[Reader-list] Myth Called the 'Indian Muslim'

[Taha Mehmood]

Dear All,

Pasted below is one more instance of irresponsible reportage by the
BBC. The issue at hand is a mythical hobby horse of all political
parties called the  'Indian Muslim'.

 This report is laced with gross generalizations like, 'Arrests and
alleged extrajudicial killings of Muslim youths have angered many in
the Islamic community.'

'Islamic Community' Really? How does Mr. Bagchi knows this about
'Islamic Community', we don't know? In the same regard, no one will
question our informed journo, what the HELL is this 'Islamic
community' or where is it, if it exists?

Even the headline of the story is meant to suggest that in fact there
exists something called the 'India's all-important Muslim vote' :)

Regards

Taha


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7998819.stm

India's all-important Muslim vote

By Suvojit Bagchi
BBC News, Delhi


The Indian government's "war against terror" may cost the Congress
party dearly in the election.

Arrests and alleged extrajudicial killings of Muslim youths have
angered many in the Islamic community.

"People in power have branded us as terrorists and used us as a vote
bank, this cannot go on," said the all-powerful cleric of Delhi's Jama
Masjid mosque, Syed Ahmed Bukhari, in a recent press conference.

Speaking about the deaths of two Muslim students allegedly at the
hands of police in South Delhi's Muslim area last October, Mr Bukhari
said the Muslim community "wants justice".

'Safety and security'

This sense of injustice has resulted in the formation of new Muslim
political parties over recent months.

	

These parties believe in Indian parliamentary democracy and say they
are working to "strengthen" it.

The party manifestos unanimously emphasise the "safety and security"
of all communities, especially Muslims.

"The security of Muslims is one big issue, as after every blast in
India a series of arrests of Muslim youths takes place," said a
spokesperson for the influential All India Muslim Personal Law Board.

Muslim men were "systematically killed" in routine police encounters,
he alleged.

Muslims comprise more than 13% of India's population and many are
aggrieved that proportionately they only have about half that much
representation in parliament.

More than two dozen Muslim political parties, big and small, are
contesting these elections - almost double the figure of the last
election.

The prominent players are the Assam United Democratic Front (AUDF),
Ulema Council and Indian Peace Party in Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Muslim
Munettra Khazhagam in Tamil Nadu, the People's Democratic Council in
West Bengal and veterans like the Muslim League and Indian National
League in Kerala, the Democratic Secular Party in Bihar and the
Majlis-e Ittihad al-Muslimin in Andhra Pradesh.

	

Interestingly, even the staunchest supporters of these parties do not
believe they are going to win.

"Our primary aim is to erode the vote of the Congress party and then
to win a few seats," says Buranuddin Qasmi, an election analyst of the
AUDF.

Meanwhile, many Muslims are questioning the logic behind the hasty
launch of such parties.

They argue that a party like the Ulema Council will not even be able
to emerge as a minor player because it lacks proper planning and
goals.

Statistics show the parties that manage to win the votes of low caste
people along with the Muslim vote bank have a strong chance of
winning.

Since India's independence from British rule, Congress has been
getting a sizeable chunk of Muslim votes at national level, largely
because Muslims felt they had to prove their loyalty to India in early
post-partition days, experts say.

In India, the Muslim League and its president, Mohammad Ali Jinnah,
are held responsible for dividing India and creating Pakistan.

Muslims who stayed in India have traditionally supported Congress
since independence "to prove their loyalty".

Empowered

Yogendra Yadav, the noted political commentator, feels that Muslim
parties have "come of age".

"Fifty years into independence, the trauma of partition prevented
Muslim political parties from conceiving a politics of their own," he
says.

Muslims in Delhi
Many Muslims have questioned the proliferation of Islamic parties

"But they are slowly getting out of it. In the last decade or so they
have been speaking for themselves - a very positive sign for Muslims
as well as for democracy," Mr Yadav says.

The figures seem to support his claims - the proliferation of new
political parties means that no one party is expected to get more than
60% of Muslim votes.

But Congress believes Muslims cannot be empowered by a Muslim party alone.

"Muslim parties have traditionally voted for Congress and will
continue to do so, as they know only a majority party like Congress
with secular credentials can empower them," says Imran-ur Rehman
Kidwai, the chief of the party's Minority Cell.

He also brushed aside the fact that there is any kind of "insecurity
among Muslim youth", calling it a "non-issue".

But whatever Mr Kidwai says, in at least one state a Muslim party is
creating serious trouble for Congress.

The Islamic vote in Assam makes up more more than 20% of Muslim votes
and appears to be making forays into Congress bastions.

The Hindu nationalist BJP - which Muslims tend to vote against - could
win in the state.

But that has not stopped the AUDF from running anti-Congress campaigns.


"Enough of that - whenever Muslims vote against Congress, it is said
to be in favour of the BJP. Can't we ever raise our voice because of
right-wing parties like the BJP?" the AUDF's election analyst,
Buranuddin Qasmi, asks.

The real Achilles' heel for Congress is the Sachar Report - a prime
ministerial committee that recommended several measures to improve the
living conditions of Muslims in India.

Initiated by Congress and tabled in parliament in 2006, the report has
become central to the Indian Muslim community and is often quoted to
voice their grievances.

During election campaigns, Muslim parties have pointed out that none
of the recommendations of this report have been implemented.

"Congress and Manmohan Singh may have done a commendable job in
commissioning a report of this magnitude. But the minority affairs
ministry has done literally nothing to implement it, with the
exception of giving scholarships to Muslim students," Dr Abu Saleh
Shariff, member-secretary of the Sachar Committee Report, told the
BBC.

However, Imran Kidwai says that 19 out of 22 of its recommendations
have been implemented.

"Muslims will vote for Congress," he confidently predicted.