MUSLIM MINORITY IN INDIA Under The Supervision of Dr. Iram Khalid Submitted by JANNAT MUBASH M Phil International Relations FOREIGN POLICY ANALYSIS Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab, Lahore
ABSTRACT This paper sheds light at understanding the fortune of the Muslim Minority in India. In context of the issues and problems faced by Muslims of India it attempts to explore the root cause of all suppression. The paper briefly discusses the demographic distribution and educational status of Muslims. The constitution of India has also been analyzed in order to examine the constitutional status of Muslim minority. A little light has been thrown on how the thought process of Muslims has been affected over the period of years. Further the role of Indian leadership in the initial constitutional building and later in state s political makeover is broadly discussed. Along with the role of political leadership, the role of some prominent fanatic Hindu organizations in promoting Hindutva and communalism against Muslims, in collaboration with political parties is also discussed. Lastly the role of Indian Media has been examined. The paper ends raising questions over Indian secularism and giving certain recommendations for both; the Muslim minority to counter the new wave of Hindutva and also for the Indian leadership to acknowledge the importance of reforming India into a practical secular state, that actually protects the rights of minorities. KEY WORDS: Muslim Minorities, Communalism, Secularism, Religion, Hindutva, Modutva, i
CONTENTS Abstract... i Constitutional Status of Muslim Minority... 2 Research Questions... 3 Research Objectives... 4 Literature Review... 4 Historical Context... 6 Discussion... 8 Issues & Problems... 8 Role of Political leadership... 9 Role of Indian Media...13 Summary...14 Findings...15 Recommendations...16 My Idea...18 References...18 ii
Minorities are marginalized communities, marginalized on the basis of Cast, colour, creed, religion, culture and language. The Muslim minority of India have been suffering the turmoil since the inception of India. Demographically Muslims make up 14% of the Indian population that lives under worst conditions of poverty and unemployment. Muslims of India are deprived of basic rights, they are deprived of political participation, they are deprived of a share in government jobs. They are the most neglected and the most exploited group of the Indian society. Educationally also the Muslims are deprived of basic education, the children in schools are treated inhumanely and are forced to oblige to the Hindu doctrines, however in Higher educational institutions they are not given admissions, only the elite Muslims are incorporated into the Muslim quota which is very less in number, thus the Muslims don t even have right to educate themselves. As per the census of India 2011, the literacy rate among Muslims is 59%. Religiously they are repressed, they are not allowed to practice their religious traditions openly or else they will be facing serious consequences. Muslims work participation is 31%, 47% contributed by males and 14% contributed by females. 20% of the Muslims contribute as cultivators, 22% as agricultural laborers, 8.2% in the household industry and 49% as other workers. (Census of India 2011) Thus Muslims make up a major part of India s lower level work force but are given no fruitful results. India claims to be a secular state and the story of Muslim Minority tells a totally different story. In framework of a secular state the minorities are guaranteed full fundamental rights and equal citizenship but the Indian version of secularism even fails to recognize the Muslims as humans that at least should be given basic human rights. 1
Constitutional Status of Muslim Minority A closer look at the Indian constitution demonstrates that secularism is not even made part of the constitution of the state. The term secularism does not exist in the objective resolution, nor does it exists in the Indian constitution. This shows that being secular is of what importance to India. There is not even a single direct provision in the constitution of India that is comparable to the first amendment of the US constitution. If the Indian constitution is carefully studied one would see that it is unsecular in several respects, moreover it not even forbids discrimination on religious grounds. Some of the major provisions from the Indian constitution in favour of my argument are listed below: Article 15(1) of the constitution which embodies the principle of religious non-discrimination permits religion as one of the legal factors. Article 16 (2) makes religion as one of the grounds for rendering a citizen ineligible for or discriminating against him in respect of any employment or office. Article 23(2) allows discrimination while imposing compulsory service in public interest on the basis of religion. Article 29(2) approves discrimination in matter of admission into any stateowned educational institute on purely religious grounds. Article 21(1) says the imparting of education in any educational institutions is maintained by state funds. Article 25(2) which lays the fundamental rights, says that the state has the power to restrict the freedom of the individual to choose the religion he would like to profess, in interest of the public order, morality and health. 2
