Is the Women’s Reservation Bill likely to further shrink Muslim political space in the future?
By Sanjiv Acharya
It’s a long way for the dust over the Women’s Reservation Bill to settle down even though it was passed amid much bonhomie among parties which normally do not see eye to eye. But the three Yadav men’s opposition to the bill over the demand for a quota within the quota for other backward castes and Muslim women is steeped in their own politics. And so is the opposition by a majority of Muslim leaders and organization. After all there seems to be some heft in their argument that Muslim representation is already under threat and the bill will only shrink the political space available to Muslims and further alienate the community.
From 48 MPs in 1984, the community’s representation is down to 29 in the present Lower House. Just 14 Muslim women have been elected lawmakers since the first general elections. The Muslim community feels that the bill is just another conspiracy by parties with an upper caste flavour to corner a larger share of the pie. A Muslim MP from Uttar Pradesh, Mohammed Adeeb justifies his apprehension by saying: “I am sorry to say that the Congress has not done enough to uplift Muslims or to empower the community. The Congress led UPA government has only one Muslim minister and one Muslim Governor in the entire country. I think this Women’s Reservation Bill will further decrease the Muslim community’s chance to share power. At present there are only 29 Muslim MPs and after this bill is passed, this will surely drop to only three.”
That the bill is discriminatory against Muslim women (and men by proxy) does have substance. Is this just a gender question, or a wider one, of the great need, as the Sachar report pointed out, for greater electoral representation for Muslims, who are just an abysmal 5.34 per cent of the 15th Lok Sabha? (See chart) As a woman MP points out, “Creative solutions will have to be found as the Constitution does not permit reservation on religious grounds. And the question of communal electorates raises the spectre of the divisions of pre-Partition India.” In fact the Minto-Morley reforms for a separate electorate for Muslims in 1909 only further alienated the Muslims.
There is also an overall belief that while the national parties, including the Left, would find women candidates, it is the Yadav-led parties of the cow belt that will have a problem if their bastions get reserved for women. The Muslim community, already under-represented in Parliament, will be at a great disadvantage. Although none of our Muslim representatives are known to champion women’s rights, they are understandably opposed to a move that threatens them with greater marginalisation. Lalu Prasad Yadav may have famously persuaded Rabri Devi to take the CM’s chair. But it would not be easy for a politician cut in his mould to find female surrogates.
And so the battle lines are getting sharply drawn between different political parties. The bill could well open the Muslim Pandora’s Box. The Hindi cow belt is likely to witness caste and religion based divisive politics by different political parties on the sub quota issue in the coming days. The national parties have both an upper-caste leadership and social base, besides boasting a century-old history of political mobilisation they can bank upon to field suitable women candidates. No wonder, OBC leaders fear women’s reservation will be a weapon the national parties, particularly the Congress, will wield to make deep inroads into Bihar and UP, the states to which the troika of Mayawati, Mulayam and Lalu are confined to. Any weakening of their parties in these states could sound their political death knell.
Right from Muslim members of Parliament from different political parties, to many a prominent Muslim body and clergies too, have come out publicly against the present format of the reservation bill. The UPA government’s refusal to provide Muslims a quota within the quota has annoyed majority of Muslim leaders in the country. This has come as a golden opportunity for leaders like Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav, Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad Yadav and Janata Dal (United) chief Sharad Yadav as these regional players were badly in need of some political issue to regain their lost form and galvanise their cadres to address their vote bank of backwards, Dalits and Muslims. Theses regional party leaders found themselves on the brink of irrelevance what with a gung ho Congress and its charismatic leader Rahul Gandhi creating waves across the country.
It is well known that all Yadav leaders have enjoyed sufficient Muslim support in their respective areas in the post Babri masjide demolition era. Mulayam Singh Yadav became the most popular leader among Muslims winning their full support in UP for long. But his decision to join hands with former BJP chief minister of UP Kalyan Singh costs him heavily in the last Assembly and parliamentary election. Now that he has parted ways with Kalyan Singh, Mulayam is once again ready to woo the Muslims back to his fold.
He has 22 MPs in the Lok Sabha which is sufficient to stall the process. After all he does not want to pass up on the chance to regain the trust and support of the Muslims. His party suddenly seems to be in hyper mode.
A senior party leader and Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Ahmad Hasan said, “The Congress and the BJP have cheated Muslims and it is a joint conspiracy to keep us away from politics.”
The Congress Party was also quick to understand the dynamics and repercussion of the Muslim demand. It reflected in the Prime Minister’s speech in the Rajya Sabha during the debate on the bill. He categorically said that minorities in general have not got an adequate share of the fruits of development and that his government was committed to work sincerely for their uplift through several o measures. But his assurances didn’t seem to cut much ice with the Muslim politicians.
The Shahi Imam of Jama masjid, Syed Ahmed Bukhari was categorical when he said, “This is a well planned conspiracy by these parties.” But Imran-ul-kidwai, chairman of the Congress minority cell is quick to point out reservations on religious grounds is unconstitutional.
Shakeel-u-Zaman Ansari, secretary, All India Congress Committee and a former minister in Bihar, says: “I want to ask Mulayam Singh Yadav and Lalu Prasad that while they are the bosses of their parties, why didn’t they give tickets to the backward and Muslim women in the past elections?”
Its leaders may try and save face but the Congress party is worried because of the issue gaining momentum by the day. Muslim leaders of the party admit in private the concerns raised by their community leaders. The lone Congress MP from Bihar, Maulana Iqrar ul Haq Qasmi is also said to be upset much like his fellow Muslim MPs from other parties. He has registered his dissent with the party bosses but does not want to say anything on the record. After all Madam Sonia Gandhi has put all her weight behind the bill. His worry is also understandable as Bihar is due for Assembly polls in November. Muslims will be the deciding factor and can change the fortunes of any party.
The flip side of this situation is that the Yadavs will espouse the Muslim cause and present the bill as being anti-minority. It is this possibility that makes the Congress nervous and the BJP sanguine that it would gain points as others slug it out for the Muslim vote. Take railway minister Mamata Banerjee’s stand vis-a-vis the bill. Her immediate concern is that the Left in West Bengal has announced a reservation of 10 per cent in jobs for Muslims in the state in keeping with the Ranganath Mishra Commission’s recommendations. Organisations like the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind which supported Mamata post-Nandigram have opened channels with the Left, promising to reconsider their support if the Communists do bring about Muslim reservation in a manner that is not struck down by the courts. That would be a game-changer; Mamata, naturally, has to appear to demand greater representation for Muslims. And surely the Congress too can’t ignore the fact. Or find a way to console the Muslims that the Women’s Reservation Bill is for the good of all women, including Muslims.