04-05-2007, 08:49 PM
Deccan Chronicle, 4 April, 2007
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Congress misreads U.P. Muslims
By Syed Iqbal Hasnain
<b>According to the 2001 census, Uttar Pradesh has a Muslim population of about 28 per cent, mostly concentrated in three triangles, namely, Moradabad, Bijnor, Rampur and Amroha in the west, Kanpur, Lucknow, Jaunpur and Kannauj in the centre, and Azamgarh, Gorakhpur, Basti, Ballia and Gonda in the east. After independence, Muslims outsourced their leadership first to the Congress and later to the caste based parties.</b>
All parties conveniently used them as vote-bank and ignored their legitimate right to education, employment, social facilities etc. Once assuming power these parties give priority to their own castes, leaving practically no space for Muslims in government jobs, judiciary, education or civil administration. This has slowly deteriorated the Muslim communityâs social, economic and educational levels in the last 60 years.
In the 2007 Assembly elections, Muslims votes are being sought by three âsecularâ caste parties, the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Rashtirya Lok Dal; and by the rootless Congress.
All these parties, except Congress, have some major caste as their core vote-bank. In the case of Congress, Brahmins and Banias, who together constitute below ten per cent of the population, are waiting in the wings to jump on the Congress bandwagon once they are convinced that Muslims are shifting to the Congress fold. In the forthcoming elections, it is difficult to predict the Muslim vote pattern, as they are disillusioned across the board. The âsecularâ caste parties have failed to attract the fast emerging Muslim intelligentsia and leadership in the towns and kasbahs of UP.
They are the opinion makers of the community and to a large extent, the force which can influence the voting pattern of the community. And they are the mind behind the tactical voting that takes place at times to defeat the communal forces. Unfortunately, both the caste parties and the Congress have ignored them thinking that the Muslim vote can be influenced by placating the clergy and the criminal elements. But there are innumerable examples where Muslims have voted to defeat communal forces, not because of clergy and criminal influence, but because circumstances forced them to do so.
<b>The political history of Uttar Pradesh Muslims is full of instances where the community admires and likes a well dressed educated Muslim who at the same time offers Friday prayers and follows basic Islamic values. They believe that these are the people who can help them and not the maulanas running the madrasas and the criminals prospering by kidnappings. They are aware that the madrasas and Urdu medium schools will not bring them jobs and prosperity in the present globalised world. </b>
Wherever and whenever a conclave of Muslims is organised by a caste party, the supreme leader of the concerned party is invited as the chief guest. In these meetings the Muslim leadership says that we need you to give us Urdu schools, funds for madrasas, and reservation in the OBC category. The party leadership happily agrees to grant them funds and Urdu schools, but keep quiet when it comes to giving Muslims quotas, as they know that this will cut into their core vote-bank quota. However, they will say that they support reservation for Muslims and will demand Constitutional amendment to repeal the 50 per cent court ceiling on reservations. All this is for public consumption as they know quotas for Muslims cannot be given by coalition governments.
<b>The fast emerging kasbah intelligentsia which comprises local doctors, teachers, journalists, lawyers, political activists and half-educated youths, expresses its frustration on these demands and is now asking why Muslims cannot have English medium schools affiliated to the CBSE and ICSC. Exposure to the Arabian Peninsula and satellite television is making the community aware about knowledge economy and knowledge world in which they see the Indian middle class progressing and prospering. They aspire to have a share in this boom, and realise they can never be part of the fast emerging Indian middle class by attending madrasas and Urdu medium schools. They are well aware that without English medium schooling their future is doomed and that they will be left behind in the 21st century.</b>
UP Muslims were with the Congress initially. The shift in the Muslim vote pattern started in the late Eighties and early Nineties, and the reasons for this shift have been extensively discussed over the years. Recently, I had the opportunity to address some well attended Muslim intelligentsia meetings at Kannauj, Kanpur and Lucknow. The meetings were on the Sachar Committee report and were organised by local Muslim groups.
In my speech I articulated how the community should make efforts to open inclusive educational institutions and acquire relevant education, especially in sectors like hospitality, fashion design and health sciences in which jobs are available aplenty. At the same meetings, Muslim Congress functionaries spoke about the execution of Saddam Hussein and other emotional issues, without mentioning a word about the communityâs educational and economic development.
