Bihar CM Nitish Kumar at the madrasa event, politely declining the offered Muslim cap (ANI)
Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar who had once chided Narendra Modi over communal sensitivities, found himself in a similar predicament recently.
At this event held by the Bihar State Madrasa Education Board, Nitish Kumar was gifted with the traditional Muslim cap, a customary tribute in such gatherings. He declined it and was smiling while again pushing it away. In the end, rather than wearing it himself, Nitish placed it onto his colleague's head, the Minority Welfare minister, Mohammed Zama Khan, for the time being. A short video clip, captured and widely shared online, depicts this moment, which spoke volumes concerning political symbolism carried forward to remind positions of the past.
ALSO READ: Jaishankar Meets Lavrov in Moscow, India-Russia Relations in Focus
Nitish Kumar was once again in news concerning his refusal owing to the fact that he critzed Narendra Modi; 12 years ago, he publicly declared Modi's headgear reluctance disrespectful to the particular community, remarking on his opposition to his alleged communal politics.
At that point, Nitish had tried to project himself as the defender of the minorities and had disentangled himself from the BJP led NDA because of the 2002 Gujarat riots, which he called "the most important factor."
Shifting unilateral alliances and realigning strategies of trading have always characterized politics in Bihar and often, tales from across India. Such is the journey of Nitish. He had been a minister under Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He withdrew from the NDA because of Modi's uprising but came back under Modi's prime minister ship in 2017. He had been with RJD and Congress in the Grand Alliance, which won the assembly elections in 2015. By 2020, he united with the BJP again, parting from them for a short while in 2023 and then reconciling last year before the 2025 state elections.
ALSO READ: “Why Only India?” Jaishankar Challenges US on Russian Oil Sanctions
The cap incident indicates personal faiths meeting political symbolism and strategic maneuvering. Some see it as a soft nod to the earlier criticisms, while others identify it as a pragmatic show of alliance-political demonstration and minority outreach. In such a politically charged climate like Bihar's, small gestures may bear multiple meanings both as statements of respect as well as electoral calculus.
It will be remembered that Bihar assembly elections are going to take place in October-November 2025. The actions of Nitish Kumar thus far will haunt him in the future as it did in the cap incident. Politics, they say, is history revisiting itself and, sometimes, ironically while the balance between principles and pragmatism remains tender in the hands of a leader.
ALSO READ: Zelensky Says Open to Meeting Putin After Security Guarantees Finalized
