I can’t help contrast the pathetic
state of affairs among Muslims with the conditions of a community from my own
state of Karnataka that I am familiar with—the Lingayats. Once a rather poor and
marginalized community, today the Lingayats are among the most advanced
communities in Karnataka. This revolution was, in part, brought about because
their enlightened and progressive religious leaders worked together with their
political leaders to empower their people economically and educationally.
Because the Lingayat religious gurus understood the importance of modern
education they were able to convert their mutts or monasteries into
centres for educational excellence. Lamentably, Muslims cannot cite more than a
few ulema across the country who are doing such work. -- K.
Rahman Khan
K.
Rahman Khan, MP from the Congress Party, is the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya
Sabha. In this interview with Yoginder Sikand, he speaks about issues related to
Muslim leadership in contemporary India.
Q: What
do you think should be the priorities of the Indian Muslim
leadership?
A: Two issues should be at the top of the agenda
of Muslim leaders today: educational and economic empowerment of Muslims.
Unfortunately, Muslim leaders or those who style themselves as such have not
given these issues the priority they deserve.
No community can progress without economic and
educational empowerment. Sadly, Muslim leaders have tended to neglect this
question. Instead, their demands have been largely limited to the same set of
issues that they have been harping on for the last sixty-odd years—emotional or
emotive issues like discrimination, reservations, the status of the Aligarh
Muslim University, Muslim Personal Law, Urdu and so on. These are issues that
cannot be resolved overnight. They would take ages to be solved. Muslim
‘leaders’ are fully aware of this but, because of their value in garnering
Muslim support, they constantly play on them. In contrast, other communities,
even if they too have such identity-related concerns, have changed their
priorities and are seriously working to empower themselves economically and
educationally.
The contrast between the Muslim leadership, on
the one hand, and the leadership of the Dalits, Adivasis and OBCs, on the other,
is very instructive in this regard. Dalit, Adivasi and OBC political and
religious leaders and intellectuals are working together to struggle for the
educational and economic empowerment of their communities. In contrast, Muslim
political and religious leaders and intellectuals are a hopelessly divided lot.
Together, they have worked to keep the Muslims embroiled in controversies that
shut them from the rest of the Indian society. Sometimes, they create these
controversies, at other times these are imposed on them from
without.
Q:
You mentioned the divisions between the different sections of the Muslim
leadership: religious, political and intellectual. Could you elaborate on
this?
A: Barring in some places, there is no
coordination at all between these sections, which represent virtually different
worldviews. Thus, the ulema insist that their word must be followed, but this is
opposed by Muslim intellectuals, who believe that the ulema are out of touch
with contemporary realities. In turn, the ulema think that the intellectuals are
wholly un-Islamic and so cannot speak for or about Muslims and Islam. Then, both
the ulema and the intellectuals have nothing but scorn for the political class,
which, they argue, has completely failed Muslims.
Q:
A generally-heard complaint is that Muslim members of various elected bodies
fail to effectively champion Muslim concerns and demands. Do you
agree?
A: It is a fact that the sort of political
leadership that Muslims need, one that emerges from the grassroots and is
organically related to the Muslim masses, does not exist and shows no sign of
emerging. This is to say, the Muslim political leadership in India is one that
is imposed by various political parties. Existing Muslim political leaders are
generally handpicked by various political parties and are dependent on these
parties for their survival. Hence, it is these parties, and not these ‘leaders’,
that ultimately determine the Muslim agenda. If a leadership emerges from the
grassroots, it can be strong and vibrant and can articulate the demands and
concerns of the people. However, if it is handpicked and exists at the mercy of
others, it cannot be independent. Rather, it must always remain dependent on
those who actually hold the levers of power and who have appointed them as
‘leaders’ or ‘representatives’ of their community. Tragically, this is the case
with the Indian Muslim political leadership today. They are mostly handpicked
people, chosen not on the basis of capability but, rather, their family
connections, their willingness to toe the line of the party that appoints them
and their capacity to garner Muslim votes.