This article also says that the state enjoys broad powers of interference in religious matters and has vast power to control the financial administration of religious institutions. Article 26 of the Indian constitution says that a legislature can validly impose laws regulating the administration of religious institutions. (Ref book library, 1970) In other words the constitution of India permits the state to draft sectarian or communal legislation and it also empowers the state to legislate different laws for different groups. This illustrates discrimination among Indian masses as a clear feature of the Indian constitution. Irony of the fact is that Indian leadership has legalized discrimination through their constitution and claim to be a secular nation. Another major point to be mentioned is that Indian constitution has declared religion as a legal factor which means religion matters with the state s political affairs however the constitutions of other secular states for example Brazilian constitution Article 14(8), Bulgarian constitution Article 71, Burmese constitution Article 21(3) and Yugoslavian constitution Article 21 completely rule out religion as a legal factor in conduct of state affairs. Research Questions This research paper answers the following questions: 1. What are the major issues faced by the Muslims of India? 2. Why the Muslims of India face oppression despite being the largest minority group and a major part of Indian population? 3. What is the role of Indian Media in promoting antagonism against Indian Muslims? 3
4. Why the muslins of India do not form a strong resisting movement against the government? Research Objectives To access the major issues faced by the Muslim Minorities in India. To explore the major causes for Hindu oppression against their largest minority group. To analyze the role of Indian Media in promoting antagonism against Muslims Minorities. Literature Review The plight of the Muslim minority in India remained academically untouched till the 1950s. As communalism took grounds and numerous communal Hindu organizations became active in India, a number of Muslims were killed as a result of communal riots in 1950 which led to minority crisis between India and Pakistan. Minorities became a regional issue because of the communal rioting between two South Asian neighboring states, and thus gained attention of International community and academia. It was after signing of the Liaquat-Nehru pact or the minorities pact in April 1950 that by 1960s scholars started writing about the issues of the Muslim minority of India. A major research on the Muslim minority of India has been conducted by S. Abid Hussain. She has divided her book into three parts, first part discusses the roots of the secular communalism, religious nationalism and secular nationalism among Indians. Further the author discusses the post 1947 era in which she focuses on the presence of strong Hindu nationalistic sentiments in a so-called democratic India 4
claimed to be secular. Moreover the author studies in detail the social cultural and economic life of Indian Muslims and their relations with Hindu brothers. This book provides deep understanding of the status of Muslim minority in India. (Saleha Abid Hussain, 1965, The Destiny of Indian Muslims, Asia Publishing House, London). A very important contribution is made by Shahzana Mallick. Her research focuses on the Hindu revivalism and its direct impact over Muslim minority. In her book she began with discussing the Hindu revivalism in the pre-independence era and moves on to discussing its growing wave in the post-independence era. Further she highlights the role of Indian leadership in promoting Hindu religious antagonism and then the sufferings of Indian Muslims. Her book is a major work for understanding the Hindu mindset and the real condition of Muslims in a so-called secular state of India. (Shahzana Mallick, 1994 Hindu Revivalism and the Indian Muslims, Quaid-E-Azam University, Islamabad). Another research by Iram Khalid analyses the India-Pakistan minority crisis of 1950 in detail. Her research explains the role of Hindu communal organizations in propagating communal violence against Muslims in India. Besides this her research also focuses on explaining the role of Indian political leadership in controlling or promoting communal riots and oppression against Muslims. Her study of the minority crisis and the role of Nehru in managing and deescalating the crisis by signing the minorities pact and assuring the protection of minority Muslims illustrates that if the political leadership wants to control or minimize communal tensions, it can. Despite the fact that Liaquat-Nehru settlement was opposed in West Bengal, still Nehru managed to reach an agreement. (Iram Khalid, 2013, Pakistan-India Conflicts: An Application of Crisis Decision Making, Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab, Lahore). 5
