Partition and the Legacy of the Two-Nation Theory
- Congress, Secularism and Muslim Vote-Bank Politics
- The Political Marginalisation of Indian Muslims
- Aligarh Muslim University and the Debate Around Partition
- Shah Bano Case and the Question of Reform
- Kashmiri Pandits, Communal Violence and Selective Outrage
- Mamata Banerjee, Appeasement Politics and Electoral Strategy
- Justice Katju’s Critique of Sharia, Burqa and Clerical Authority
- Mustafa Kemal’s Modernisation Model and Indian Muslims
Akbar’s ‘Suleh-e-Kul’ and the Idea of Inclusive India
Muslim Identity, Nationalism and the Future of Indian Democracy
Justice Markandey Katju examines the historical, political and social factors behind the marginalisation of Indian Muslims, tracing the impact of Partition, vote-bank politics, communal tensions and the debate over reform within the Muslim community.
The plight of Indian Muslims
By Justice Markandey Katju
Indian Muslims have been marginalised in the political life of India, and often atrocities are committed on them, and they have to suffer discrimination and humiliation, being branded as terrorists, bigots, anti-nationals, and whatnot. I have always condemned this. I am a humble disciple of the great Mughal Emperor Akbar, who propagated the policy of suleh-e-kul, or giving equal respect to all religions and communities.
But how did this marginalisation and victimisation happen to a community consisting of 15-16 % of India's population?
Firstly, this was the direct consequence of the partition of India in 1947 on the basis of the bogus 2 nation theory, which was a British swindle to keep Hindus and Muslims fighting each other, and prevent a united India from emerging as a mighty industrial giant, like another China ( for which it has all the potential ).
When India was divided, and Pakistan was declared as an Islamic state, it logically followed that India would be a Hindu state, with non-Hindus as second-rate citizens ( just as in Pakistan, non-Muslims are second-rate citizens ).
For a long time after Independence, the ruling Congress party portrayed India as a secular state, but this was only a fig leaf in order to get Muslim votes. This figleaf, however, came off in 2014, when the pro-Hindu BJP came to power.
Why did Indian Muslims agree to Partition, and why did the Congress party, which claimed to be secular, agree to Partition ?
The poor and mostly uneducated Muslims had no say in the matter, as they were entirely focused on earning their daily bread to feed themselves and their families. But what about the 'educated' Muslims ? The vast majority of them agreed to the partition. For instance, Jinnah, the main proponent of the 2 nation theory, was often feted and lionised by the students of the Aligarh Muslim University whenever he visited Aligarh. In fact, these students tried to kill Maulana Azad, who was strongly opposed to Partition, at the Aligarh railway station, when he was travelling on a train from Delhi to Calcutta.
As regards the Congress party, its leaders such as Nehru, Sardar Patel, etc., agreed to Partition, with the desire of getting cushy jobs after Independence.
After Independence, the Congress party was in power for several decades. It told the Indian Muslims that if they did not vote for the Congress, they would be eaten up by the pro-Hindu party, the Jan Sangh ( which later became the BJP ). So the Indian Muslims would unitedly vote for the Congress candidate, even if he was corrupt, a big criminal, a rogue and a rascal.
Secondly, the plight of Indian Muslims after 1947 was the consequence of the acts of many Muslims themselves, who never objected to the Muslim appeasement policy of the Congress ( to get Muslim votes ). For instance, when the Indian Supreme Court gave the progressive and humanitarian Shah Bano judgment ( that a Muslim husband must give maintenance to his divorced wife ), almost all Indian Muslims ( except a few like Arif Mohammed Khan ) stupidly criticised the judgment, saying it was against the Sharia.
When atrocities were committed against Kashmiri Pandits in the 1990s, and they were hounded out of Kashmir by bigoted Muslims, hardly any Indian Muslim raised his voice against this outrage. I remember that at that time I went to the house of a Muslim friend in Allahabad, to whom I said that I always raise my voice whenever an atrocity is committed against Muslims, so he should do the same when atrocities are being committed against Hindus. But he refused to do anything. So it seems that Indian Muslims only protest against atrocities on Muslims, not against Hindus in India, Pakistan or Bangladesh.
Indian Muslims should have seen through and strongly objected to the Muslim appeasement policy of certain crafty Indian politicians, who only wanted their votes. For instance, when the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, announced that every imam of a Muslim mosque in West Bengal would get Rs 2500 per month and every muezzin Rs 1500 per month, the West Bengal Muslims should have seen through this ploy to get their votes, and have strongly condemned Mamata, but they never did. No wonder that this alienated the Hindus of West Bengal, a large number of whom became BJP supporters.
I several times appealed to the Indian Muslims to get modernised, by denouncing sharia, burqa and maulanas, as was done by the great Turkish leader Mustafa Kemal, but only got abuses and vilification in return.
As regards sharia, I explained to Muslims that law is a reflection of human society at a particular stage of its historical development. So when society changes, the law too must change. Sharia was a law that arose in Arabia in the 7th century AD. So how can it be applied after 1400 years when society has totally changed? Can we have the Manusmriti, which was written about 2000 years ago, today?
As regards the burqa, I strongly condemned it as a feudal custom which puts a woman in a cage, and should be condemned by Muslims.
Regarding maulanas, I said there were no maulanas at the time of the Prophet. These excrescences and aberrations arose subsequently to befool Muslims and exploit them. So Muslims should get rid of these parasites.
I am a well-wisher of Muslims and want them to prosper. But when I said all this, most Muslims ridiculed, castigated, insulted and excoriated me, and branded me a communal person, and a secret BJP agent.
The time has now come for Indian Muslims to ponder over what I have said above if they seriously want their situation to improve.
(Justice Katju is a retired Judge of the Supreme Court of India and a former Chairman of the Press Council of India. These are his personal views.)
