India’s political landscape has undergone a total change in the past one year. When Narendra Modi was anointed as the head of 1.25 billion-strong nation, it came as a shock to many of the Muslim leaders in India.

Indeed, the win was so massive that even the most ardent BJP supporters were surprised. The saffron party got a full majority in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament; with its alliance partners they were past two-third-majority mark in the house, a threshold that will allow them to pass most legislations.

Muslim leaders, it seems, are yet to come to terms with the reality. This was most visible recently when some of these leaders, who actually don’t have any mass support base in the community, sat to take stock of the situation and decide the future of action. They reached no unanimous decision.

But there have been some Muslim leaders who had seen this coming. Senior leader, Syed Shahabuddin, for instance, had written a letter in 2012 to Modi, when the latter was Gujarat’s chief minister. In his letter, he is said to have promised the Muslim community’s likely support to the Hindu leader in the election if he gave assurance to fulfill some of the demands that the octogenarian leader had mentioned in the letter.

Shahabuddin is certainly one of the very few Muslims who have his finger on the community’s pulse. Besides owing to his vast experience of work in the foreign services, he knows the nuances of the government set up.

However his idea to reach out to the Hindu leadership drew ire of the so called Muslim leaders. Instead of taking his advise kindly, they pounced on him calling him names and labeling him as “sold out.” They put aside all his selfless services for the community that included Shahabuddin’s firm stand against the radical Hindu organization, Sangh Pariwar, too.

Muslims have been at odds with the ruling BJP and Prime Minister Modi. Most of their grumblings are however genuine. They are justified in demanding justice for the victims of the anti-Muslim Gujarat riots in 2002. (Over 1,000 Muslims were killed during the weeks long riots.) The Babri Masjid’s demolition is also a major issue. The continued anti-Muslim hate propaganda of several saffron outfits including VHP and Banjrang Dal continues to unnerve them.

Meanwhile, Modi, the prime minister, seems to be a changed man. He gave up communalism as poll plank in the elections and came out with promises of inclusive growth instead.

While talking at a canonization ceremony of two members of the Syro-Malabar rite in the Indian Catholic Church, Modi promised complete freedom of faith under his regime. Muslims will do well to reach out to the Modi government and ensure that the prime minister fulfills his promises of ensuring peace, justice and security in the country.

Indian Muslims are not a marginalized community. They number close to 180 million and they cannot live on the margins for ever. Being a vibrant community they need to devise a strategy to reach out to the new leadership.

(This appeared in Arabnews on Feb. 27, 2015)