IUML National Meet gains significance as IUML rethinks their strategies to win Muslim hearts taking example out of their recently formed political counterparts
By Abdul Basith, TwoCircles.net,
Kozhikode: Indian Union Muslim League [IUML] is on the way to recognize that there are more players coming in to the Muslim political space in Kerala and they are now forced to bring in further clarity on Muslim related issues, by close analysis and research on various affairs. It remains to be seen whether these changes will come through democratic discussions within the party than simply taking up and enacting the autocratic decisions of party’s supreme leaders.
The National executive meeting to be held on Dec 1st and 2nd will be attended by leaders from other states as well, so it is hoped that the meeting will turn an occasion for some important decisions including, inception of IUML in to north Indian states as they though late have started recognizing that their Muslim Political contenders within the state are having an edge over them on this regard and over the willingness to stand close to Muslim sentiments on issues concerning their integrity and existence .
IUML National Meet on Dec. 1st and 2nd in Kozhikode. [TCN Photo]
IUML national council will be forced to address issues like Muslim reservation, terror accusations, discriminations, educational uprising, expatriate lives of Middle-east and most importantly women empowerment, both politically and socially.
It is for the first time in the history of Muslim League, three women leaders have been given the opportunity to attend the national council meet. Organisations like Jama’at Islami Hind [JIH] and Popular Front of India [PFI], both having their political arms now, have been ensuring high level of women involvement in their programs for some time now, and the recent Equal Justice Conference organised by PFI at three places in Kerala caught attention with a high level of Muslim women participation. It seems like the League has been forced into a desperate situation of strengthening their women’s circles taking this crucial factors into consideration.
Last 50 years of the Kerala History after Indian independence, IUML has been the lone political party, which organised Muslims as a political force. None in the community felt like raising alternatives and it was only after the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition, organisations like Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] chaired by Abdul Nasar Madani and the Indian National League [INL] formed after splitting out from Indian Union Muslim League [IUML] under Ibrahim Sulaiman Set, came up accusing Muslim League of not standing up for the community in the most desperate times. Though these organisations were unable to create an impact over a longer period of time their initial flourish indeed have turned a source of inspiration to Jama’at Islami Hind and Popular Front of India and it was after exploring these possibilities they recently decided to challenge Muslim League in Kerala Politics through Welfare Party of India [WPI] and Social Democratic Party of India [SDPI] respectively.
Muslim League with a strong and reliable support from the EK faction of Sunni’s and Mujahid factions in Kerala still finds it easy to outplay any Muslim contenders in the electoral politics. With 20 MLA’s to represent them, that too in a small state like Kerala, it should be said that they have overcame the ideological threats posed by these contenders until now, especially through their electoral success.
But for the past few months Kerala has witnessed some strange moves from the part of IUML. Despite their electoral success, this recent unexpected moves have been a pointer towards the party’s genuine anxieties. Taking into consideration the reality that despite this huge gain in elections a strong opinion formation has been working out against them, that too advocated by two Muslim Political parties unable to create a major impact in elections until now, but still a potential threat because they have been making some sincere efforts to clarify their stands with regard to some significant issues of the Kerala Muslim Community and other oppressed classes.Beyond that they have turned successful in giving an impression that their area of active participation won’t get limited to the Malabar or Kerala, unlike IUML which choose to be known by the name ‘Indian’ but always confined themselves within the Malabar region.
Though quite slowly, IUML have now started addressing these potential threats by making an attempt to realise some harsh realities in the state. This was quite evident from the diverse opinions that rose within League against the months back, Kerala Home Department’s attempt to snoop in to the e-mail privacies of Muslim Youths including leaders and workers of the ruling ally – IUML, brought to public by the JIH run Madhyamam weekly. IUML’s top leader and MP, ET Muhammed Basheer took a strong stand against the govt on this issue and was not ready to retrieve his statements despite the congress and league leaders in governing posts making an attempt to nullify its effect, by terming it as an inflammatory work carried by the JIH run weekly. It is a fact that there are quite a few leaders and workers within Muslim League having strong discontent against the govt and home affairs ministry over this issue and they often express it when asked off-record.
