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It is said that Muslims lack proper leadership and are hence facing colossal
problems. But this coin be said of the whole country. It is certainly true that
lack of quality leadership is not a good omen. There have been plenty of
politicians but hardly any statesman in the post-Independence India. The
politicians give priority to personal power and have no hesitation sacrificing the
country's ,interests.
This is true of Muslims as well. Their leaders never feel concerned about their
people and their problems but are busy bargaining with various-parties to enrich
themselves. Before Independence, there were leaders such as Maulana Abul Kalam
Azad, the Ali Brothers, Kan Abdul Gaffar Khan, Maulana Husain Ahmad Madani, Hakim
Ajmal Khan, Dr. Ansari, Saifuddin Kitchiew, Dr. Zakir Husain and others.
Statesmen a d men of vision, they sacrificed their everything for freedom and
balanced the interests of the country and those of the Muslim minority.
Madani not only fought against the British but also made sacrifices for keeping
India united. As soon as the Muslim League passed the two-nation resolution in
March 1940, the Maulana, risking his reputation and life began to tour the country
appealing to the Muslims not be misled by the League propaganda. When Mahatma
Gandhi and Maulana Muhammad All visited Aligarh and appealed to students to give
up their studies for the national cause. Dr. Zakir Husain did not hesitate for a
moment and left the college to join the Independence movement. His subsequent
life was a saga of suffering and sacrifice. Gaffar Khan accepted the doctrine of
non-violence propounded by Gandhiji and came to he known as Sarhadi or Frontier
Gandhi.
These leaders never ran after any office, let alone aspiring for pecuniary gains.
They thought deeply and weighed the pros and cons before launching into any
action. Some post-Independence Muslim leaders, who played with emotional issues,
dubbed them the-puppets of the Congress or the government. Jinnah accused Azad of
being the Congress "showboy".
Azad was a great Islamic scholar and commentator on 'the holy Quran but never
played with the religious emotions of the people. Always Sober, he used the power
of his intellect to arrive at a decision 'and was never swayed by religious
considerations. But the new crop of Muslim leadership lacked not only vision but
also scruples though there were honourable exceptions. They plunged the community
into a serious emotional crisis. In the pre-Babri Masjid demolition phase, the
issues were mainly the Aligarh Muslim University, Urdu and the personal law.
Hardly any Muslim leader thought of the economic and educational problems of the
masses of their community. Of course, such instances can be cited before
Independence also. Jinnah was so preoccupied with either bargaining power for the
Muslim elite or the demand for Pakistan that he hardly spelt out any economic
programme for his people. When the Urdu poet Iqbal wrote to Jinnah to give a
thought to the poverty of the Muslims and that the League would never become a
popular party without such a programme, the latter ignored him and quietly dropped
him from the presidentship of the Punjab Muslim League.
Thus one can say that emotional politics among the Muslims has been a legacy of
pre-Independence days. But it is not wholly true as several Muslim leaders of
national and international stature adopted a constructive approach to the problems
of the country as well as those of the Muslims. But the latter-day leaders swerved
from the idealistic path to climb the easy way to power and pelt Lacking a mass
base or support, they desperately needed demogogy to keep themselves relevant.
However, it is also necessary to take certain facts into account which partially
explain the conduct of the Muslim leadership. First, the post-Independence
political scenario was riddled with communalism and communal violence. In fact,
major communal disturbances, right from the Jabalpur riot of 1962 to the
post-Babri Masjid demolition riots of 1992-93, made the Muslims feel intensely
insecure. Insecurity makes people emotional and liable to be exploited. Secondly,
there was a constant threat to their religio-cultural identity from the majority
communal forces, making them ready fodder for the designs of selfish leaders.
Thirdly, the better-off sections of the Muslims had migrated to Pakistan,
especially from the north. during Partition, and those left behind were mainly
from the backward castes, extremely poor and unlettered. These sections tended to
be emotional and generally lacked sophistication and survival strategies.
Fourthly, the ruling parties until recently indulged in symbolic "appeasement" of
the Muslims with an eye on their votes rather than doing something substantial for
their economic and educational advancement. Welfare schemes announced at the time
of elections were never implemented. The 15-point programme formulated by Indira
Gandhi for the upliftment of backward Muslims turned out to be an election
gimmick.
A study by the Institute of Islamic Studies, Mumbai, of the programme and its
Implementation in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh clearly showed that it was being
completely neglected by the government and the bureaucracy. The Gopal Singh
Commission appointed by Indira Gandhi in 1981 prepared a comprehensive report and
made useful recommendations for the upliftment of the Muslims, particularly
artisans. But it gathered dust on the government shelf and was never implemented.
Fifthly, the bulk of the Muslim population today belongs to the backward castes
and Dalits but this fact was never recognised either by the government or the
Muslim leaders. Even the Gopal Singh Commission report, otherwise an excellent
document, tended to ignore this fact. One has to keep these facts in mind. while
assessing the role of die Muslim leadership which exploited the sense of
insecurity among the community. Whereas it aroused passions and created a hysteria
on the Shah Bano case, it never raised the issue of implementation of either the
Gopal Singh report or the 15-point programme.
Until the demolition of Babri Masjid, the Muslim masses continued to be the
victims of emotional, politics. The demolition and the subsequent riots made them
realise the futility of such a course. There has been a Qualitative change in
their attitude since then. The demolition thus became a watershed in Muslim
politics and in fact, a more realistic and constructive era can be said to have
dawned.
The Mandal Commission has brought about a great deal of change in the new
intelligentsia emerging from backward sections of the Muslim society. There is
much greater awareness today that Muslim politics has benefited only the upper
strata of the community and that a fair deal need to he given to the underdogs.
The backward Muslim morchas and similar organisations are demanding justice.
This certainly augurs well for the Muslims and now no politician -- Muslim or
non-muslim -- can easily exploit, the community to garner votes.
(The author is a well-known Bohra reformist)
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