When it comes to Muslim votes, the lines seem to be clear in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections. The ruling establishment has made it clear, without being explicit, that it doesn’t need the community’s votes. Its “400 paar” isn’t dependent on Muslims. The Opposition’s attitude appears to be the opposite: “Who will the beleaguered Muslim vote for, if not for us? Surely, they won’t vote for the BJP”.
The writer is reminded of the remarks of Jag Pravesh Chandra, Delhi’s Chief Executive Councillor from 1983 to 1990. Even though he used crude words, what he said was that parties exploit Muslims for their votes, but once in power, they forget about the community’s aspirations for representation in governance.
Almost eight decades after Independence, Muslims who had expressed loyalty to India and rejected Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s Pakistan, believing that they would be prosperous in a Hindu-majority India, haven’t got their due. Instead, their loyalty is often doubted. This is ironic. Bharat Ratna Maulana Abul Kalam Azad had said that Muslims had rejected Partition because they believe in the Hadith mantra, Hubbul watani, Nisful imaan: Love for the homeland is half of the Muslim’s faith.
The relationship between the Sangh Parivar and Muslims remains fraught, especially during elections, because it’s marked by mutual mistrust. The BJP says that in every election, the Muslim community issues a call to vote for the candidate who can defeat the party. This knee-jerk response, its leaders argue, is unhealthy in a democracy and it’s for Muslims to understand that in the world’s largest democracy, no political party should be treated as untouchable.
On its part, the Muslim community continues to wait for the formidable BJP machinery to move a little towards the Centre, as the party aims for a third term after its resounding victories in 2014 and 2019. Why doesn’t the BJP field credible and competent Muslim candidates? “Even if we vote for the BJP, the BJP won’t acknowledge our vote,” is the community’s refrain. What will it take for the BJP to include us in its political plan, they ask? Could saying that we are not discriminated against in central schemes be the answer?
Muslims have seen terrible acts of communal violence, from the lynching of Mohammed Akhlaq to the treatment meted out to Bilkis Bano and her family. They have seen the accused in the Bilkis Bano case being garlanded, hate messages being forwarded on WhatsApp, the houses of some members of their community being bulldozed, the number of Urdu-medium schools shrinking. Scarcely anyone from their faith is in the highest echelons of power, be it the Cabinet or a top boardroom.
That’s why, for the BJP to give tickets to Muslims will be a significant statement. It will affirm that their India story cuts across religions and that the strength of Indian democracy is its inclusiveness. It will send a positive signal and bring down the bitterness between different faiths.
Muslims, too, need to take some steps forward. They should announce their support for competent and credible candidates in the BJP and vote for them, especially the ones who have eschewed hatred, speak of development and try to transcend ideology. Muslims should have a charter of genuine demands — providing affordable education for children, modernisation of madrasas, adequate healthcare facilities and economic support. They should ask — and be seen as asking — hard questions of the so-called “secular” brigade about what they have done to uplift the community and give them representation in governance. Where are the prominent Muslim leaders in the INDIA bloc?
This may sound like a platitude but the time has come for the world’s third-largest Muslim population to decide that they need to engage with politics in the world’s largest democracy. Withdrawing is not an option. That will be doing a disservice to the generation of Muslims who will grow up in today’s India.
Given its position of strength, it’s also incumbent on the BJP to take more than a step forward.
One of my enduring memories from primary school is competing with my classmate Rajkumar Sharma to draw and colour the “mukut” (crown) of Lord Rama and then arguing over who made the better one. The story of Ramayana gripped me and the generosity of Rama shone through to me — a child who was glued to the pillars of my own faith. My parents had underlined that the Islamic Hadith taught reverence and regard for other religions. On January 22, as an invitee to the consecration of the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya, I heard an echo of what my parents had always said. Describing the four major qualities of Lord Ram, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said that we have to be truthful, compassionate, sacrificing and self-effacing.
Significantly, the Muslim community took the occasion in their stride, guided by the words of the Holy Quran, Lakum dinukum, waliya deen — to you your religion, to us, ours. Can the next step be to participate in democratic politics together, not just during elections?
The writer is former chancellor, Maulana Azad National Urdu University
