(Courtesy: Muslim India)
Contemporary politics in India is marked by slow and steady erosion of the Secular Order which is based on recognition of religion as a socially legitimate phenomenon, equal treatment of all religions, equidistance, neutrality and nonalignment vis-à-vis all religions by the State and its agents the Government and the Administration, The Secular Order has even somewhat flowed from the very beginning because of majoritarian pressures. Subsequently, the secular defenses have been breached and the secular citadel has been taken from within, what we are heading for is Hindu Secularism (like Muslim Secularism in countries with a Muslim majority).
The Hindutva ideology has made a deep inroad in the Hindu psyche, so much so that all secular parties arc either beating a hasting retreat or, while repeating old slogans, trying to adjust themselves to the prevailing wind. In one word, Hindu communalism, with all its obscurantist, chauinis, revivalist and even fascist overtones, has become socially accepted and even respectable. The RSS is ready. to harvest the crop it had sown and tended for decades.
Communal violence has sharply gone down after the Bombay blasts but communalism is not in retreat. Indeed Hindu Communalism is on the march.
The vigor of the Secular Order cannot be judged merely in terms of quantum of communal violence; its run measure lies in the degree the communal outlook and attitude pervade the social environment, the extent of participation of religious minorities in the political system, the development process and the administrative machinery, and the fairness in the distribution of the resources of the State and the fruits of development.
Bal Thackeray’s fulminations notwithstanding, Hindu Communalism does not aim at the liquidation of 120 million Muslims in the country. It aims at their religious and cultural assimilation through subtle coercion and systematic deprivation, through brainwashing with the help of public edification ‘and the mass media, by playing act and mouse game and by instituting a system of incentives and penalties, rewarding those who succumb and surrender and punishing those who assert and defy. Oppression, at times loud and visible, sometimes subtle and silent, is meant to reduce the Muslim Indian to a state of mind, which is gripped by fear of physical violence and which shall not assert individual or collective rights, which shall, on the other hand, abdicate them and retire from the arena, inch by inch, without a fight, without a word of protest.
Who is on the Muslim side in the political arena when the battle is being waged? The State is the umpire and we know the umpire is in league with the adversary. The world is watching as a keen spectator but is tunable to comprehend the subtlety of the game; it may be aroused only if it sees blood. But it shall not see it or it will be explained away; there shall be neither telltale marks on the blade or any spots in the arena.
The secular parties face the democratic compulsion and put numbers before ideology, all appear to be dyeing themselves in some shade of saffron, some like it light, some like it a shade deeper, depending on the time and place and their perception or their taste. No secular party is prepared to come to grips with the ideological adversary. Every secular party is ready to make a compromise in practice, so that it does not alienate the ‘Hindu’ voter. No secular party is prepared to stake its future for the sake of the Muslim Indians their honor and dignity, their life and property, their relation and culture, The Leftist believe in territorial nationalism and in the ultimate absorption of the minorities by the majority in a nation-state, painlessly over a period of time but absorption nevertheless No Leftist party understands or appreciates religious identity or considers it legitimate. All parties glorify the ancient past, speak ‘of the Hindu roots and envision India as a Hindu society. Some lay stress on social reform and economic justice and some think in terms of restoring the Vedic age. No party has the patience or the desire or the intelligence to understand and appreciate the Muslim Indians reluctance to par. with or compromise his religious identity, to accept his cultural absorption, to be Hindu side or to intermarry or to participate in Hindu worship.
The Recent Assembly elections have brought to the fore the Muslim dilemma in the political arena which has been building up since December 6, 1992, the day the Babari Masjid was demolished.
The Muslim Indians have never been the national vote bank of any political party but they have served as regional vote banks, when they had a choice between distinct alternatives. Today the parties all look alike; only the color is a shade different. Only the tone is different; the sound is the same. Only the accent is different; the diction is the same. Only the program is different, the policy and vision are the same.
With every party trying to come to terms with the Hindutva wave, Muslim Indians have become largely irrelevant in national politics, they are no longer valid tender in the political market place; they have no value because there is no demand. The national politics has been reduced to a Hindu game whose objective is redistribution of power and status among, the various Hindu sub communities. In this game the high castes (the Forwards Brahmin. Rajputs Vaishyas and the Backwards (the Shudras) are pitted against each other. Both are trying to marshall the support of the “Achhuts’ and the Advises’ to the extent they can. But neither are prepared to share power with the last three, to the extent, the Achhuts and the Adivasis can be Hinduised, they shall be incorporated in the power structure, though not fully or equitably. But since the Malechha is not yet ready for Hindu is action, he is like a stranger at the doer. No one pays attention to him while the political game goes on.
However, perplexing and confusing the situation may be, Muslim Indians ‘who sometime have fleeting visions of electoral glory, must realize that in the long run, the Shudras are likely to win, So they must generally extend their support to, and make common cause with, the Shudras but there is hierarchy even among the Shudras based on the contemporary economic and educational development, social status and electoral strength, If Brahmins, Rajputs and Vaishyas are not prepared to give the Muslim Indians their due share, nor shall the triumphant Shudras be prepared to share power be it Yadav as, Koeris or Kurmis, as experience has shown.