Q:
Why do you feel an independent Muslim leadership, based on organic or grassroots
support, has failed to emerge in India?
A: There are many factors for this, such as the
pathetic levels of education, particularly higher education, among Muslims and
the lack of unanimity or at least some semblance of unity in the
community. Another crucial factor is that Muslims have not learnt to properly
draw the line between religion from politics. Confusion continues to abound on
this issue, so that if one alim issues a fatwa that says that politics has
nothing to do with religion, at once another alim will issue a counter-fatwa
claiming that politics is all about religion and that the two are inseparable.
Muslims tend to be very emotional and easily get worked up, and this is taken
advantage of by their religious and political leaders. Ulema routinely want to
interfere even in areas that are not their domain and for which they lack the
knowledge and training. All this, as well as other factors, has made it very
difficult for an organically-rooted political leadership with the correct
priorities to emerge among the Muslims.
Q:
Why is it that almost all prominent Muslim organizations are led or dominated by
madrasa-educated ulema who have little or no modern education?
A: I think this is because of the failure of
modern-educated Muslim intellectuals to lead the community or to even take an
interest in its affairs. Then, again, I also have to say that many Muslim
so-called intellectuals share the same mentality or way of thinking as the
ulema, being so heavily influenced by them. The overwhelming presence of ulema
in many of these Muslim organizations or tanzeems or jamaats is
also because Muslims have so very few secular NGOs working on issues other than
just providing religious education. If we had such NGOs I am sure they could
have played a key role in providing more effective leadership to
Muslims.
I can’t help contrast the pathetic state of
affairs among Muslims with the conditions of a community from my own state of
Karnataka that I am familiar with—the Lingayats. Once a rather poor and
marginalized community, today the Lingayats are among the most advanced
communities in Karnataka. This revolution was, in part, brought about because
their enlightened and progressive religious leaders worked together with their
political leaders to empower their people economically and educationally.
Because the Lingayat religious gurus understood the importance of modern
education they were able to convert their mutts or monasteries into
centres for educational excellence. Lamentably, Muslims cannot cite more than a
few ulema across the country who are doing such
work.
But it is not the fault of the ulema alone. In
the Lingayat case, the religious, intellectual, political and business leaders
of the community worked together for the empowerment of the community. In the
Muslim case, despite the loud rhetoric of Muslim unity and brotherhood, such
united efforts are few and far between. Our leaders have massive egos and are
simply unwilling to work together with others—which explains the sectarian
divisions and the never-ending splits in various boards, jamaats
and tanzeems. There is simply no meaningful dialogue among Muslim
religious leaders belonging to different sects and also between the ulema and
Muslim intellectuals and politicians.
Q:
If many Muslim ‘leaders’ are ulema from madrasas, it is obvious that madrasas
exercise an influence on Muslim opinion to a far greater degree than the number
of ulema or madrasa students might otherwise suggest. To enable the ulema to
work for Muslim economic and educational advancement, do you feel madrasas are
also in urgent need of reform?
A: I think us—by which I mean people outside the
madrasa system—tend to give madrasas too much importance. In my opinion, we
should ignore them and let them do their work, while we should instead
concentrate on promoting modern education among Muslims. Personally, I do not
believe that madrasas equip their students to effectively or properly face the
contemporary world, but I also feel that by constantly talking about madrasas
and the need for external intervention to ‘reform’ them we are making them more
defensive, and, hence, more vocal and assertive. It is like the negative
publicity they receive when some mufti issues an absurd fatwa—even this provides
the madrasas and their ulema news space and helps them expand or strengthen
their influence.
Q:
But what about madrasa reforms? Today there is much discussion about the need
for a Central Madrasa Board to reform the madrasa system, but many ulema are
vehemently opposed to this proposal? What do you think is the way out? Further,
why is it that when it comes to Muslim education, the media and the state tend
to focus only on madrasa reforms rather than promoting modern education among
Muslims?
A: I am not opposed to reforms in the madrasas.
