Muslim party: should or should not be
Submitted by Anonymous on 19 November 2008 - 10:18pm
By Asghar Ali Engineer,
These days some Muslim leaders are throwing up the idea of forming a separate Muslim party. Recently some leaders from Maharashtra got together and said Muslims should not vote for Congress-NCP Alliance nor for Shiv Sena-BJP and since there is no third alternative hence a hurried conclusion was drawn to set up a separate Muslim party. Will it be a wise move to form a separate party? It has given rise to this debate.
At the outset I must say two things: one, it is within any ones democratic rights to form such party and seek alliances with other parties already in existence; two, the situation today is very different from pre-partition days and forming any such party cannot lead to separatism. That fear is quite unwarranted and perhaps no one now raises such fear either. So much for forming a Muslim party.
Having said that one must really seriously reflect whether forming such party would at all be for good of Muslims? Unfortunately answer does not seem to be very favorable. Often on such occasions Muslim leaders tend to give example of Assam where a separate outfit was formed and won 10 seats. At the time of last U.P. elections too some Muslims had thrown up this idea-giving example of Assam but ultimately drew blank and no such party was formed.
And then situation in Assam is very different. It has 28 per cent Muslim population with several Muslim majority pockets from where it is possible for a Muslim candidate to win. Whole of India, or even Maharashtra is not Assam. Kerala is another state where a separate Muslim party exists. Kerala again is a very different kind of state with more than 20 per cent population and also 20 per cent Christian population and thus has a very balanced population and a separate party can be effective. Moreover this separate party there has existed right from the beginning.
In Assam there was no such history and Jamiatul Ulama had been a Congress ally. But of late Jamiat in Assam developed grievance that Muslims are not being given tickets and many other grievances of Muslims were not being attended to by the Congress party. The Congress party neglected these grievances and out of sheer frustration a separate party was formed by Mr. Ajmal, a rich businessman who has been a supporter of Jamiatul Ulama. The Party could register some success because of anger among Muslims in Assam against the Congress.
However, right from the beginning of separate party there was debate among Muslims in Assam whether it was a wise step to form a separate outfit. Many Muslims told me in Assam it was a wrong step and nothing much was gained by this step. It was more of an ego question than a wise move. Prof. Munirul Hussain of Guwahati University from Department of Political Science also felt that forming a separate political party leads to more polarization in the society and thus becomes harmful for the community. And there was limited success in terms of some seats because Ajmal is very rich businessman and gives money for madrasas and mosques in remote rural areas and thus those Muslims support him. In urban areas and educated Muslims he hardly has any support. He may again join Congress when his grievances are addressed.
Mr. Ajmal was present when question was being discussed by Maharashtra Muslim leaders to float a separate outfit and was egging them on to do so. I feel Muslims should not fall into this trap and instead develop well thought out strategy so that their grievances are addressed. Ultimately wisdom rather than knee jerk reactions or worse, emotions, should prevail.
The Muslims should use the system wisely, even if it takes longer time. Such steps which seem obvious to some prove very costly and even harmful. It would undoubtedly lead to polarization and only communal forces would benefit. In Maharashtra it is even more dangerous as Shiv Sena-BJP alliance is waiting to seize that opportunity. Today they are on back foot and any such move can give them an issue, an emotional one at that, to use in forthcoming election.
Firstly, let us remember India is too diverse and what happens in one state should not be and cannot be imitated in another state. Even if one model succeeds in one state it may fail in another. One should learn a lesson from Republican party also. It has been divided today in several factions and different factions ally with different parties, some even hobnobbing with Shiv Sena.
These days every one is talking about Barack Obama. Even these Muslim leaders can learn a lesson or two from him. Before him in late eighties J.C. Jackson, also an African American leader formed a separate Rainbow Coalition and contested presidential election and lost very badly. Today Obama, contested from mainstream Democratic party and won hands down. Though he is also African American but the white population of America backed him up against another white candidate because of his balanced and wise approach addressing problems of whole country rather than only African Americans.
