Many Muslim intellectuals claim that Muslims don’t have a political stand. Some say that Muslims only vote against the BJP, some are talking of Dalit-Muslim alliance in the upcoming UP polls. In my opinion, all these things don’t fit the prevailing political unawareness of Muslims in India. All the marginalized communities of India don’t have a political stand that mainly consists of Muslims, Dalits and Tribals (w. r. f. Justice Sachhar committee report 2006). The reason is that they are educationally, socially and financially backward. They battle only for bread and butter and know nothing of what is going around, hence they easily fall prey in the political system as underdog. That is what commonly called ‘Vote-Bank’.
Every political party requires lobbying for which Brahmins (including Rajput, Bhumihar and Baniya- not all but majority) are the fittest as they have always been socially powerful and financially strong since 2500 BC. Initially they lobbied for Congress and now they have their own fascist Bartiya Janata Party. Amid all that, Brahminical hegemony is uprising creating more social repression, inequality and injustice in the society; the same that happened after 2500 BC up till the ‘Gora Sahib’ arrived in India followed by ‘Bhura Sahib’ and now by ‘RSS’.
This social inequality was realized by Dr. Ambedkar and he included Article 16 (4) i. e. ‘equality of opportunity in matters of public employment’ in the constitution providing special reservation for the backward class for their social and educational empowerment. At that time also Ambedkar was opposed by many upper caste Hindus. Further deliberate plotting was done against him to defeat in the Lok Sabha elections of 1952 & 54, later he was nominated in the upper House or Rajya Sabha. Whereas the Élite Muslims in British India didn’t accepted the due demand in constitution and later majority of them flee to Pakistan leaving back the backward Muslims as orphans.
Now what Muslims and Dalits need to realize is that to take political stand it’s very important to come out of poverty. One is in despair when is in poverty and has no option but to be used as masses for propaganda by the ruling-class. Here I would like to quote Sir Syed, he said ‘Ignorance is the mother of poverty’. Ignorance comes from lack of knowledge and education. This was realized by Sir Syed after the first war of Independence in 1857, where he saw Muslims being brutally butchered by the British. He got to understand that education is the only key which could take these poor marginalized communities including Muslims and other backwards from deprivation and vicious circle of poverty. That was the only key they could attain their position in social and political spectrum. Later on he started Aligarh movement and MAO College was formed in 1877.
It’s true that politics decides the fate of individuals and communities especially in an inclusive and diverse country like India. But feudalism and Brahminisation has still influenced the politics of India. To my little knowledge I think that Muslim and Dalit intellectuals fail to understand that it’s poverty, despair and jeopardy that has made marginalized communities aloof from the main stream. Those Muslims who use slangs like ‘rehnumai’, ‘qyadat’, and whatnot are either highly ambitious and are used by different political parties for Muslim appeasement, the others who actually commit themselves for a social change fail to understand the social fabric, problems of poverty, and beat around the bush. At initial level it’s important to eradicate the class-inequality, more and more focus on education should be done for emancipation and demanding rights rather than making hubbub of SP, BSP, Congress, BJP and bla bla. Until social equality and social justice is achieved; democracy will be a mockery in India and marginalized communities will remain a ‘Vote-Bank’.