During the 2001-06 UDF govt time, the Narendran Commission report submitted on the representation of the various communities in the different public service categories had pointed at a serious deficiency in the number of posts actually held [in reservation and open merit competitions] compared to the entitlement in reservation quota, for the various communities and Muslims were found to be the worst hit with a deficiency of 7383 posts under an allocated 12 percent reservation quota. The PFI, then known by the name National Democratic Front [NDF] despite having pro-UDF stands then, led effective campaigns and turned up successful in pressurising the govt to enact the Commission recommendations later.
Now with the appointments to the Kerala university teachers and administrative posts about to be carried out, the IUML mouthpiece Chandrika daily and Youth League leaders have came up bold raising the Muslim representation issues and reservations disregarding the fact that it might pave way to conflicts within the ruling front – UDF, in which they are a major ally. Under normal circumstances they prefer not to involve or even when their youth factions came up in protest on similar issues the routine habit was that the top IUML leaders [handling administrative posts] usually corrects them and make them silent. But this time nothing as such seems happening and this is quite surprising with regard to what IUML has been doing for last two decades.
It was as part of this recent change in policies towards discriminations, unjust under trial detention faced by Muslims, the IUML mouthpiece Chandrika carried special front page reports against ‘Karnataka terror module’ arrests of Muslim youths. The daily which took care not to bother much about the human right violations faced by these under trial Muslims has now in its weekly edition carried cover stories on illegal detentions of Abdul Nasar Madani and other Muslim youths all across the country, human right and Dalit activists. It was just before this the league MP, ET Muhammed Basheer, came up with strong statements demanding justice to Madani and other Muslim youths languishing in Jails. Besides in that press meet, he hinted at a probable league campaign in the near future under the name, ‘bail is the rule and not jail’, almost word to word replicating PFI’s recent nationwide campaign ‘Bail is the rule: release the innocents’.
Kozhikode League house [CH Auditorium] decorated with lights, the night before the National Meet. [TCN Photo]
The other thing is that, though Muslim League quite often comes up with rally’s and protests against Israel, American atrocities in Palestine and elsewhere it is for the first time, Kerala witnessed the IUML state General Secretary KPA Majeed coming up with a demand to untie all diplomatic relations with Israel. Usually when Israel brutalities takes place it is like, the Union minister of state for external affairs, nominated by IUML – E Ahmed gets pressurised to leave the union ministry as a result of protest from the Muslim community all across the state, and the minister being asked to express his discontent over India’s close relations with Israel at last would express his contempt against the violence ,in a press meet hold by external affairs ministry and IUML as a party and its workers gets overwhelmed by the party minister’s reactions.
The IUML state GS, KPA Majeed while sharing his experience with Chandrika daily on his recent journey to the Israel attacked Palestine provinces, strongly condemned those nations holding diplomatic relations with the Zionists nation as he was found saying “weapon trade and agricultural products are the mainstay of Israel economy, so the economic relations on this regard with Israel is actually equal to taking a partisan stand against the innocent victims of Palestine”. Israel was able to bring in their Embassy to Bangalore very recently that too when E Ahmed is the minister of state for external affairs and League GS criticising such diplomatic relations, disregarding any outcome his comments would make to IUML’s and E Ahmed’s prospects in the centre is a sign towards League’s recent realisations.
It was very recently in Kerala the IUML as a ruling ally was subjected to some baseless offensive criticisms from the part of a few congress, Nair Service Society [NSS] and [SNDP] leaders on the grounds that it is making use of its governmental role and influence to take partisan stands in favour of the Muslim community in Kerala. This was the time were the Muslim religious factions in Kerala historically well renowned as traditional rivals of the IUML – even the Kanthapuram AP Sunni’s and JIH along with Sunni, Mujahid, PFI groups came out with some effective campaign in favour of league and offered their full hearted support. Though this supports were a big relief, IUML seems to have recognised that they can’t always rely on them for this sought of effective defence and so is on the way working out plans against these types of malicious campaigns.
The national council, which starts tomorrow, so will be a platform to discuss the new strategies based on these potential threats offered by these Muslim political counter parts, to work out a plan and strategy to attain full support from the community by focussing on vital issues concerning them. The party any way has been put into a desperate situation of coming ‘down to earth’ accepting the realities with regards to Muslims in Kerala and all across the country, by taking up some sincere efforts to address the issues of minority hunt, discrimination, welfare and even the environmental issues, which WPI and SDPI have been carrying out quite efficiently. Under these special circumstances, these national council meet will be the first of its kind.