What can save Muslim Indians is the identification of the really oppressed ‘among the Shudras the More Backward and the Most Backward and fraternization with him. Statistically if the Forwards from 15% the ‘Forward Backwards’ form only 20% and the ‘Backward Backwards’ constitute 30%. A political alliance representing the Backward Shudras, the Achhuts and the Adivasis and the Muslims is potentially a viable and table formation; roughly they form 30+1547,5+12.51.¢.65% of the population.
In the present political scene, neither the communist movement, nor the regional parties, which are in power, represent the constituents of this potentially massive formation, though each of them speaks in the name of all the Backwards, all the Dalits and the Minorities, They are all dominated by the Forwards or by the Forward Backwards, who are the new elite and the Kulaks, No party whether its core are the Brahmins or the Rajputs or the Vaishyas, or the Yadavas or the Koeris ‘or the Kurmis (with their local variants) really cares for the Oppressed. It ‘wishes to exploit them, ride to power on their backs and use them as camp followers. It is not prepared to treat them justly and equitably or share power and resources with them.
The question is Can the Muslims, take the initiative to form such an Alliance of the Oppressed? Can they counteract the influence of existing parties among the backward Shudras, the Achhuts and the Adivasis or attract their traditional leadership who are all tied up with one existing party or the other?
Yes, they can, but not under the green banner, not in the name of religion, but through common struggle, through sincerity and hard work. But it needs a sea change in the mentality and psychology of the Muslim Indi ans. They have to give up the self-image of the ruling class and cut their ties with the high castes. They have to give up the company of the Clean and embrace the Dirty, the Ugly, and the Lowly. They should strive for the ‘common good and not for just the gain of the Muslim community. They should eschew any thought of dominance but adopt the philosophy of social justice and mutual respect. They should not seek human material for proselytization but work for the eradication of poverty and human misery and the provision of minimum needs of all.
In recent times, Muslim Indians out of frustration have run after every passing bird with a colorful plumage V.P. Singh, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Kanshi Ram, Laloo Prasad Yadav, R.K. Hegde, H.D. Devegowda, N.T. Ramarao, M. Karunanidhi, JyotiBasu, not to speak of Rajiv Gandhi and P.V. Narasimha Rao, They have all failed them; some have provided relative security but none share of power, an equal morsel of bread. A society steeped in injustice cannot be generous to a minority which is deep within, regarded as historical adversary, stranger, an alien,
Shall Muslim Indians go on testing one party after another? Shall they go on, in anger and frustration, throwing their votes down the drain as they did in Maharashtra and Gujarat? Shall they abdicate their birth right toe quality? Shall they retire from the political arena and let ‘them’ sort it out among themselves? Shall they hoist a tattered green flag and March behind it? Shall they wait for angels 19 come down from the heavens to save them’? Shall some of them go on dreaming of restoring Muslim rule and someday teaching ‘them’ a lesson? Shall they retreat into their ghettos, wait for the call to the gas chambers, and in the meanwhile, stew in their own juice?
No; their presence has a meaning and relevance. It makes a difference; it must count, their votes should have a value: their support should be worth seeking. They shall not serve as a vote hank for any party; they shall not sing permanent bondage to any party. But they shall work out a strategy of participation in the democratic process, as a united, conscious group which knows what is good for it and when and where?
The core of the strategy must be unity, faith and tactical voting, to act as a mini bank at the Constituency level, voting for the ideologically secular but electorally viable candidate, whichever the party, and thus exert pressrun the secular parties to come together, to field secular candidates and to address their concerns in their political program and electoral manifesto. But who is to decide who the ‘best’ candidate is at a given time, in a given Constituency? This can only be done by a nonpolitical consultative body at the apex which is capable of taking an impartial view and whose decision makers are independent and. ‘objective, calm and detached enough to indicate the right choice, Constituency by Constituency, State by State, election by election, at least in respect of all Muslim concentration Constituencies.
What the community needs is an institution which commands prestige and credibility and possesses the database to reach the right decision. Unfortunately the community which has produced great individual’s ideologues and visionaries, Ulema and politicians has never paid attention to institution building. Today even the Mushawarat is dead though it remains to be buried.
Is it possible to direct the political dynamics of such a large community spread over a vast country in a multiparty framework? Yes, if the Muslim Indians are to regain the political right, a national apex body is essential.
It is never too late to begin but will the Muslim elite cooperate? Will the Muslim masses accept its authority?
This apex body should also formulate the legitimate aspirations of the Muslim community such as equity in political representation, reservation in public employment and higher education, universalization of State Welfare, decentralization of power structure, use of mother tongues medium of instruction, introduction of a statutory scheme of compensation for loss of life, limb and property in Social Violence, noninterference with freedom of religion and with religion based family code etc. Involvement and participation in secular politics, articulation of legit mate aspirations, alliance of the oppressed, tactical voting for the “best” candidate irrespective of the party label and the establishment of a nonpolitical apex body can together still work a miracle Provided collective concern takes precedence over individual interest.
Article extracted from this publication >> May 19, 1995