Another research by I.H.Qureshi provides a comprehensive analysis of the Indian constitution and the Hindu version of its own secularism followed by India. His research helps understanding the Indian mindset which is reflected in the constitution of India. He explains that antagonism against Muslims and strong ties of Indians with Hinduism are deeply rooted in Indian society which form the basis for strong Hindu nationalism and this Hindu nationalism fails to acknowledge, accept and allow secularism to take practical grounds in India. The author criticizes the Indian secularism and explains that all these reasons are the cause for the suffering of the Muslim minority in India. (I.H.Qureshi, 1970, The Muslims of India, University of Karachi). Historical Context The independent state of India came as a blow to the Muslims of India who had struggled for independence along with Hindus. The Muslims were left in a very awkward situation with no power to react to the hostile and dominating behavior of their Hindu rival citizens. The Muslim that were a part of the independence struggle became the worst victims of the political economic and social deprivation after the independence of India. The communal violence continued in the succeeding years of independence. The communal rights in Aligarh, Ahmedabad and Moradabad turned into a clash between the Hindus police force and the Muslims and as a result a number of Muslims were violently killed. Since the inception Hindus were reluctant to accept the pluralistic nature of their society and this reluctance has been witnessed in the number of incidents for example the destruction of mosque in the name of RAM. This was the height of religious suppression that the Muslims had to bear such uncivilized acts of 6
destroying their mosques in the presence of the top political leadership which included BJP, VHP, and RSS. The Muslim suffered incalculable losses of lives, disabilities & missing persons in the post-partition era. The government of India as well as its political leadership has failed to protect the rights of the Muslim minority and in fact they have been a part of organized destructive aggression against the Muslim. The communal conflict has been the history of Indian Muslims, because of the preindependence struggle between Muslims and Hindus and their elite for control over economic resources and for gaining political power. And this communal rioting has continued over the past to the present day which is the major reason for affecting the material, modern and intellectual condition of Muslims. Since 69 years Muslims of India have been suffering religious, political and economic suppression and as a result they are not only materially weak but also intellectually in turmoil, their thought process has been effected to such an extend and their level of deprivation of basic right has increased to such an extend that they are not even able to form any strong voices for their rights against the government of India. The Muslims since independence have lived a life of suspicious and fear and such circumstances have languished their energies, destroyed their spirit and dwindled their creative capabilities. Moreover with the passage of time these circumstances have also undermined their self-confidence and have lead them towards a chronic frustration. Day to day suppression and deprivation is leading them towards a life of increased rejection and isolation. 7
Discussion Issues & Problems To the present day Muslims are facing a wide range of issues from compromises, persecution to being socially isolated. Minorities all around the world are thought to have negative connotations but the Muslim minority of India are a community with no present, no future and no hope, as quoted by many writers. The darker picture of their lives is growing darker with every passing day, every another day they suffer from charges of extremism or terrorism and they have no practical social existence. Two major reasons can be listed for the suppression of Muslims as a result of communalism which include: 1. Hindu Muslim religious-rivalry Both Hindus and Muslims have strong religious roots and this religious tussle not only dates back to centuries, but also holds memories of skirmishes from the independence struggle. Religion has been used as a major weapon for communal propaganda by the Hindu communalists as well as the Indian political leadership as the major circles in India want the domination of Hinduism throughout India. 2. Economic factor involving the class-conflict. Due to the fact that Hindus are in majority and Muslims are a minority in India by partition and that India belongs to the Hindus, a class division has ever existed between Hindus and Muslims since independence. Majority of the industrialists, employers and middle-men in India are Hindus, however the majority of workers, 8
