 |
||
|
||
|
||
Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting and Civil Aviation
C M Ibrahim has made good use of every opportunity to fly down to
Kerala.
Within nine months as Union Minister, Ibrahim has visited this city
over half a dozen times and stayed on for two to three days on
occasions. The prime minister's Man Friday, with his political base
in South Karnataka and wide family ties in North Kerala's Sunni
Muslim belt is targeting at emerging as the undisputed leader of
Muslim voters in South India, notwithstanding the deep political
and ideological fissures that divide the community.
On his frequent visits, Ibrahim made a concerted bid to woo the
most conservative sections among Muslims, whether it he the Ulema
group led by Kanthapuram A P Aboobacker Musaliar or the Sunnis in
rival Samastha Kerala Sunni Jumiyyathul Ulema. Last week, Ibrahim
spent over two days here mainly wooing the Indian Union Muslim
League led by religious leader Panakkad Mohammedali Shihab Thangal.
Listed important on his itinerary was a function at the Jamiya
Nooriyya at Pattikkad in Malappuram, an institution run by a trust
close to the Panakkad Thangal.
His first attempt in Malabar was to woo Kanthapuram, who leads a
breakaway Sunni group known for its extremist positions in
religious matters. Kanthapuram happens to be a loner in Muslim
matters, thanks to his extremist positions, and his group never
misses a chance to run down rivals on every religious dispute.
Ibrahim did not hesitate to bring the prime minister to the
Kanthapuram headquarters at Karanthur a few months ago. The
political mis-step, however, failed to generate the goodwill Janata
Dal politicians hoped for and instead aggravated wounded feelings.
Even Left Democratic Front leaders kept off Gowda's meeting.
On his visit last week, Ibrahim made conscious attempts to correct
the partisan image and spent much time with other, more progressive
sections in the community. His strategy in consolidating a Muslim
vote-bank in the south has changed over the past few months. In
the initial days, he set much store by the ultra-conservative
sections projecting himself before them as a most pious and
conservative Sunni. His family has interests in the durgah of a
Muslim scholar at Madavur here - the Jaram of C M Valiyullahia.
But the approach backfired as progressive sections abhor such
practices like Jaram worship. Hence the change in strategy, with
focus on issues like reservations for Muslims, better facilities
for Haj pilgrims, etc, which will have a common appeal across the
community.
Ibrahim's earlier line had other problems, too. His party is
committed to providing more representation for women in Assemblies
and Parliament but his political constituency of the
arch-conservative Sunni groups opposes any role for women outside
the kitchen. It is a problem which could put even a wily
politician like Ibrahim in trouble.
Hence his new moves to keep off the pitfalls and open a fine to the
progressives. It is an open question whether he has effectively
skirted the pitfalls and found a bridge across to a solid Muslim
vote-bank, as the divisions in the community could prove deeper
still for his skills.
|
||
|
||
|
||