He acted wisely rather than using mere rhetoric which alienates majority population which is what J.C. Jackson did and failed. In sixties African Americans were facing severe discrimination and Martin King Jr. fought for human rights and made famous speech 'I have a dream'. Obama could realize his dream successfully, not through minority rhetoric but addressing majority grievances.
Indian Muslims have much to learn from Barack Obama and his wisdom. Maulana Azad had displayed such wisdom before partition but educated Muslims were infatuated by Muslim League rhetoric and suffered. His speech from steps of Jama Masjid after partition bloodbath when Indian Muslims were going through severe crisis, was full of wisdom and restored confidence among them.
Rhetoric is very infatuating and that is why communal forces, using high pitched rhetoric succeed temporarily but ultimately prove highly destructive. Majority community too tested this at the time of Ayodhya controversy and experienced the disaster. Minorities and marginalized forces are more tempted to be infatuated such rhetoric. This rhetoric tends to become an alternative for concrete action.
In democracy various forces contend with each other and it is for a wise leadership to understand various trends and choose one which would be beneficial not only to minority, or any one section of society but for all. This is precisely what Obama did and convinced of it to the entire nation. No one can rule out a Muslim becoming a prime minister one day if she/he rises to that stature.
May be country is passing through great political crisis and one does not see any chance today of any Muslim or Dalit becoming chief executive of the country. But who thought until yesterday that a Sikh could become Prime Minister. First he was thought to be mere puppet but he proved through his action and wisdom (though one may differ from him on many things) to be a leader in his own right.
Muslims have often been victims of their own rhetoric, now they should learn to carry whole nation with them and with welfare of whole nation in their heart. They will have to face complex forces and learn to successfully use democracy with wisdom and benefit of all. Today there is no political leader among Indian Muslims who commands respect of all sections of Muslims.
And in order to rise to highest status one has to command respect not only of the community but of the whole nation. Could Obama rise up to become President of USA had he represented or commanded respect of only African Americans? African Americans are roughly 12 per cent of American population and Muslims are 15 per cent of Indian population. Like African Americans they are poor and backward. Yet Obama managed to rise up to national stature.
Indian Muslims have all along been victims of political rhetoric be it of Muslim League before partition or of leaders of small stature after post-independence. Leaders like Maulana Azad or Zakir Husain did not live long to guide Muslims. Both of them were leaders of great stature who had good of the nation as a whole at heart. Both were good and most sincere Muslims but they avoided reducing Islam to a mere rhetoric and instead practiced its teachings and values.
There cannot be any contradiction in being good Muslim and good Indian. In fact both are quite complementary. However, some selfish political leaders for their own short-term gain make Muslims feel as if two are somehow antagonistic. We should guard against such rhetoric. Muslims in particular and country in general benefit only by developing complementarities of both. This needs great vision.
Communal forces have done great harm to our country. They generate sense of insecurity and inferiority among Muslims. Again, Muslim leaders try to fight this only with minority rhetoric and this further inflames majority communalism. Muslims have to decisively come out of this trap with the help of people of India and developing concrete secular action plan for the nation as a whole. The secular parties also have to shed their fear of communal forces by boldly developing strategies to fight communalism by taking minorities and marginalized sections with them rather than getting paralyzed by communal rhetoric.
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National Political Conference 13-15 February 2009
20-10-2008
Popular Front Conference Invitation
Dear Sir
Greetings.
We are very glad to inform you that the Popular Front of India is organizing National Political Conference at Calicut in Kerala on 13, 14, 15 February 2009.
The objective of the conference is to highlight the concept: Positive Politics for Total Empowerment. The conference will also focus the theme: Power to People.
Adequate political representation and power sharing are pre-requisites for the total empowerment of all marginalized classes in India. The national politics has so far failed to bring equal justice to all Indians. Instead, political power is being misused as a tool for denying rights and justice to backward classes and minority communities. The development of a new value-based politics for peoples' empowerment is the need of the hour.
The marginalized classes have to rethink of their traditional strategy of shifting support to various political parties with the sole aim of defeating the fascist and communal forces in elections. This strategy did not help to establish their rights in the country’s policy setting and resource distribution.