artisans and employees are Muslims. This represents a picture of class conflict between the upper class and the lower class. Role of Political leadership Indian s political leadership and their particular mindset and interests have played a very negative role in promoting antagonism against Muslim minority. Since independence the political leadership of India has been suppressing and victimizing the Muslim minorities. In order to have a comprehensive understanding of the role of leadership the aims and actions of all the political parties and organizations operating in India have been analyzed below. Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (R.S.S) [The National Volunteer Organization] RSS was a main force that was against the creation of Pakistan before 1947 and after the independence its image shattered as a result of the formation of Pakistan but later this organization began to have influence in the Hindu establishment by taking part in the anti-cow slaughter campaign in 1952, then in 1970s it began distributing news to more than 1000 correspondents around India which included 24 news centers. Resultantly the number of the readers of the RSS increased. RSS wanted to strengthen Hindu nationalism as its core agenda pre-partition as well as post-partition, and so by increasing its readers it started to work on its agenda of promoting Hindu nationalism. RSS continued operating for Hindu revivalist movements in India having no concern for other religious minorities. Bhsrstiya Jana Sangh (BJS) [1951-77] BJS operated from 1951-1977 and it emerged under the leadership of Dr. Mokerjee as the president and A.B. Vajpaee as his private secretory. Mokerjee had 9
previously resigned from Nehru s cabinet as a refusal to accept Liaquat-Nehru pact which guaranteed equal rights to minorities living in India and Pakistan. Thus this was also an anti-muslim party and also held strict aims for Hindu revivalism. The four essentials of BJS were one nation, one country, one culture & Dharma Raj (rule of law). This party also had strong belief in the philosophy that Hindus are a nation i.e. Hindu rashtra. They considered Hindus not only a religious group in India but a nation of India. Moreover its ultimate goal was Akhand Bharat which meant reunification of India and Pakistan. BJS opposed a number of agreements that favored India-Pakistan relations which included Nehru-noon agreement 1958, Tashkent agreement as well as the Simla agreement. On the issue of Kashmir also BJS had a clear stance that Kashmir solely belongs to India. BJS also raised opposition to the promotion of Urdu language because according to them this would provoke separatism in the country. The role of Mr. Vajpaee in Lok sabha has also been witnessed with promoting anti-muslim stance. However BJS became the first victim of emergency in India and thus was dissolved. It reemerged with the name of Bharatiya Janata party BJP in 1980. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) [Indian Peoples Party] Mr. Vajpaee took the presidency of BJP and in his inaugural declaration he said that he was proud of his association with RSS which was a fanatic Hindu organization as discussed previously. Thus the new government of BJP in 1980s brought with it the BJP-RSS nexus, a new wave of Hindutva, with strong agendas of promoting Hindu domination throughout India. 10
BJP s view neglecting the Muslims is evident from its slogans one country, one nation. BJP government laid the policy of positive secularism which according to them meant justice for all and appeasement for no one i.e. there is no appeasement for minorities. BJP also advocated that the Minorities commission should be replaced with Human rights commission so that not even a single institution remains particularly for the hearing of the rights of minorities. On the issue of Kashmir they had a stance of rehabilitating the Hindus of Kashmir. On the Babari masjid issue also the leadership of BJP had a strong stand for building up a temple at Janamasthan. In a nutshell the BJP s political views can be listed as Muslim minority are anti-national because they are the ones responsible for dividing India i.e. the Indian subcontinent. Nehru was involved in the partition process and also gave appeasement to the minorities and shall be opposed by Hindus. BJP believed that there should be no appeasement for Muslim minority in India. They had a dream of Hindu Rashtra i.e. a hindu state and a unified Hindu nation which would be governed by doctrines of Ram s rule. Vishwa Hindu Parisad (VHP) [World Hindu Council] The RSS members made effort to create VHP for the unification of the Hindu society. Golwalkar united some Hindu religious leaders and established this organization for unifying the Hindus religiously. It had three basic agendas: To consolidate the Hindu society. 11