Indeed, many ulema themselves recognize the need for this. But to frame the
discourse about Muslim education solely in terms of madrasas, as some
policy-makers and journalists do, is, to my mind, quite misplaced. I have many
times told responsible government officials that the state must not seek to play
the role of reformer with regard to madrasa education. At best, it can play the
role of a facilitator to promote reforms, but these reforms must not be imposed
on the madrasas. Rather, they should come about as a result of a meaningful
dialogue between the ulema of the madrasas and state
agencies.
Continuously harping on the madrasas and madrasa
reforms is bound to make the ulema more adamant in their refusal to countenance
reforms. It will lead them to think that there is a hidden agenda behind all
this, that in the name of ‘reform’ the state wants to destroy the madrasas or
deprive the maulvis of their power and influence.
If the media or bureaucrats and politicians keep
talking about or keep condemning the madrasas, it is bound to make the ulema
even more opposed to change than they presently are. For instance, the
completely false allegations of Indian madrasas being engaged in fanning
terrorism has made them only more resistant to even internally-driven reform. It
is a fact that no madrasa has been identified anywhere in the country as being
engaged in promoting terrorism, but yet biased politicians and mediapersons
continue to label unfair charges against them.
About the Central Madrasa Board, my own position
is that it should not be imposed on the madrasas. There is no need for such a
Board if the madrasas do not want it. On the other hand, if they do want such a
Board, the state must set it up.
Q:
To paraphrase a question that I have already asked you, why is it that it is the
ulema, rather than modern-educated intellectuals, that are generally presented
as Muslim ‘leaders’? It is an undeniable fact that the ulema are far more
visible than non-ulema as heads of various Muslim organizations that claim to
represent Muslims.
A: Our intellectuals—the few of them that
exist—do not participate in any creative, grassroots work. All they do is talk
and criticize. They have little or no organic links with the Muslim masses,
unlike the ulema. No one has stopped them from doing practical work, such as
setting up institutions for modern education for Muslims. But, yet, they won’t
do that. Instead, they will criticize the ulema and Muslim politicians and place
the blame for all the ills of the Muslims on their shoulders. This is quite
unacceptable.
Q:
You just mentioned the need for Muslims to focus on building institutions for
modern education and so on. In parts of south India this is indeed happening,
which is in marked contrast to the situation in the north, where the bulk of the
Muslims are concentrated. What accounts for the fact that, on the whole, the
Muslim leadership in south India appears more progressive than its north Indian
counterpart?
A: One reason for this difference is the legacy
of Partition, which the north Indian Muslims have had to deal with. That and the
lingering communal problem were major challenges that they faced, which did not
allow them to focus their energies on the work of internal reform and
empowerment. For many north Indian Muslims, sheer survival and responding to the
Hindutva offensive were their major concerns. In the south, fortunately we were
spared the horrors of the Partition. Hindu-Muslim relations in south India have
always been much more harmonious, even under the rule of various princes in the
pre-Partition era. This enabled south Indian Muslims to work for internal
reform. Also, in contrast to north India, there is a sizeable Muslim
middle-class in the south, which has used its wealth, expertise and contacts to
establish educational and other such institutions.
Q:
The Muslim media and Muslim religio-political leaders constantly focus on what
they allege is widespread anti-Muslim discrimination, seeming to blame the
dominant Hindus or the state for Muslim backwardness. How do you look at this
argument?
A: Minorities across the world, almost without
exception, do face problems, including various forms of discrimination. India is
no exception to this. However, I think Muslims have over-projected the theory of
discrimination. In doing so, they have failed to learn to creatively adjust to
the situation in which they find themselves. Internalizing this perception that
they are widely discriminated against, many Muslims argue that there is no need
for them to educate their people because, so they say, in any case they won’t
get jobs or whatever.
