06-12-2006, 11:40 PM
<!--emo&:argue--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/argue.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='argue.gif' /><!--endemo--> Islamic Vote Bank Politics - Ominous Portents for IndiaThe mainstream media obsessed currently with Rahul Mahajan, World Cup Soccer and the Al-Zarqawi killing has not given much thought to what started in Assam to consolidate votes to protect the interests of illegal muslim immigrants from Bangladesh during the recent Assembly elections in India is now spiralling into a concerted movement by Muslim bodies to build an Islamic Vote Bank in India. To what extent the Assam phenomenon can be replicated in the rest of India remains to be seen but the Muslim bodies buoyed by the Ajmal experiment have now set their sights on the 2007 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.
For years despite practising a brand of politics that favored Muslims through unapologetic minorytism, parties like the Congress and more recently regional outfits like Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, UP and Lalu Yadav's Rashtriya Janatad Dal, RJD in Bihar, never really had a consolidated bloc of Muslim Voters they could rely on elections after elections. Sensing an opportunity in exposing the hollow minorytism practised by the likes of Congress, SP, RJD and more specifically AGP in Assam, a group of muslim outfits under the leadership of a Businessman turned Politician Badruddin Ajmal formed the Assam United Democratic Front or AUDF.
The Ajmal experiment in Assam paid off rich dividends with the AUDF contesting in 69 seats and winning 10, contrast this with the BJP contesting 125 seats and also winning only 10. What is astounding is the vote percentages with which the AUDF supported Muslim candidates won the elections in these 10 seats. For example in Bilasipara West in Assam the total turnout was 82%, which is very high for any election in India, however the winning Muslim candidate from AUDF polled only 24% of the votes. In Katigora which had nearly 70% voter turnout, the winning Muslim candidate from AUDF polled only 37%. Badruddin Ajmal himself in Jamunamukh which had a voter turnout close to 80% polled less than 50%. The story is pretty much the same in the rest of the seats save a couple. The lesson from Assam seems to be that despite a fragmented polity, there was sufficient consolidation of Muslim votes behind an upapologetically Muslim Political Outfit to ensure electoral victory despite very high overall voter turnouts.
Leading the charge in Uttar Pradesh is Shahi Imam of Delhi's Jama Masjid Maulana Syed Ahmed Bhukhari who on saturday announced the formation of a political front Uttar Pradesh United Democratic Front (UPUDF) to replicate the Assam experiment. Lending support to Bukhari are Assam's AUDF and C.M. Ibrahim of the AIPJD from Karnataka as well as the grand old dinosaur of Indian Politics V.P. Singh's Jan Morcha. The electoral strategy of these outfits is to target 150 odd assembly seats which they claim to have more than 20% Muslim population. The effectiveness of this front in consolidating the Muslim Vote Bank remains to be seen, however this consolidation on the political front is having its ripple effects further south in Mumbai.
At the Maharashtra Muslim Convention, hosted jointly by the All India Ulema Council and Mumbai Aman Committee, at the Anjuman-e-Islam near Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Mumbai, Muslim leaders demanded that besides Parliament, state assemblies and councils, representation on the basis of population must be given to Muslims in the police, bureaucracy, local bodies and private institutions. The convention also appealed to Muslims to unite and prevail upon political parties to give representation to them on the basis of population ratio. The convention was also attended by a representative of Assam's UDF.
Over the last 12 months events in India have seen an environment of increasing Muslim Mobilization on Islamic issues. Starting with the controversy in Uttar Pradesh over the Danish Cartoons which were followed by the rather shameful mobilization of Muslims in favor of Iranian Nukes and then against the visit by President George Bush by the so called secular parties. Close on the heels of this mobilization India witnessed Islamic Terrorists strike in New Delhi on the eve of Diwali and in Ayodhya, Varnasi, IISC Bangalore and now in Nagpur on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, RSS headquarters.
The increasing activity of Islamic Terrorists in interior parts of India and the ease with which arms are delivered and distributed goes to highlight the safe havens that Islamic Terrorism now enjoys in India. An environment of Political Mobilization of Muslims on religious grounds has spawned competitive minorytism amongst the so called secular Political Parties and the State Governments where they are in power.
Offstumped Bottomline: By condoning Muslim Fundamentalist violence during the Iran and Cartoon Issues and Pan Islamic Political Mobilization over these issues the Governments in UP and in New Delhi have contributed to the creation of an environment where it is ok to encourage, shelter and patronise those whose loyalties to a Global Islamic cause are stronger than their respect to the Laws of their Motherland.