To strengthen and establish links between Hindus and people of other different countries. To spread and protect the Hindu values. Thus this organization also had purely religious Hindu agendas but they also wanted to establish Hindu Rajya i.e. a Hindu state which made its functioning political as well. Working for a Hindu state reformation this entity also neglected the issue of Muslim minority or other minorities in India. Shiv Sena [The Army of Shiva] Shiv Sena is seen as the most aggressive political party in India. Although it portrays itself as a major champion of Human rights in the politics of India, however the reality is totally opposite of that. One of the major reasons for the spread and influence of Shiv Sena is its leadership. The party was initially led by Bal Thakaray who was a cartoonist in a journal in Bombay, thus the leader had prior political insight and being a media person he had good skills of representing a story the way he wants. Shiv Sena has also been working in collaboration with the RSS and is one of those political parties of India that propagated and urged the Hindus to become fanatics while treating the Muslim minority is the most aggressive and humiliating ways possible. Thakaray has always been anti-muslim and so his party agendas are. He blamed the Indian Muslim minority for having Pakistani mentality. He also provoked anger among Muslims by giving derogatory remarks for the Prophet (SAW). At another moment Thakaray stated that Muslim minority has always been ungrateful to India and that they are a burden over the Indian state because they are responsible for increase in population, whereas the Hindus are a patriots and 12
belong to the state, they are grateful citisens because they are following the family planning and are concerned about the population burden. Thus by giving such remarks Thakaray and his party provokes the Hindu masses to take up arms against the Muslim minority. An analysis of the India political leadership and the mindset of its political parties helps us to understand that how leadership matters in shaping the views of general public. Indian leadership has always promoted a division between Hindus and Muslims, during the pre-partition period as well as during the post-partition period. To the present day Indian leadership promotes the slogans of Hindu nationalism and Hinduism in India rather than promoting democratic and secular slogans. This impacts the Indian society as a whole. The Muslim minority of India has also suffered systematically organized riots at the hands of the political leadership and militant fanatic organizations. The RSS and Shiv Sena have been most prominent for promoting Hindutva across the country. Role of Indian Media Media plays a very prominent role in shaping the perceptions of masses and thus Indian media has also been a major actor in provoking communal violence. During the past the Indian media has clearly worked with the leadership of India in promoting Hindutva. It exactly spoked the language of the Indian leadership. Indian Media has never highlighted the plight of Muslim minorities. The news media as well as the entertainment industry has always promoted Hinduism as Indian culture through promoting national policies, through songs as well as through movies. There are a number of examples from Indian movies in which the characters played by the Muslims have been criticized for example the film refugee. The Muslims have always been represented with negative connotations. 13
Currently a shift is being evidenced in the role of Indian Media and several persons belonging to Media Industry. The news media criticized the treatment of the journalist who invited Mr.Kasuri for his book launch. This incident was also criticized by several other Hindu circles. Recently Actor Amir Khan has also made a grave attempt to highlight the negative and shameful side of the Hindu rituals in his film PK. He also faced criticism at nation-wide level but the good thing is prominent persons in the Media industry of India have stood up against the aggression of the fanatic Hindu circles. Summary The plight of the Muslim minority in India remained academically untouched till the 1950s. As communalism took grounds and numerous communal Hindu organizations became active in India, a number of Muslims were killed as a result of communal riots in 1950 which led to minority crisis between India and Pakistan. The constitution of India permits the state to draft sectarian or communal legislation and it also empowers the state to legislate different laws for different groups. This illustrates discrimination among Indian masses as a clear feature of the Indian constitution. Irony of the fact is that Indian leadership has legalized discrimination through their constitution and claim to be a secular nation. An analysis of the India political leadership and the mindset of its political parties helps us to understand that how leadership matters in shaping the views of general public. Indian leadership has always promoted a division between Hindus and Muslims, during the pre-partition period as well as during the post-partition period. 14
To the present day Indian leadership promotes the slogans of Hindu nationalism and Hinduism in India rather than promoting democratic and secular slogans. The Muslim minority of India has also suffered systematically organized riots at the hands of the political leadership and militant fanatic organizations. The RSS and Shiv Sena have been most prominent for promoting Hindutva across the country. Findings The major issues faced by Muslims of India include religious repression at the hands of Hindutva, communal violence, lack of political representation and the economic depression, most of all poor jobs that contribute to their poor social living standard. The major causes for suppression of Muslims include the religious tussle between Hindus and Muslims and the role of political leadership and fanatic Hindu organizations in promoting Hinduism and in adopting discriminatory stances and policies against the Muslim minorities. The paper provides occasional evidences of the violence propagated by the political leaders. PM Modi himself is a contemporary example. The Indian Media has promoted communal violence in the past along with that the agendas of Hinduism but now a tilt is seen in the role of media. A number of circles in Indian Media have started criticizing the extreme Hindu oppression but still there is a long way to go for changing the perceptions of Hindus regarding the Muslim minority. 15