Unfortunately, self-styled Muslim religious and
political leaders and the Muslim media have been constantly drilling this thesis
of discrimination into the minds of Muslims, thus further debilitating the
community and making it lose confidence in the system and even in itself. And
so, today we as a community have come to be characterized by negative thinking,
based simply on blaming others for our ills and failures. It would not be an
exaggeration to say that today we function on negativism. We simply have not
trained our people to think on positive lines, which is what Muslims need if
they are to survive and flourish in a competitive
system.
I do not disagree with the contention that
discrimination does exist, but if it was on the massive scale that Muslim
‘leaders’ allege, how is it that the richest Indian is a Muslim and so is the
topper of this year’s Civil Service exams? This very clearly shows that no one
can prevent Muslims from progressing except Muslims
themselves.
So, my argument is that, yes, discrimination does
indeed exist but we cannot afford to lose heart. It should not make us give up,
nor should we use it as an excuse not to work hard. On the contrary, it should
be make us work extra hard for the community.
Q:
In recent years, Muslims have come to see themselves as under siege—in India and
elsewhere. They are projected as terrorists, and in India scores of innocent
Muslim youth have been arrested, tortured or even killed on false terror-related
charges. Has all this not led, quite naturally, to a loss in Muslim confidence
in the system and its supposed neutrality?
A: It is true that a number of perfectly innocent
Muslims have been targeted—and wrongly so—in the name of countering terrorism.
It is also true that this has led to mounting insecurity and insularity among
large sections of Muslims. This is then cynically manipulated and played upon by
some opportunist ‘leaders’ for their own political purposes. All this is true
and is regrettable.
At the same time, my appeal to Muslims is to
recognize that, as mentioned in the Quran, even the prophets faced persecution
or tests. The reason the Quran talks about these is to provide us a lesson—that
we, too, can or will be faced with various trials and tests, but that this
should not make us halt our efforts to progress. So, while it is true that
Muslims, collectively, are today faced with a number of problems, including from
certain external forces, this must not stop them from working for their economic
and educational advancement. It is true there are forces that are vociferously
opposed to the Muslims and their progress—for instance, Hindutva forces. But if
we constantly obsess about Hindutva and give it so much importance, how will we
be able to use our energies for positive work, for the educational and economic
empowerment of Muslims? Lamentably, Muslim ‘leaders’ have turned a completely
blind eye to this.
Q:
Muslims have come to be vilified through the media, and this obviously has had
seriously negative implications for inter-communal relations as well as the
ability of Muslims to have their voices and concerns heard by others. What do
you feel should be done to address this problem?
A: Of course there are many things that could or
should be done in this regard, but here I would like to mention just a few steps
that Muslims could take. Firstly, we Muslims need to change our way of thinking.
We need to come out of our negativity and seek to promote genuine dialogue with
our fellow Indians from other communities, based on the realization that our
fate is so deeply intertwined with theirs and that we have to live together in
this common homeland of ours. We must also understand that the status of any
community is measured by the degree that it is able to serve, or prove useful
to, not just itself but to the entire society as a whole. If Muslims only keep
demanding things or agitating against others or talking only of Muslim-specific
issues or building institutions that serve only Muslims but fail to provide
others or the wider society with anything useful, how can they expect others to
respect and value them? If they are a liability on the wider society, why will
others treat them properly and listen to their concerns and
demands?
We must also come out of this deep-rooted
tendency to blame others for our failures. There may be some truth in this
charge, but it is not the entire truth. Further, this tendency can become a
self-fulfilling prophecy, being used as an excuse not to do anything to
extricate ourselves from the lamentable predicament we find ourselves faced with
today.
In this regard, I regret to say that almost all
Muslim organizations have a very narrow agenda, which is limited simply to
Muslim- or Islam-specific issues. They are not at all concerned with broader
issues that concern all Indians. In my view, Muslim organizations must reorder
and broaden their priorities and agenda, focus on education and economic
advancement, desist from stoking emotionally-driven controversies and work to
empower Muslims in such a way that Muslims should get their due and, indeed,
rise to a position where they can help even others, and not just themselves. For
this, it is also imperative that Muslim organizations become a lot more
professional, and employ more younger, modern-educated people and encourage them
to take on leadership roles. Alongside this, middle-class Muslims must take a
much more active role in Muslim community affairs, and set up professionally-run
NGOs and institutions to work on a range of social issues other than just
religious education.
