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Religion
and
Politics
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470
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ECONOMIC AND
POLITICAL WEEKLY
one
Tilak
Annual Number
February 1979
II
After Independence, secularism has
been accepted as one of the bases of
Indian polity. The horrid experience of
partition riots convinced the Indian
elite to minimise the role of religion in
politics. But the great stumbling block
in the way of such minimising has
been the political heritage of the British era and the inability to deviate
from the British approach to religion
and politics. Except for the abolition of
the separate electorates, the ruling
elite in India has faithfully followed the
British policy. Secularism is not viewed
as separation of religion and politics
but as giving 'equal status' to all religions though in practice the new rulers
consider Hinduism as the fundamental
factor in the field of politics. The renaming of India as 'Bharat' in tune with
old Hindu tradition, the urge to promote Hindi (of a Sanskritised kind) as
the 'all-India' language, an emphasis on
the adoption of such symbols like Dharma Chakra, popularisation of superstition-ridden festivals as Ramlila, broadcasting of Bhajans aud devotional songs
in the early morning programme of All
India Radio, extension of the governmental patronage to the Sadhu Samaj,22
etc, betray a strong Hindu bias in the
approach of the new rulers. It is also
argued that Hinduism not only provides
ideological and cultural content to the
Indian State but also prepared the
people to accept the social and political system.23
Islam is also destined to play an important role in the politics of the Muslim community. Even after the partition
of the country Indian Muslims remain
the second largest segment of the total
population. They are more prone to
accept the authority of religion and the
Ulema.24 Notwithstanding the desire of
a section of the Muslim elite for separating religion from politics, the stresses
and strains of the situation underline the
utility of uniting religious faith with
political interests. After all no community can be oblivious of its milieu and
the larger setting of the community
471
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nation as a whole.
within the
In a lam. The political ideology of the Mus- mentation of the Muslim electorate
lim political organisations is therefore holds promise for those committed to
competitive democratic polity, the prinopposed to the ideals of nationalism, secularisation of Indian politics and
ciple of religious grouping as an instrumnent of pressure pays
secularism, democracy and socialismn. integration of the Muslims within the
dividends; in
the case of Muslims, it ultimately leads
Such cooicepts are viewed as the con- broad framework of a democratic secuto Islamisation and political communacomitants of modern culture, and not in lar political society.30
lism. Engineered by the religionus groups
consonance with the spirit of Islam.
Nevertheless, one should not carrythe
and
These principles, according to the Mus- impression that the goal of secularisation
exploited by the political elite,
Islamisation
'Muslims from lim leaders, provide for atheistic mate- has been achieved. The obstacles are
separates
the cultural ties existing with Hinduism
rialism, Hinduisation of the country many. A comparative perspective reand increases identity consciousness and and dle-Islamisation of the Muslims.27 garding the growth of secularising
political mobilisation of the community.25
The effectiveness of the political tendencies in other groups of society
Even those Muslims who do not accept
ideology of the Muslim organisation and a meticulous analysis of socio-ecothe autonomy of worldly life feel conshould be judged in the context of the nomic progress in the context of regions
tended with the prevailing notion
of political behaviour of the Muslim com- and communities is urgently called for.
secularism. In the emergence of
new
munity. Abid Hussain is not wrong A probe into the existing gap between
political culture, "the contents of many
when he says that it is not the religious the common man and the elite is also
religions are incorporated not because
feeling but extraneous elements asso- necessary. Sufficient data about the
of their inherent spirituLal authority, but
ciated with religion and the name of class composition of the Muslim elite
because they are high parts of an existhe religion which are used by the elite and the working of the Muslim organitent national 'cultural' mosaic.