Recommendations 1. Muslims of India should use social media as an initial step for raising their voice and conveying the story of their sufferings the world, social media is easily accessible and can be made a first step towards their struggle for basic human rights. 2. Muslims of India should began their struggle from gathering initial support from their fellow Hindu countrymen. There are certain sectors in India that criticize the aggressive Hindu mindset and oppression. Without the support from within the Hindu population it is not possible for Muslims to deal with the oppression of the aggressive and demoralizing forces against them. 3. Steps should be taken to organize interfaith dialogue and partnerships between Hindus and Muslims and other religious minorities in India. This can help improving the treatment of minorities and this would also help India building up a secular society in practical terms. 4. Media can play a very vital role in setting up the agenda of every society, Indian media should play its part in normalizing the way it portrays the Muslim minority. If the media starts discouraging the oppressive behaviors and stops demonizing the outlook of Muslims, this would impact changing the perceptions of Muslims in minds of the Hindu population. 5. Indian leadership and Indian people should embrace pluralism and should recognize it as one of the key features of secularism since they claim India to be a secular state. 16
6. International community should work for the formation of certain global standards over the issue of the treatment of minorities because there are a number of minority groups across the globe that suffer and are deprived of basic rights. A number of attempts have been made by several Hindu circles to suppress the existence of Muslims minority and such attempt have ultimately demolished a secular and democratic India which Gandhi dreamed of. With the expression and expansion of Hindutva the Hindus are losing the secular image that they created at the time of independence. The suppressed Muslims of India strongly advocate cultural assimilation but they are reluctant to lose their centuries old traditions and religious doctrines. The matters of faith cannot be washed away from Muslim community, so the Hindus should tried to incorporate all distant communities under India nationalism rather than Hindu nationalism. Indian leadership should work towards developing a secular India because that will not only prevent the Indian society from the communal pollution but it will also help creating political and social tranquility and regional cohesion in term with Pakistan. Today is a modern age and every prejudiced action carried out under the banner of Hindutva is noticed as well as reported by the world electronic media as well as the print media which is raising a number of questions over Indian secularism. 17
My Idea The roots of democracy are traced from the Westphalia 1648, which laid the foundation of a modern state. Later the international system transformed and the concept of secularism emerged. All the Western secular nations have completely ruled out religion as a legal factor, as a part of their constitution (examples include the Burmese constitution and the Bulgarian constitution etc.). India still constitutionally consider religion as a legal factor. They talk about secularism but have no practical grounds for secularism to operate, thus in my opinion India having so many ethnicities should move towards separating religion from politics and state affairs. Only then can be the minorities rights protected and only then can India achieve the true version of secularism and democracy. References Hussain, S. Abid. 1965, The Destiny of Indian Muslims, Asia Publishing House, London, UK. Khalid, Iram. 2013, Pakistan-India Conflicts: An Application of Crisis Decision Making, Assistant Lecturer, Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan Mallick, Shahzana. 1994, Hindu Revivalism and the Indian Muslims, Quaid-e- Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan. Zain, Omar Farooq. 2009, Marginalization of Muslim Minority in India, Assosiate professor, Department of political science and international relations, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan. 18
Majid, Imam Mohamed. et al, 2011, The Roles of Muslim-Majority and Muslim- Minority Communities in Global Context, Brookings. I.H.Qureshi, 1970, The muslims of India. University of Karachi. Census of India 2011 19