The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi accused the newly formed INDIA of harbouring prejudices against Muslims
Abdul Bari Masoud | Clarion India
NEW DELHI — The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi accused the newly formed INDIA alliance of harbouring prejudices against Muslims, claiming that the 28-party opposition group refused to give him a “ticket” because they believed they would not get “Hindu votes’ by including him.
He was speaking at the launch function of the book titled “Absent in Politics and Power: Political Exclusion of Indian Muslims,” a book depicting socio-economic and political deprivation of Muslims written by Abdur Rahman, an IPS from the Maharashtra cadre of 1997 who quit his job in December 2020, in New Delhi on Monday.
Asaduddin Owaisi, the parliamentarian from Hyderabad, strongly criticised the mindset of the opposition bloc. He expressed his indifference towards the INDIA coalition, highlighting his disregard for their stance. Owaisi’s remarks shed light on the concerning condition of the Muslim community in India and the challenges they face in political representation.
Owaisi also made blistering attacks on the mindset of the opposition parties, accusing them of wanting “Muslims to keep making sacrifices” for the sake of saving their version of secularism. “Go to hell,” said Owaisi referring to the opposition bloc. They claimed that they wouldn’t receive a Hindu vote if they gave us (Muslims) a ticket. He stated: “I am saying this openly, but they are saying this behind walls.” He dared the opposition bloc to challenge the BJP and the fascist forces who are increasingly gaining ground in the current dispensation.
The BJP cannot be solely held responsible for communalism, as politicians from the Congress party had introduced communalism in politics even before India’s partition. Unfortunately, the backing for the proponents of communalism continued even after partition, claimed Owaisi, adding that the “sectarian politics” existed since 1950, rather than just in 2014, as alleged by the BJP.
Taking a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, he said, “Rahul Gandhi lost in Amethi but won in Wayanad. Asaduddin Owaisi did not contest the elections in Amethi. I did not have any deal with the BJP there. The Gandhi scion won from Wayanad because there is the Muslim League there. The Muslim League saved him from drowning.”
Defending his political philosophy, which often comes under criticism from several quarters with accusations of “helping communal forces indirectly”, he said Muslims should take part in the country’s political activities. “My orientation does not accept that Muslims should not run for office,” Owaisi declared. “Muslims ought to take part in elections. You must struggle for that. Standing up in elections is essential, even if you lose. If you never run for office out of fear of losing, you will never win. Before you succeed, you have to lose twice or three.”
He pleaded for the community to rise above the mentality of servitude—of being ‘voters’ just—and said that only Muslims were battling to preserve democracy and secularism. “Stand up to stake your due claims in democracy,” he exhorted.
He suggested that Muslims must take the initiative to assert their democratic rights and make a concerted effort to participate in national politics in order to avoid future marginalization as they lack a political voice in legislative bodies.
Speaking at the event, IUML legislative party leader in Lok Sabha, E. T Mohammed Basheer, noted that Kerala has a different political situation, highlighting the fact that Muslims continue to struggle for their rights and have achieved success through their efforts. According to him, Kerala’s Muslims are thriving because they have adequate political representation in the state assembly and the Parliament.
Prof. Manoj Kumar Jha, national spokesperson of the RJD and MP, said communalism was like a disease during the partition, but it is now a pandemic that is difficult to contain. Its grip is getting stronger with each passing day, enveloping the country’s socio-political ecosystem. The situation is becoming increasingly communal and even with the likely defeat of the BJP in the 2024 general elections, it is less likely to result in any appreciable changes. Elections alone won’t alter India’s political climate.
‘Political exclusion of Muslims a national problem’
Abdur Rahman, the author and IPS from the Maharashtra cadre of 1997 who quit his job in December 2020 in protest against the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act, has painstakingly outlined the causes of the sociopolitical marginalisation of Indian Muslims and urged policymakers to address them. Interestingly, the book does not state that all political parties prevented Muslims from participating in politics, highlighting the fact that from 1998 to 2019, the majority of Janata Dal splinter groups, including the RJD, LJP, JD-U, and others, provided Muslims with a proportional representation of around 13.14 percent. RJD fielded the most nominations (17.36).
Rahman argued for a shift from the current first-past-the-post (FPTP) voting system to proportional representation in order to promote more political inclusivity. He recalled that there was a resolution for a proportional system in the draft resolutions of the Constituent Assembly, but due to the schemes of Congress’ upper-caste leadership, it was dropped under the pretence that after 10 years, the representation of minorities (Muslims) would be reviewed, but it never happened even during Nehru’s time.
He identified a number of causes for Muslims’ political isolation, including communalisation, prejudices within the ruling political parties, and delimitation-related concerns. He also referred to the late Omar Khalidi’s book that Muslims should first concentrate on subtly engaging in politics, exerting pressure on secular parties, and developing Muslim leaders. The parties under Muslim control can complete the last task. The dais was occupied by the heads of three Muslim-run parties: AIMIM, IUML, and AIUDF.
The Sachar Committee study, which in-depth examined the socioeconomic and political circumstances of Indian Muslims, is a major source of information used in this book to support its claims.
Rahman vehemently argued that the problem of political exclusion suffered by Indian Muslims should be acknowledged as a “national problem,” requiring coordinated efforts from all facets of society to address the issues. He argued that Indian democracy’s nature is non-inclusive, which deprives Muslims, OBCs, and the poor of their genuine share of politics and power and provides huge benefits to the rich, elite, and upper-caste Hindus. He expressed the hope that his book may trigger a national debate on the exclusion problem in Indian politics, which has been lingering since 1947.
Maulana Badaruddin Ajmal, MP, and journalist Arifa Khanam Shervani also spoke on the occasion. While Ajmal underlined the importance of education to overcome the challenges faced by the community, Arifa questioned the opposition INDIA bloc as to why they did not boycott anchors who spread hate, a decade ago.
Journalists, academics, academic leaders, and people from all walks of life attended the occasion. It concluded with a plea for ongoing discussion and action to help Muslims gain political empowerment and inclusion in the country’s polity.
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Photo: Asaduddin Owaisi, Badruddin Ajmal, Prof. Manoj Kumar Jha, Arifa Khanam Shervani, journalist, among others, attended the book launch function at Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi on Monday.
