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

[Venugopalan K M]

On 4/21/09, Venugopalan K M <kmvenuannur at gmail.com> wrote:
> Dear Taha,
>
> Whether we accept or not this kind of whimsical generalizations  about
> Indian Muslim, I am afraid one cannot afford to miss the underlying
> subtext of "Islam as the Other" not only in India,but all over the
> globe. No doubt we can challenge it; but one will rather do so with
> concerns about its implication in the  social lives of Muslims
> everywhere. For example, even a Muslim name could become problematic
> in a real life situation in many parts of the world notwithstanding
> the fact that you may be an agnostic or Marxist!
> We are aware of the fact that even a person like Eshan Jaffry(pardon
> the spelling) with the status of a prominent  ex parliamentarian
> Congress leader was not able to escape the horrendous consequences of
> that.
> So, Muslims are doubly burdened with defending the identity on the one
> hand, as well as challenging it on the other. The case of Taslima is
> an extreme one in point. Eventhough she is not a Muslim by conviction,
> she represents the plight of all female believers in a Muslim
> theocracy where a particular definition of Islam became the basis for
> conceding or denying citizenship.
> Fatima Mernissi, in her Women and Islam has defined Muslim in a
> narrower (or broader?)sense that would include all the subjects of a
> theocratic state and its personal laws, and independent of one's
> personal convictions vis a vis the faith.
> In short, I would say that there indeed exists a concept of 'Muslim
> voter' in India,  notwithstanding that individual voters might
> challenge this blanket concept in a particular context and would
> endorse the same in another context. In my view, there is nothing
> reprehensible in acting in this manner, when we take into
> considerations the imperatives of grave challenges to the very
> existence of divergent faiths in India which is actually rooted in the
> ideology of Brahmanical Hindutwa. This is the most deplorable form of
> cultural nationalism, which likes to ground the very idea of
> citizenship in it. Even the Indian constitution is anathema to this
> band of nationalists,who fortunately did not enjoy the mandate of more
> than a fifth of all Indian voters even in their best days! In the 2004
> elections they seemed dangerously close to a second tenure of office
> thanks to the oprtunist realpolitiking by the regional parties and to
> the support of the upper caste dominated media. But the common people
> proved that they had not only the eyes and ears to see through all,
> but they also had the wisdom to give a fitting response
> Regards,
> Venu.
>
> On Tue, Apr 21, 2009 at 4:58 AM, Taha Mehmood
> <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> wrote:
>>
>> 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.
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