Q:
What do you feel about the role of the Muslim media in promoting a
socially-engaged Muslim leadership?
A: I regret to say that the Muslim media has
played no role whatsoever in this regard. Like our ‘leaders’, it is obsessed
with negativity and with communal issues and controversies. The Muslim-owned
media, which is mainly in Urdu, is read by Muslims alone—and that too not by all
Muslims but mainly by some Muslims from the lower middle-class. Quite naturally,
then, it caters to their demands, their worldview, their prejudices and
emotions. The Muslim media is run by and for a section of Muslims alone, and has
no impact whatsoever on the state or non-Muslims. Just as I would urge the
non-Muslim media to understand Muslim concerns and issues more sensitively, I
would also expect the Muslim media to widen its focus and understand the
concerns of non-Muslims, too. Both media should also desist from
sensationalizing Muslim issues.
In light of the fact of demonization of Muslims
in the media, it is imperative that Muslim organizations have a proper media
policy. This, however, they completely lack. They simply do not have the
professionally-trained personnel for this work. Indeed, many of them simply do
not understand the need for this or, even worse, are simply not interested in it
even if they have the financial resources for this sort of
thing.
Q:
How is it that Muslim organizations tend to wholly ignore Muslim women? Or, if
they do talk about Muslim women it is only in negative terms, such as arguing
for restrictions that would further disempower them?
A: My personal position is that Muslim women too
must be educationally and economically empowered. They must be enabled to play
their role in the public sphere as well. In this regard, I agree that sometimes
Muslim organizations do actively work against Muslim women’s empowerment. Thus,
for instance, today they are demanding that there should be a separate quota for
Muslim women in seats for elected bodies that are to be reserved for women, but
at the same time you have this recent fatwa from a leading madrasa which, in
practical terms, makes it virtually impossible for Muslim women to function in
such roles.
In this regard, I must also state that the
stereotypical image of Muslim women peddled by the media, as being fully-covered
up and confined to their homes, is quite misleading. Today, in large parts of
India Muslim girls are more educated than Muslim boys. In fact, among the
middle-class this is becoming a major social problem in that Muslim girls are
compelled, for want of suitable prospective spouses, to marry boys less educated
than them. If you go to any Muslim locality, even to slums, you will be
surprised to see how many young Muslim girls are now going to schools and
colleges.
Q:
In recent years, one hears of various schemes for minorities, including Muslims,
funded by the state. Why is it that these schemes do not seem to have had much
of an impact? Why have they failed?
A: Yes, these schemes have not been very
successful. One reason is that in a federal system, schemes prepared and funded
by the Central Government generally cannot reach people directly, but, rather,
have to go through the state governments. Secondly, the absence of Muslim
NGOs—other than those thousands of madrasas and maktabs that are concerned with
providing religious education. Muslims simply have not set up such institutions
that can access these schemes and publicise them. What we have, instead, are
unrepresentative bodies that claim to be NGOs, many of them unreliable and
corrupt, that do not engage in any grassroots work but simply issue
statements.
To get around the problem there is no alternative
to setting up professionally-run and reliable NGOs. I have also suggested that
in eachpanchayat where Muslims live the local mosque committee could
function as an NGO to access schemes and funds for both minority-specific as
well as general developmental programmes of the state. Muslim and other
activists could also use the Right to Information Act to make sure that
allocated funds reach their intended beneficiaries. But for all this to happen
Muslims have to develop a positive agenda, work together with people from other
communities and encourage the emergence of a socially-engaged and relevant
leadership whose principal agenda should be to promote modern education and
economic empowerment.
K.
Rahman Khan can be contacted on krkhan@sansad.nic.in
Yoginder Sikand works with the Centre for the
Study of Social Exclusion at the National Law School,
Bangalore
9:52 PM
Sultan Shahin
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