While in power, the mainstream parties not only fail to arrest communal fascist forces, but they even adopt pro-Hindutva policies as against the norms of equity and justice. This experience of the last six decades warrants serious rethinking. Steps should be initiated to politically consolidate the deprived sections of the society for their rightful share in political power. The pressure group politics exercised so far by Muslims and certain other communities are no longer a solution to their political deprivation. The success stories of a few backward castes in gaining political consolidation in some parts of the country contain lessons for other neglected communities. National Political Conference is an occasion to discuss various aspects of equally achieving political empowerment and adequate representation to all citizens and classes.
The first two days of the conference are meant for seminars and interactive sessions on various aspects of the theme by scholars and delegates drawn from different parts of the country. A national seminar on ‘Political Empowerment: Quest for Alternatives’ and an Anti-Terrorism Conference will be held on 13th and 14th respectively. We are inviting representatives from all walks of life to the conference who can also participate in some interactive sessions like Human Rights Defenders Meet, National Media Meet and Get-together of Political Activists.
We have also planned a nation-wide campaign as a prelude to the conference which includes conventions and dialogue sessions to discuss the theme in all major Indian cities.
We request your full support for the success of the conference. Kindly make it convenient to attend the conference.
We have constituted an organizing committee with Mr. K. M. Shareef as Chairman and Mr. O. M. A. Salam as General Convener. They will be in touch with you with regular updates of the programme. We request your confirmation and also your suggestions.
Yours Sincerely,
E. Abubacker
Chairman
Popular Front of India
History
A common platform with the name South India Council was formed as the outcome of a Regional Discussion attended by Muslim social activists and intellectuals from all the South Indian States at Bangalore on 25th & 26th January 2004. South India Council has taken up various issues related to community empowerment, especially reservation in education and employment. South India Council, with the cooperation of Confederation of Muslim Institutions in India organized a two day Workshop on Muslim Reservation on 26th & 27th November 2005 at Hyderabad. Mr. K. Rahman Khan, Hon’ble Deputy Chairperson, Rajya Sabha inaugurated the same.
In the context of Central Government decision to introduce reservation in higher education, South India Council has organized three Regional Conventions on Reservation: at Calicut on 4th August 2006, at Bangalore on 5th August 2006, and at Chennai on 17th August 2006. A National Convention on Reservation in Higher Education was organized by the South India Council jointly with All India Milli Council at New Delhi on 29th August 2006. The dignitaries who addressed the convention include Mr. V. P. Singh, Hon’ble Former Prime Minister and Mr. Oscar Fernandez, Hon’ble Union Minister.
The following three state level organizations have proved their commitment to the common cause of social justice by actively involving in various programmes of the Council.
Karnataka Forum for Dignity (KFD) (Karnataka State)
National Development Front (NDF) (Kerala State)
Manitha Neethi Pasarai (MNP) (Tamilnadu State)
KFD in Karnataka is the pioneering social movement founded by members of minority Muslim community striving to empower the community as well as fighting for the democratic rights of the people at large. The state wide Anti-Dowry Campaign and the Vidhan Soudha Chalo (State Secretariat March) are two programmes that demonstrated the reach of KFD. MNP in Tamilnadu has registered its presence in the forefront of human rights protection and legal defence through various mass awareness campaigns and peoples agitations. The monthly magazine Vidiyal Velli and the number of books published by MNP have helped in educating the masses about their rights and the growing threats to social harmony. NDF is working in Kerala since 1993 and now it has branches and cadres spread in all the 14 districts. Various campaigns carried out by NDF have helped to mobilize the people against human rights violations and successfully checked the growth of communal fascism in the state.
It is felt that if these three independent state level organizations work with more cooperation and coordination, the results would be more evident. The Secretariat of the South India Council which consists of leaders associated with these three organizations gave serious thought to this matter in different meetings. The issue was discussed within the respective organizations also. All the state organizations have given the opinion that each of them will continue to work separately as independent organizations, but they would work together as constituents of a federation. To mark a successful turning point to the above efforts, a joint meeting of the Secretariat of South India Council and representatives of KFD, NDF and MNP held 22nd November 2006 at Calicut decided to launch Popular Front of India as a federation and approved the vision statement.
Popular Front of India will confine its activities to the South Indian States and presently this federation includes KFD, NDF and MNP.
