April 4: A sense of unease has crept up on the Muslim leadership at the recurring show of support the BJP has managed to find from religious and political sections of the community.
If the diwan — or traditional administrator — of Ajmer dargah, Zainulabeidin, flagged off deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani’s Bharat Uday yatra, Islamic Centre chief Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, who edits the magazine Alrisala, has said in recent interviews that Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee should not be blamed for the Gujarat riots and Ayodhya.
Outfits like the Congress and the Samajwadi Party are perplexed by the trend, which has also seen poet Bashir Badar join the BJP. Muslim leaders belonging to these outfits have dubbed these people “rank opportunists” and “political lightweights”.
But they are uncomfortable with the stand taken by leaders like Rajya Sabha deputy chairperson Najma Heptullah, Arif Mohammad Khan, who recently joined the BJP, All-India Imam’s Conference chief Maulana Jamil Illyasi, Minorities Financial Development Corporation head Qari Mohammad Mian Mazhri and poet Manzar Bhopali. They fear their stand might prompt a shift in voter preferences.
Leaders of “secular” parties feel “opportunism” has driven some Muslim clergymen and others to the BJP. But a small segment is thinking of doing business with the party that was regarded as an “enemy”. This group says it is trying out the BJP to ensure safety for Muslims and to join the “national mainstream”, going beyond slogans of protecting Muslim personal law, Urdu and the minority character of Aligarh Muslim University.
Off the record, some Muslim leaders blame the “secular parivar” for creating conditions that are driving a section of the clergy and politicians to the BJP. The lack of unity among the non-National Democratic Alliance grouping, mainly the Congress, the Samajwadi and the Bahujan Samaj Party, is being cited as a reason.
The “secular” parties are also under the scanner, because of the way the term secularism has been applied. For instance, if a Kalyan Singh or Sakshi Maharaj joins the Samajwadi, they become “secular”, but the “communal tag” crops up when they return to the BJP.
The Muslim intelligentsia is also divided. Most are sympathetic to the Congress, the Samajwadi and other “secular” parties, but their propensity to mix religion with politics often acts as a spoiler. If the BJP is accused of getting help from “apolitical outfits” like the VHP, the RSS and the Bajrang Dal, the secular parties have no qualms about support from the Shahi Imams, the Milli Council, an umbrella organisation of various theological schools, and the Barelvi sect, among others.
Individuals and groups with religious affiliation nowadays crowd not just the BJP’s 11 Ashoka Road office, but the Congress headquarters as well. Each group claims its dargah or religious order is very important and says it can mobilise the support of a large number of Muslims. The Congress high command has set up a high-level committee comprising Ahmad Patel and Salman Khursheed to check their antecedents and forward them to party chief Sonia Gandhi.
Most groups seem to be in a rush to find a political identity. The Maulana Asad Madani-led Jamiat-e-Ulema is exploring all avenues to get a ticket for the Maulana’s son, and holding talks with the Congress and Udit Raj’s little-known Justice Party.
The Milli Council, which comprises several leading lights of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, has been calling on the Samajwadi, the Congress and the BSP to stress on the need for “tactical voting”. If the Deobandi sect is siding with the Congress, the Barelvis have elected to support the Congress, the Samajwadi as well as the BJP.
