight people died in that incident, which was blamed on the Islamic extremists. The attackers mowed down pedestrians.

The only explanation could be Modi’s own prejudice against Muslims.

After all, attacks on religious minorities, especially Muslims, have grown under his right-wing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government since it took power 2014.

The BJP aspires to turn India into a Hindu theocracy. Modi himself faced a ban on obtaining a visitor's visa by the U.S. and other western countries in the wake of a 2002 massacre of Muslims. Modi was chief minister of Gujarat, where thousands of Muslims were targeted by the mobs after a train carrying Hindu pilgrims caught fire, leaving more than 50 people dead.

Modi blamed it on Muslims. Though he was never charged, survivours and human rights activists continue to allege his involvement. Modi was able to visit the U.S. after becoming the prime minister in 2014.

It is interesting that Modi took a quick notice of terror attack in London in the U.K. but conveniently overlooked what happened in London, Canada. This may be because the alleged perpetrators in the UK attack were Muslims, whereas in Canada the suspect is a non-Muslim.

It's not surprising considering Modi’s track record on terrorism. He introduced a highly controversial female ascetic, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Tahkur, into politics during the 2019 election as a BJP candidate. Thakur now sits in the Indian Parliament.

She was accused in 2008 bombings in a Muslim community that claimed 10 lives. The incident was planned and executed by Hindu extremists to terrorize Muslims. The trial isn’t over yet, but Thakur was granted bail on medical grounds and competed in the election.

Modi justified her candidacy by saying that Hindus can never be involved in terrorism. In other words, terrorism can only be attributed to Muslims or any other faith group as far as his brand of politics is concerned.

It is refreshing to see Trudeau acknowledging majoritarian terrorism in Canada, but that is unlikely to happen in Modi’s India. His indifference to the London, Ontario attack only proves that.