Yogendra Yadav writes: India’s largest minority deserves better politics

This hostage-like concern is not of their ain making. The emergence of the BJP riding connected vicious anti-Muslim vitriolic, cannot but propulsion India’s largest spiritual number into a corner. At the aforesaid time, it indispensable beryllium remembered that Muslim governmental enactment and the authorities of “secular” parties contributed successful nary tiny measurement to this fate. After all, the authorities of keeping Muslims insecure and vulnerable, truthful arsenic to pouch their en bloc votes, did not statesman with the emergence of the BJP.

This manifests itself successful an intelligence trap. Very often, the responses of the “secular” campy connected Muslim issues are nary much than a reflector representation of the “communal” Hindu majoritarian authorities it opposes. The RSS-BJP acceptable the agenda, we conscionable invert immoderate they say. BJP trolls would similar to overgarment Muslims arsenic 1 unified assemblage of villains; we contiguous Muslims arsenic a homogenous radical of victims. Both sides stock the representation of Muslims arsenic a unified governmental bloc.

As the BJP moves up with its task of reducing each Hindu elector to his oregon her spiritual identity, we excessively collaborate by reducing each Muslim to his oregon her religion. The RSS-BJP insinuate that secularism is thing but pro-Muslim posturing; we often corroborate their suspicions by failing to separate a Muslim and a secular constituent of view. Secular guilt often leads to a contention to beryllium much Muslim than Muslims.

This makes for anemic knowing and mediocre politics, leaving nary coherent docket oregon effectual bureau for Muslims successful today’s India, barring exceptional moments similar the adjacent citizenship question against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. They person 3 options — resentful submission to the logic of their marginality, shamefaced collusion with the authorities oregon aggravated victimhood that leads to alienation. None of these is simply a dignified option. None of these offers immoderate agency.

As the Shaheen Bagh movement showed, Muslim nine has nary dearth of leadership, originative ideas and energy. But this has nary link with mainstream politics. Forging a coherent and effectual authorities for a Muslim is among the astir pressing and hard governmental projects of our time.

My erstwhile workfellow astatine CSDS and a beloved friend, Hilal Ahmed, has written consistently, and of precocious furiously, to code this question. The work of his latest publication A Brief History of the Present: Muslims successful New India (completed earlier but published aft 2024 elections), pursuing his Hindi publication Allah Naam Ki Siyaasat, is simply a consolidated and updated connection of the presumption helium has taken successful his fashionable and world writings, some successful Hindi and English, keeping his regard firmly connected the Muslim question, its past, contiguous and future. This publication concentrates connected Muslims successful “New India” since 2014.

Ahmed has carved retired a unsocial determination to code this question. I archetypal noticed it successful the unusual trinity of photographs successful his bureau astatine the CSDS: The Holy Kaaba, Mahatma Gandhi and Che Guevara. These correspond the 3 radically antithetic ideological perspectives that helium seeks to integrate. He is simply a devout Muslim who says 5 prayers a time and keeps each the rojas during the Holy Ramzan. At the aforesaid time, helium is simply a revolutionary, inspired by Marxism and committed to the ideas of equality and societal justness successful each realms of life. And if this operation was not enough, helium believes successful the Gandhian thought of sarv dharma sambhav and his marque of non-violent authorities of satyagraha.

It is not casual to weave these strands and his effort astatine this ideological integration is inactive a enactment successful progress. But this has yielded a chiseled presumption point: “I bash not privation to springiness up my individuality arsenic a Muslim; yet, astatine the aforesaid time, I bash not privation to talk lone arsenic a Muslim”. He invites america to deliberation of a authorities of “more than a Muslim”, the astir compelling position connected the Muslim question.

Incidentally, this whitethorn beryllium a bully standpoint for secular authorities successful wide — 1 limb planted wrong the assemblage and its traditions and the different firmly placed extracurricular it. Ahmed is profoundly acrophobic astir the mundane carnal and symbolic battle connected Muslims, but helium does not let his anxiousness to get the amended of his judgement. He is consenting to registry a nuance without losing show of the large picture. He does not springiness successful to the acheronian trope of shikwa that dominates writings connected and by Indian Muslims that leaves the unfortunate without immoderate work oregon agency.

At the aforesaid time, helium leaves america wondering what this “more than Muslim” authorities would look like. One happening is clear. The thought of 1 unified Muslim governmental bloc is unachievable, undesirable and counterproductive. A steadfast authorities of Indian Muslims volition beryllium a authorities of galore Muslim communities, each of which has much than 1 governmental enactment to take from. In this helium follows the pathbreaking enactment of governmental sociologist Imtiaz Ahmed.

There is nary 1 Muslim assemblage successful India, conscionable arsenic determination is nary 1 Hindu community. There are innumerable communities that travel Islam, each with chiseled ethnicities, languages, sociology-economic locations and, indeed, antithetic spiritual practices. This goes against the task of a unified nation-wide Muslim governmental assemblage that Muslim fundamentalists, immoderate Muslim leaders and a conception of clerics person worked for. The thought of a homogenised Muslim number bloc tin provender disconnected and successful crook lend to the task of a homogenous Hindu governmental bloc that the BJP dreams of.

This is not astir “dividing” Muslims. This is besides astir uniting section Muslim communities with non-Muslim communities with whom they stock societal and economical location. Following Ali Anwar’s pioneering enactment successful Masawat ki Jung, Ahmed besides foregrounds the pasmanda issue, that of backward and Dalit Muslim communities, that the Muslim elite wishes to elide.

This connects Muslim authorities with Dalit, Adivasi and Bahujan politics. And successful the footsteps of Asghar Ali Engineer, helium visualises solidarity with different oppressed classes. Muslims are farmers, weavers, artisans, organised-sector workers, unemployed and truthful on. A rule vigor of “more than Muslim” authorities has to beryllium connected forging unity with others from each these categories, Muslims oregon non-Muslim.

That inactive leaves many, bigger, questions that the quest for “more than Muslim” authorities faces: Does the hegemonic power of the BJP permission immoderate abstraction for these issues to beryllium foregrounded? Should we expect mainstream non-BJP parties to instrumentality up this agenda? If not them, who? Which argumentation issues indispensable this benignant of authorities rise first? Ahmed does not connection bully answers to these hard questions. Nor does anyone else.

The writer is member, Swaraj India and nationalist convenor of Bharat Jodo Abhiyaan. Views are personal.