Muslim Political Polorization WILL WORK TO OUR ADVANTAGE.
A strong, well united and well organized Muslim Political Party at All India Level is an excellent idea. If Muslims are going to be politically united, we can achieve wonders. Many political parties will come and beg our favours.
I give one solid example of Mulsim religious and political unity during the fourth Assembly election in Tamil Nad in 1967. In Tamil Nad, Muslims constitute only 6% of the population. But under the leadership of Qayide Millat Ismail Sahib( Indian Union Muslim league), the Muslims were well united. Ismail Sahib politically allied with DMK led by Annadurai then.
In the 1967 elections, DMK won with a large majority winning 137 seats ( out of 234) But in the previous election ( 1962) DMK had won only 7 seats.
After the 1967, elections a Muslim newspaper called MARUMALARCHI from Trichy analyzed the results, constituency-wise and proved that in 58 constituencies DMK MLAs had won only by a margin of between 3000 to 10,000 votes. And these 3000 to 10,000 votes were en-block polled by the Muslims of the State. Hence ensuring DMK’s massive victory and formation of the State Govt. first time in their political history under Annadurai. Everyone knows that in 80% of the constituencies, it is just the 5-10% of the marginal votes that decide the fate. Hence we can be the kingpins if we are united.
The senior leaders of DMK of Tamil Nad know the punching power of Tamil Muslims particularly now after the emergence of TMMK( A Muslim based political party) and this urged Karunanidhi to announce 3.5% reservations for Mulsim in Tamil Nadu ( in 2008), a big development after 61 years of independence while on an all India level, Muslims have failed to achieve this small concession ( Pardon me, our VP. Ansari may shun this).
Do Muslims represent 3.5% of the armed forces of India? Or 0.25%? In fact what stops the Indian Defence Ministry in raising the Indian Muslim recruits up to 10%.? Sheer prejudice and mistrust. Knowledgeable people, please come forward and shed some light on this, based on the safely hidden Sachar Committee Findings.
If 6% Muslims in Tamil Nad can ensure a regional political party win about 40% of the MLA seats in the State, and form the Government and make them yield to their political lobbying, imagine what will be the outcome in the length and breadth of India if Muslims are united on an all India basis, particularly in States like UP, Kerala, Assam, Karnataka etc.I am 100% positive we hold the trump card if we are going to get united and vote en-block.
We find Muslims in all the 150 big and small political parties of India. Even those who have strong religious fervor strictly toe the party line and unable to do anything fruitfully positive to the community that made them what they are today. Political de-polarization in India for the past 60 years has worked to the horrendous disadvantage of Indian Muslims. Hence time has come as the JIU feels that Muslim polarization is a political necessity in order to effectively compete, as our VP. Ansari says, on equity with other communities.
We hope, good leaders who are in other political parties bid goodbye to their present political affiliations and get behind the idea of Islamic political unity. This is the best way forward to develop the community and move forward in all fields. Once our leaders get rid of their EGO PROBLEM, and have the interest of the Muslim minorities in their hearts, Insha Allah, we can move forward. May Allah swt Bless all the good leaders.
Muslim Vote can Make Changes Regionally
Major secular parties maximum tried to cheat Muslims. For example, the case of explosions. Since the day one of Malegon blast, Maharashtra police knows the bike belongs to Sadhvi. But for one month they hunted innocent Muslims. At last by pressure and resignation of many Muslim councillors forced them to turn against real culprit.
West Bengal is under continous Left rule for more than three decades. Until now, the Government did not do anything to uplift Muslim condition. As per Sachar, the State is worse than many other states. Same case with many other regional parties. By understanding the smaller parties are making major changes in recent days, Muslim should make their own vote bank. If they are not making seperate party, at least they can bargain for desrving seats with regional parties, as an offer for vote. Also, Muslim leadership should be able to realize who cheated them early. Sicne the birth of lower class parties among Dalits, Muslim should discuss with them making common agenda. Election work should be done focusing such agenda, which make benefits to all oppressed communities. In reality, oppressed communities are majority in India. Once an alliance among them, will change Indian history. That's what everyone fear.
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