Knock, knock, knocking on hope’s door

Indian Muslims have realised that politics is the key to development, equality and social justice. It is the key not only to redeem the second largest community but also to open the door to the escalators of progress

Syed Shahabuddin Delhi

The political, educational, economic and social backwardness of Muslim Indians is transparently visible and has been well documented in the Sachar Committee Report. That a community with a glorious past should come down to the marginalised levels of the scheduled castes and tribes is not only a trag-edy but also a disgrace for the community and the nation. What is frustrating is that while the country has steadily gone forward, Indian Muslims have fallen behind the rest of the nation. Consequently, during the last 60 years, they have been making disproportionately poor contribution to the progress of the country, or the creation of knowledge and wealth.

In a developing country, the State provides the basic resources for development. In a democratic policy, with commitment to secularism and social justice, the State's resources and development should not widen disparities or bypass any section of the people or social group, whatever its identity. In a situation where many groups and sub-groups are jostling for sparse resources and services, the politically powerful, the economically dominant and the traditionally well-connected manage to get more than their due, because both production and distribution as well as politics and bureaucracy which serve as mediators, are controlled by them. It is they who wield power, make policies, write plans, devise programmes and implement them. Often these policies are tilted in favour of the powerful. Hence, those at the margins of the system or those who are not organised enough to make their presence felt directly or through political parties and formations, receive much less than their due. Often they are left by the wayside, picking up crumbs thrown by the caravans of progress, which pass them by.

Unfortunately, Indian society has inherited social cleavages marked by jealousy, bias and prejudice, sometimes amounting to intolerance, disdain and hatred. This explains the patent injustice in the distribution system that favours some and short-changes others. The State, parties and governments exist to ensure that justice is done to all groups. That is why laws are made, rules and regulations are crafted and guidelines are issued, to keep realising the mandate of the Preamble and fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution. But the promise of equality, justice and fraternity remains a distant dream. Such is the lot of all marginalised groups, particularly the religious minority.

Equality and justice, 60 years later, are distant dreams. This is a national waste of energy and talent, a tragedy which saps our dynamism. In per capita assets, economists tell us, 10 per cent of the people in the lowest slab own and receive practically nothing, while the 10 per cent at the top get  everything imaginable. As one goes up the vertical ladder, the weaker sections like the most backward classes, the SC/STs and the Muslims become rarer. This is a heritage of our feudal past, colonial rule and capitalist mode of development.

The gap between the top and the bottom increases from year to year, plan to plan, and the proportion of the weaker sections in the lower slabs goes on adding. The State lays aside some resources for social services, minimum social security, economic subsidy, in the name of poverty alleviation and employment generation, believing in the 'trickle-down effect'. The masses, too weak to protest, continue to lead their dreary lives; their voices just can't penetrate the glass-and-concrete walls that separate them from the elite and the powerful who believe that the people just want to be left alone to live and die in peace. But, thanks to democracy, the people are becoming more conscious of social and economic disparities and raising their voice against deceit and betrayal.

This prevalent inter-group miss-match increasingly rankles in the political consciousness of the marginalised groups. They are beginning to ask as to why the higher slabs should be dominated by particular groups defined by religion, denomination or caste. Disparities generate social strife. Why are the social and educational systems, the political and economic machines, managed only for the advancement of a few? This must change and that is why the quest for social justice is gaining momentum. That is why Muslims are beginning to engage in the battle, rather than remain aloof, lament their fate or curse the 'other'.

The Muslims are equal voters and equal citizens of India though they have little say in running the system. They are told that they are unreliable and unfit or do not have the 'merit' to enter the corridors of power, the employment market or even the portals of universities. But these are only excuses. One has to examine what the State has done for the Muslims, why the course of development has been deliberately directed away from them.

In the aftermath of the Sachar Committee Report, it is being dinned into Muslim ears by those close to the system that the State is not at fault, neither for tardiness nor for neglect in times of crisis nor for inattention or inaction, and that the Muslim community is itself responsible for its backwardness. They emphasise that the community is responsible for its survival and progress. There is no doubt that every group has to make the best use of its own resources and take advantages of any government schemes for general benefit. No group shall gain if it sleeps while others move on. Even in the context of schemes of universalisation like the establishment of elementary schools in all nooks and corners of the country, the local community has to see to it that the schools are well-staffed and well-equipped, that children attend classes and the teachers take classes. Similarly, if the Muslims living below the poverty line are eligible for housing subsidy under the Indra Awas Yojana; eligible members, backed by the local Muslim leadership, should avail of it. The marginalised groups have to come forward and press their claim.

A community as widespread as the Muslims, to be found at every level of governance, has to throw up committed and selfless social workers at every level for the triple task of communication, facilitation and  monitoring. At a slightly higher level, if there are flaws in the schemes or any injustice is perceived in their implementation, it is for elected representatives and legislators to draw the attention of the authorities, even to propose formulation of new schemes. This is a role which should be taken up by all the parties which swear in the name of secularism and seek votes, while every government committed to social justice should continuously introduce adjustments to ensure adequate benefit for all deprived groups.

If the State does not respond positively to the felt needs of any group or fails to look into their grievances and complaints, the community leadership cannot remain a silent spectator. It has to be articulate and active, without thinking of success or failure, personal gain or loss. Unfortunately, the so-called Muslim leadership since Independence has largely consisted of self-centred, party loyalists. Muslim politicians in various parties have been suffering from lack of confidence, power and influence. To keep the loyalty of the community, they make occasional speeches and statements but they have never tried to organise as an autonomous pressure group. They seek political shelters and once inside forget their constituency and shun unity.

Until 1971, the Muslim masses were still stooping under the burden of the past. They nursed a guilt complex for having supported the making of Pakistan. In 1971, whatever expectation they nursed towards Pakistan vanished. After a generation they began thinking of claiming a place under the Indian sun. They began speaking of their legitimate grievances. They threw up new spokesmen who would not act as party brokers but as Muslim representatives in the inner councils of their parties. Gone were the days when they took shelter under the Congress umbrella; they decided to support the regional parties, excepting in states where there was a direct contest between the Congress and BJP. They adopted 'tactical voting' to elect secular candidates. But they must learn to monitor the performance of Muslim leaders in the legislatures. They have realised that politics is at the heart of the inequity, injustice and violence which they have suffered in the last 60 years, and which have perpetuated their deprivation. They have always proved their loyalty to the State, rising above bondage to parties. They are now overcoming their frustration. A new generation is coming forward and demanding its due share. This is the beginning of a new dawn.

Now, the community has realised that politics is the key to development, equality and social justice. It is the key that it lost at the dawn of Independence; it is the key that it must find and hold firmly, not only to redeem itself as the second largest community in the country but also to open the door to the escalators of progress, which have so far remained closed to them.

The writer is a political commentator and a former MP