This when combined with the Muslim Criminal elements who have been given a free reign in Uttar Pradesh Governance creates Institutional Safe Havens where Islamic Terrorism can germinate and flourish with no fear of consequences because there are many layers of Secular Cover that they can operate under.
All of the above will only receive further boost as these Muslim bodies organize themselves politically thus pushing the so-called secular parties to work overtime in wooing them with rabid minorytism. All of this has portends ominously to the future of internal security in India.
For years despite practising a brand of politics that favored Muslims through unapologetic minorytism, parties like the Congress and more recently regional outfits like Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, UP and Lalu Yadav's Rashtriya Janatad Dal, RJD in Bihar, never really had a consolidated bloc of Muslim Voters they could rely on elections after elections. Sensing an opportunity in exposing the hollow minorytism practised by the likes of Congress, SP, RJD and more specifically AGP in Assam, a group of muslim outfits under the leadership of a Businessman turned Politician Badruddin Ajmal formed the Assam United Democratic Front or AUDF.
The Ajmal experiment in Assam paid off rich dividends with the AUDF contesting in 69 seats and winning 10, contrast this with the BJP contesting 125 seats and also winning only 10. What is astounding is the vote percentages with which the AUDF supported Muslim candidates won the elections in these 10 seats. For example in Bilasipara West in Assam the total turnout was 82%, which is very high for any election in India, however the winning Muslim candidate from AUDF polled only 24% of the votes. In Katigora which had nearly 70% voter turnout, the winning Muslim candidate from AUDF polled only 37%. Badruddin Ajmal himself in Jamunamukh which had a voter turnout close to 80% polled less than 50%. The story is pretty much the same in the rest of the seats save a couple. The lesson from Assam seems to be that despite a fragmented polity, there was sufficient consolidation of Muslim votes behind an upapologetically Muslim Political Outfit to ensure electoral victory despite very high overall voter turnouts.
Leading the charge in Uttar Pradesh is Shahi Imam of Delhi's Jama Masjid Maulana Syed Ahmed Bhukhari who on saturday announced the formation of a political front Uttar Pradesh United Democratic Front (UPUDF) to replicate the Assam experiment. Lending support to Bukhari are Assam's AUDF and C.M. Ibrahim of the AIPJD from Karnataka as well as the grand old dinosaur of Indian Politics V.P. Singh's Jan Morcha. The electoral strategy of these outfits is to target 150 odd assembly seats which they claim to have more than 20% Muslim population. The effectiveness of this front in consolidating the Muslim Vote Bank remains to be seen, however this consolidation on the political front is having its ripple effects further south in Mumbai.
At the Maharashtra Muslim Convention, hosted jointly by the All India Ulema Council and Mumbai Aman Committee, at the Anjuman-e-Islam near Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Mumbai, Muslim leaders demanded that besides Parliament, state assemblies and councils, representation on the basis of population must be given to Muslims in the police, bureaucracy, local bodies and private institutions. The convention also appealed to Muslims to unite and prevail upon political parties to give representation to them on the basis of population ratio. The convention was also attended by a representative of Assam's UDF.
Over the last 12 months events in India have seen an environment of increasing Muslim Mobilization on Islamic issues. Starting with the controversy in Uttar Pradesh over the Danish Cartoons which were followed by the rather shameful mobilization of Muslims in favor of Iranian Nukes and then against the visit by President George Bush by the so called secular parties. Close on the heels of this mobilization India witnessed Islamic Terrorists strike in New Delhi on the eve of Diwali and in Ayodhya, Varnasi, IISC Bangalore and now in Nagpur on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, RSS headquarters.
The increasing activity of Islamic Terrorists in interior parts of India and the ease with which arms are delivered and distributed goes to highlight the safe havens that Islamic Terrorism now enjoys in India. An environment of Political Mobilization of Muslims on religious grounds has spawned competitive minorytism amongst the so called secular Political Parties and the State Governments where they are in power.
Offstumped Bottomline: By condoning Muslim Fundamentalist violence during the Iran and Cartoon Issues and Pan Islamic Political Mobilization over these issues the Governments in UP and in New Delhi have contributed to the creation of an environment where it is ok to encourage, shelter and patronise those whose loyalties to a Global Islamic cause are stronger than their respect to the Laws of their Motherland.
This when combined with the Muslim Criminal elements who have been given a free reign in Uttar Pradesh Governance creates Institutional Safe Havens where Islamic Terrorism can germinate and flourish with no fear of consequences because there are many layers of Secular Cover that they can operate under.
All of the above will only receive further boost as these Muslim bodies organize themselves politically thus pushing the so-called secular parties to work overtime in wooing them with rabid minorytism. All of this has portends ominously to the future of internal security in India.