After the meeting those present in the audience told me that they appreciated the points raised about talim and jobs, and not the issues raised by the political leaders. I realised that the Muslim political leadership in the Congress is yet to change its mindset and articulate the issues which directly concern Muslims and will help their economic, educational and social empowerment. The community laments that we are always given a commission and emotional agendas whenever we demand our share in the countryâs nine per cent economic growth. But now Muslims are strongly asserting that the time has come to deliver on issues like inclusive education and jobs in police and civil administration.
In the forthcoming UP elections, the Congress had a wonderful opportunity to bring back the Muslims to its fold, and consolidate them as its core vote for the future. For that it had to act intelligently, which it did not. By reaching out to the community, Congress leaders should have given the clear message that they cared about Muslimsâ social, economic and educational backwardness and would remove the institutional discrimination which has unfortunately crept into the administration in the last 60 years. By organising meetings in kasbahs and taking on board the new Muslim intelligentsia they should have focused on modern inclusive school education and skill based courses. Thus, the Congress could have made amends for its past mistakes.
The impact of this Muslim intelligentsia will be visible in the elections in UP. The Muslim agenda is to defeat the communal party by voting in a candidate who is in a position to attract the largest number of caste groups in her or his fold. Of course, sometimes they also favour a Muslim candidate in a three or four cornered contest, and do not care for his political affiliation.
Another suicidal mistake that the Congress usually makes is to re-nominate the family members of Congress leaders who are hugely disliked and consistently lose elections. This strategy has always gone against the party and the candidates have ended up losing their deposits.
UP is witnessing its Assembly elections at a time when Muslimsâ exposure to the outside world is increasing. At a time like this, the Congress should have nominated at least 100 educated Muslims for the elections. This would have given it an out-of-the-box option over other caste parties which normally nominate criminals and members of the clergy and ignore educated, forward looking Muslims who celebrate pluralism.
There is an undercurrent among Muslims not to vote for Mulayam Singh and Mayawati this time, both of whom have consistently failed to deliver the promises made to Muslims. They would have voted for the Congress had it got its act together. But any change in attitude and mindset by the Congress leadership towards Muslims seems a remote possibility. So the Muslim vote will most likely be divided among the three caste parties and the Congress, and in the process, the BJP will gain.
Professor Syed Iqbal Hasnain is Senior Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research and former Vice Chancellor of University of Calicut, Kerala
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Congress misreads U.P. Muslims
By Syed Iqbal Hasnain
<b>According to the 2001 census, Uttar Pradesh has a Muslim population of about 28 per cent, mostly concentrated in three triangles, namely, Moradabad, Bijnor, Rampur and Amroha in the west, Kanpur, Lucknow, Jaunpur and Kannauj in the centre, and Azamgarh, Gorakhpur, Basti, Ballia and Gonda in the east. After independence, Muslims outsourced their leadership first to the Congress and later to the caste based parties.</b>
All parties conveniently used them as vote-bank and ignored their legitimate right to education, employment, social facilities etc. Once assuming power these parties give priority to their own castes, leaving practically no space for Muslims in government jobs, judiciary, education or civil administration. This has slowly deteriorated the Muslim communityâs social, economic and educational levels in the last 60 years.
In the 2007 Assembly elections, Muslims votes are being sought by three âsecularâ caste parties, the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Rashtirya Lok Dal; and by the rootless Congress.
All these parties, except Congress, have some major caste as their core vote-bank. In the case of Congress, Brahmins and Banias, who together constitute below ten per cent of the population, are waiting in the wings to jump on the Congress bandwagon once they are convinced that Muslims are shifting to the Congress fold. In the forthcoming elections, it is difficult to predict the Muslim vote pattern, as they are disillusioned across the board. The âsecularâ caste parties have failed to attract the fast emerging Muslim intelligentsia and leadership in the towns and kasbahs of UP.
They are the opinion makers of the community and to a large extent, the force which can influence the voting pattern of the community. And they are the mind behind the tactical voting that takes place at times to defeat the communal forces. Unfortunately, both the caste parties and the Congress have ignored them thinking that the Muslim vote can be influenced by placating the clergy and the criminal elements. But there are innumerable examples where Muslims have voted to defeat communal forces, not because of clergy and criminal influence, but because circumstances forced them to do so.
