After partition of India in August 1947, most of the prominent leaders of All-India Muslim League from UP, CP, Bihar, Delhi, and West Bengal migrated to Pakistan. And with Jinnah also, the party went to Pakistan. But a huge number of followers of Muslim League, who bitterly fought for the creation of Islamic Pakistan, had stayed back in India. So, the responsibility of reviving the party’s ideology in India after August 1947 fell on South Indian Muslims.
The first Council of the Indian segment of the All-India Muslim League, after August 1947, was held as early as on 10 March 1948 at the south Indian city of Madras (now Chennai) under the leadership of M Muhammad Ismail. It should be noted that all 29 Muslim seats of the then Madras Presidency were won by All-India Muslim League in 1946 election under the leadership of the same M Muhammad Ismail.
In the First Council, All-India Muslim League renamed itself as the ‘Indian Union Muslim League’ (IUML). It was like “old wine in a new bottle”. Over the decades, IUML could establish itself politically only in Kerala state. However, it has branches in many other states of India.
From the beginning, IUML has been an ally of Congress. Presently, it is a partner of Congress-led UDF political alliance in Kerala. So, it is not surprising why Rahul Gandhi finds it a secular party today.
Nehru was bitterly against the RSS, because he found it a Hindu communal organization. But Nehru found IUML absolutely secular. In a larger way, Nehru’s soft corner for the Indian Muslims Leaguers and their political and religious pampering brought India to the present chaotic socio-political situation. Rahul Gandhi is simply worsening the situation now.
If “Pampering Muslims” was the ideology of the Congress party, then why was India divided to create Islamic Pakistan? Congress could have handed-over the political power of India to Muslim League and avoided partition of the country with all its blood sheds and displacement of millions of people.
Congress accepted the partition proposal of India to give Muslims a separate country, because it was impossible for the Congress to reach any political settlement with the All-India Muslim League. But surprisingly after independence of India, Congress kept on allowing the Indian Muslims (who stayed back in India) to continue to pursue the same Muslim League ideology for the last 75 years.
Communist and then all the so-called regional secular parties of India, taking cue from Congress, have pampered Indian Muslims and messed-up Indian politics in the process during the past 75 years. These parties refused to learn about Islam, Islamic teachings and stranglehold of Islam on Muslim society.
They stupidly thought that if they follow some misplaced secular and liberal credentials, the numerically weak Indian Muslims would also be secular and liberal. What they forgot was the fact that British Indian Muslims forcibly created Pakistan when they were only 24 percent of population and Islam could never be secular and liberal.
Greed for political power also pushed Congress, Communist and regional secular parties to align with Indian Muslims at the cost of Hindus. RJD, SP, JDS, TMC, CPM, TRS, NCP, and AAP are Muslim-centric regional parties of India which funnily claim to be secular. These political parties can go up to any extent to appease Muslims and suppress Hindus.
Though IUML could not gain a pan-India political status like its earlier Avatar, it could successfully inculcate its ideology among the new generation of Indian Muslims. Indian Muslim leaders of all political parties outwardly cry for democracy, secularism and Constitution. But actually, they are forbidden by their religion to believe in these positive attributes of independent India. They always ensure that their community members vote lock, stock, and barrel only as per the interest of the community.
Thus, in Hindu majority India, where Hindus are stupidly divided by caste, race, language, state boundary and other foolish identities, minority Muslims of Karnataka (a mere 12 percent) can determine the outcome of election results of the state in favour of Congress recently. Same is the case with the ruling AAP government of Delhi.
This situation is blatantly observed in West Bengal, where Muslims actually constitute about 35 percent of total population. From 1952 general election (when Muslims were about 19.5 percent), Congress, Left Front and TMC were/are kept in power by its Muslim voters only.
In February 2023, while visiting Kolkata, National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) Chairman Hansraj Gangaram Ahir observed that the state government told him that the population of Hindus was 70 percent and that of Muslims was 27 percent (2011 census) in the state. But strangely enough, there were 118 Muslim castes and only 61 Hindu castes in OBC category of the state. Such development was seen after TMC came to power in 2011. Mr. Ahir doubted that if he was in West Bengal or Bangladesh?
West Bengal politics revolves around the fight between TMC, Congress and Left parties to attract Muslim voters of the state. Hindu voters are irrelevant in West Bengal Politics. The Islamism ingrained in Congress, Communist and all the so-called regional secular parties will make majority Hindu voters of whole India irrelevant in coming years.
In this whole game of Islamism in India, Congress has been the prime-mover. It opposed Shah Bano verdict, enacted places of worship act, opposed Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, opposed abolition of triple talaq and Article 370. Congress fought against CAA with the Shaheen Bagh Gang. Congress is delusional about saffron terror everywhere in India. Congress imagines persecution of Indian Muslims under Modi.
Presently India has dozens of Muslim League hydras. Among those, Congress has become the biggest and most dangerous hydra of Muslim League in India. Congress can go up to any extent to pamper Muslims and suppress Hindus in India, but it will never propose the name of its Muslim leader like Salman Khurshid as the Prime Ministerial candidate for the 2024 election.
Growth of Islamism, Islam-driven violence and terrorism by immigrant Muslims in the Western countries only confirm the true face of Muslim politics. These Western countries have been pampering their Muslim communities exactly the way Congress did after 1947. The bottom line of the intent of Indian Muslims has been specified by Indian Islamist journalist Arfa Khanum Sherwani when she said “I would like to reiterate that we are not compromising with our ideology (of Muslim League) but are changing our strategy”. Thus, India is square back to the Muslim League-driven political chaos of the 1940s.
About the author: Dr Jadabeswar Bhattacharjee served Government of India and retired as Higher Administrative Grade Officer after 35 years of service. After retirement from the service, he developed interest in writing on contentious issues and topics. His published books are (1) Politically incorrect Point of View, (2) Politics, Bong and Faith, (3) The Alternative Narrative, (4) The West Bengal Saga and (5) Political Islam and India.
