A man uninstalls a light from a temporary tent in front of a mosque in a Muslim-dominated area in Ahmedabad in 2014 | Reuters/Ahmad Masood
Postcolonial Muslim politics in India is often understood with regard to the destruction of Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992. The demolition of the mosque is placed in an interesting narrative of the ‘rise and fall’ of Muslims in India by establishing a link between the Babri Masjid and a wide range of issues, events and episodes: the advent of Islam in the subcontinent, Muslim rule, Muslim separatism, Partition, Urdu, Aligarh, communal riots and so on. Although such historical sketches remain honest to actual political events, they fail to recognise the multiplicity of Muslim politics.
To examine the diverse engagements of Muslim groups with postcolonial political realities, one has to give up the Babri Masjid-centric grand narrative of Islam/Muslims in India. Instead, certain context-specific reference points should be acknowledged to map out the contours of what might be called the Muslim political discourse.
Broadly speaking, three significant aspects of this discourse can be identified: the coalitional nature of Muslim politics, adherence to a constitutional language and the evocation of Muslim identities for social justice. These aspects should not be taken as representative features of any kind. We must recognise the fact that Muslim politics is a highly multifaceted phenomenon; nevertheless, by focusing on these conceptually relevant points, we might be able to understand the complex making of contemporary Muslim engagements with different forms of politics.
Coalitional politics
The ‘unification’ of India in the post-Partition scenario is seen as a linear trajectory of political transition. Except three tragedies – Hyderabad, Junagadh and Kashmir – our story of Indian federalism is simple and straightforward. However, the merger of various princely states into the Indian Union and reorganisation of the states in 1956 actually was a multi-stage process, which also shaped the Muslim political responses at various levels.
Muslim League’s politics in southern India is a good example. Partition had an adverse effect on the organisational structure of the Muslim League in India. Many League supporters and local leaders either migrated to Pakistan or joined the Congress in the north. However, the Muslim League survived in the south, partly because of its organisational strength in the Madras province and partly because of the regional orientation of its main leaders. In addition, there was another important geo-political factor.
The condition of Muslims in the south was significantly different from the north in the 1950s. While the nizam-ruled state of Hyderabad suffered the worst during Partition among areas in the south, the Muslim communities of this region (Madras Province, Mysore, Malabar region and the princely states of Travancore and Cochin) did not have to confront the same kind of hostile attitude of the state machinery which had already marginalised Muslims in north India. As a result, the political atmosphere was somehow conducive for Muslim groups, particularly the Muslim League, to work out a rather experimental politics in the 1950s.
The Madras Muslim League approached the Congress for an electoral alliance at the local level in 1951. Evoking the old argument that the League was the sole representative organisation of Indian Muslims, it was suggested that the Congress must support the League’s Muslim candidates and not run any Muslim candidate itself. This proposal needs to be seen in its context. The separate electorate, reservation of seats and even suggestion of having proportional representation had already been rejected.
In this scenario, the only option for the League was to identity a few safe ‘Muslim’ seats. It was not at all difficult, at least in the Madras province. The constituencies were to be carved out on the basis of population estimates in the 1951 elections and, in the absence of any proper delimitation, the identification of Muslim-dominated districts was a much easier task. However, the League, it seems, was not fully confident of the Muslim votes. It had no experience in mass-based electoral politics, and precisely for this reason, it was obvious for the League leaders to remain apprehensive about Muslim support in an open competition. Therefore, it was inevitable for them to negotiate with the Congress for ‘Muslim’ seats.
From the Congress’s point of view, the possibility of an electoral deal with the League, especially in the context of 1951, was going to be tricky business. Of course, the spirit of this proposal stems from the practicalities of electoral arithmetic, but these kinds of assertions were unacceptable in the 1950s. Jawaharlal Nehru was keen to ensure that the electoral mechanism should also reflect the principles of secular participation of masses as citizens. The Congress high command, as expected, thus turned down this offer and went in for the elections in the province without any formal coalition. The Muslim League, on the other hand, contested as a regional party and managed to get one Lok Sabha seat.
This electoral debacle forced the League to rework its future strategies. It is true that senior League leader B. Pocker won from the Malappuram constituency of the Madras province; but this success could not be seen as a ‘satisfactory’ performance, particularly when the party was still relying on Muslim exclusiveness as its main ideological position. To understand the League’s dilemma, let us look at the detailed result of the Malappuram constituency. It was a triangular contest. Although Pocker won the seat, he secured only 38.98% votes, while the other two candidates (T.V. Chathukutty Nair of the Congress and Kumhali Karikedan of the CPI) received 30.65% and 30.38% of the votes respectively. The apprehension that the League could not depend on Muslim votes in an open competition turned out to be factually correct. After all, the Malappuram district was a Muslim-dominated area and the League could have expected a much better performance here.
The creation of Kerala, which had a close to 18% Muslim population, gave a level playing ground to the League. The party ‘discovered’ the communists as a political enemy in Kerala, which gave it an opportunity to form a tactical coalition with the Congress and the Praja Socialist Party (PSP). In order to overthrow the communists, a mass movement against the CPI-led state government was launched by the coalition comprising the Congress, League and PSP. The outcome of the agitation was quite predictable: the Centre intervened and the elected government was toppled.
This ‘success’ of the coalition cleared the way for an electoral pact between the League and the Congress. This practical adjustment turned out to be highly favourable for both partners. The Congress contested elections in 80 seats and won 63; it also managed to secure 45.37% of the votes. On the other hand, the Muslim League was also in an adventitious position. Although it fought election only on 12 assembly seats, it won 11 and got 47.79% of votes on these seats.