Thus,
for achieving certain political objecti- sations are not yet available. The preorthodoxy withers, while a kind of re- ves.28 The notion of identity conscious- sent Muslim elite still carries the burden
ligious revival blossoms.... Indian deness or communalism owing to religion of the past on its shoulders. 'Te reacvice of cultural
pluralism, conceived
can also be questioned. It is not reli- tionary heritage and fundamentalist
internally as an egoistic policy and progion but the plural character of society legacy still haunts it. It still looks upon
bably secularising in its long term effects,
and the federal nature of the State the issue of national integration as one
nevertheless preserves for India a disthat produces communalism. It is nur- of strengthening and uniting religious
tinetly spiritual aura".26
tured not by religion but by the non. communities along sectarian lines and
The tendency to promote the religious
redressal of secular and genuine griev- not as one of transcending and rejectgrouping of a community for political
ances of the Muslim community. It is ing communal divisions. Its politics is
purpose, in other words, the
phenonot Islam but a sense of discrimination of a compromise with the 'national'
menon of imposing religion on politics
which creates a sense of unity. It is elite which is keen to accommodate it.
is described as communalism.
The
the feeling of insecurity which provides This is how the facade of 'consensus'
Muslim elite has been using it for artithe sheet anchor to the notion of soli- in the polity is being maintained. Both
culating grievances,
in c-,mmunicating
darity. It is politics, not the ideal of are inerested in engineering the consent
with the masses, in framing political
Islam or Pan-Islamism, which acts as of the masses and legitimisation of elite
strategies and for maintaining a separate
rule. The simple law of asserting its
the leveller of sectarian differences.
political status for the community.
It
Various' studies of the political and (Muslim elite's) hold in the community,
has been a short cut to political power.
voting behaviour of the Muslim com- as described by Marx in a different
It is strengthened by invoking the supmunity bear this fact out.29 They also, context, is to adopt a religious attitude
port from Islamic feelings,
Muslim so- bring forth the concept
and differ- to politics and political attitude to relidarity and Muslim culture which neence between the Muslim elite's per- ligion. Secularism in India, therefore,
cessarily
mean
non-involvement
in ception of the political realities and that has amounted to no more than political
ideological and non-communal polarisa.
of the masses. The former always per- rhetoric and a compromise with religion
tion. The Muslim political organisations,
ceive the secular issues from the stand- for political purposes.
like
Jamaat-e-Islami, Muslim League,
point of Islam while the masses do not.
The indifference on the part of the
Mailis-e-Mushawarat, etc, fall back on
The Muslim support to the Congress
political
parties to mobilising the Musa romantic view of Islam implying that
can be instanced here, even though lims on secular issues is another obIslam alone is a perfect religion while
several leaders of Muslim opinion stacle. The political and electoral
proall other religions are imperfect.
The
mounted determined and firm opposi- cesses encourage particularism and
Muslims are acclaimed as champions of tion to that party. In the 1971 elections,
solidarity consciousness. The party setthe Truth.
The cause of their backfor instance, the consensus of Muslim up and
electoral system have not proved
wardness is seen as being dule to the community, by and large, had been in
to
be
effective
instruments of seculariabsence of training to draw upon the
favour of committed secular and demo- sation. They have failed to overcome
Quran in the solution
of day-to-day
cratic parties. The principle of en bloc the primordial allegiances
of the elecpolitical and social problems. The Musvoting on communal ground had been torate. Two trends in the Muslim polilims,
according to this view, do not
given up. The religion-oriented Muslim
constitute a religious minority but an leaders who had asked the Muslim vo- tical behaviour are quite significant in
this context - political fragmentation,
international commutnity or a party to ters to boycott the elections proved to
and social and religious solidarity. Poenforce the truth of Islam. Their misbe ineffective. According to Gopal litical parties ought to recognise these
sion is to reform mankind. The consiKrishna, the heavy penetration of the two contrary trends in the Muslim comderations of minority are alien to Issecular forces in and the political frag-
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Notes
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
10
11
1,964, p 36.
Francis
Robinson,
March
among
Indian
Delhi, 1975.
12
13
Muslims",
New
K B Krishna,
"The Problem of
Minorities or Communal Representation in India",
London, 1939,
p 187.
H A Gould, "The Emergence of
Modern Indian Politics' (Part II),
32
33
Question',
Karl Max, 'On Jewish
3,
Works", Volume
"Collected
Moscow, 1975, p 155.
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474
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