<b>The political history of Uttar Pradesh Muslims is full of instances where the community admires and likes a well dressed educated Muslim who at the same time offers Friday prayers and follows basic Islamic values. They believe that these are the people who can help them and not the maulanas running the madrasas and the criminals prospering by kidnappings. They are aware that the madrasas and Urdu medium schools will not bring them jobs and prosperity in the present globalised world. </b>
Wherever and whenever a conclave of Muslims is organised by a caste party, the supreme leader of the concerned party is invited as the chief guest. In these meetings the Muslim leadership says that we need you to give us Urdu schools, funds for madrasas, and reservation in the OBC category. The party leadership happily agrees to grant them funds and Urdu schools, but keep quiet when it comes to giving Muslims quotas, as they know that this will cut into their core vote-bank quota. However, they will say that they support reservation for Muslims and will demand Constitutional amendment to repeal the 50 per cent court ceiling on reservations. All this is for public consumption as they know quotas for Muslims cannot be given by coalition governments.
<b>The fast emerging kasbah intelligentsia which comprises local doctors, teachers, journalists, lawyers, political activists and half-educated youths, expresses its frustration on these demands and is now asking why Muslims cannot have English medium schools affiliated to the CBSE and ICSC. Exposure to the Arabian Peninsula and satellite television is making the community aware about knowledge economy and knowledge world in which they see the Indian middle class progressing and prospering. They aspire to have a share in this boom, and realise they can never be part of the fast emerging Indian middle class by attending madrasas and Urdu medium schools. They are well aware that without English medium schooling their future is doomed and that they will be left behind in the 21st century.</b>
UP Muslims were with the Congress initially. The shift in the Muslim vote pattern started in the late Eighties and early Nineties, and the reasons for this shift have been extensively discussed over the years. Recently, I had the opportunity to address some well attended Muslim intelligentsia meetings at Kannauj, Kanpur and Lucknow. The meetings were on the Sachar Committee report and were organised by local Muslim groups.
In my speech I articulated how the community should make efforts to open inclusive educational institutions and acquire relevant education, especially in sectors like hospitality, fashion design and health sciences in which jobs are available aplenty. At the same meetings, Muslim Congress functionaries spoke about the execution of Saddam Hussein and other emotional issues, without mentioning a word about the communityâs educational and economic development.
After the meeting those present in the audience told me that they appreciated the points raised about talim and jobs, and not the issues raised by the political leaders. I realised that the Muslim political leadership in the Congress is yet to change its mindset and articulate the issues which directly concern Muslims and will help their economic, educational and social empowerment. The community laments that we are always given a commission and emotional agendas whenever we demand our share in the countryâs nine per cent economic growth. But now Muslims are strongly asserting that the time has come to deliver on issues like inclusive education and jobs in police and civil administration.
In the forthcoming UP elections, the Congress had a wonderful opportunity to bring back the Muslims to its fold, and consolidate them as its core vote for the future. For that it had to act intelligently, which it did not. By reaching out to the community, Congress leaders should have given the clear message that they cared about Muslimsâ social, economic and educational backwardness and would remove the institutional discrimination which has unfortunately crept into the administration in the last 60 years. By organising meetings in kasbahs and taking on board the new Muslim intelligentsia they should have focused on modern inclusive school education and skill based courses. Thus, the Congress could have made amends for its past mistakes.
The impact of this Muslim intelligentsia will be visible in the elections in UP. The Muslim agenda is to defeat the communal party by voting in a candidate who is in a position to attract the largest number of caste groups in her or his fold. Of course, sometimes they also favour a Muslim candidate in a three or four cornered contest, and do not care for his political affiliation.
Another suicidal mistake that the Congress usually makes is to re-nominate the family members of Congress leaders who are hugely disliked and consistently lose elections. This strategy has always gone against the party and the candidates have ended up losing their deposits.
UP is witnessing its Assembly elections at a time when Muslimsâ exposure to the outside world is increasing. At a time like this, the Congress should have nominated at least 100 educated Muslims for the elections. This would have given it an out-of-the-box option over other caste parties which normally nominate criminals and members of the clergy and ignore educated, forward looking Muslims who celebrate pluralism.
There is an undercurrent among Muslims not to vote for Mulayam Singh and Mayawati this time, both of whom have consistently failed to deliver the promises made to Muslims. They would have voted for the Congress had it got its act together. But any change in attitude and mindset by the Congress leadership towards Muslims seems a remote possibility. So the Muslim vote will most likely be divided among the three caste parties and the Congress, and in the process, the BJP will gain.
Professor Syed Iqbal Hasnain is Senior Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research and former Vice Chancellor of University of Calicut, Kerala
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