India's ruling party with no Muslim legislator in parliament 'matter of serious concern'

By Ahmad Adil

NEW DELHI (AA) - Political analysts and experts have raised concerns about the shrinking representation of Muslims in India’s mainstream politics.

With the resignation in July of former Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, there is no more Muslim representation in the 77-member Union Council of Ministers led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

With 204 million Muslims, 14% of the population, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has 303 MPs in the Lok Sabha, or lower house of parliament, but it does not have a single Muslim member.

Naqvi, 64, resigned in early July as a member of the Rajya Sabha, or Upper House, resulting in the ruling party having no Muslim legislators in parliament and government.

Experts said the fact that the BJP, the "world's largest" party, has no Muslim representation in government or the Cabinet is worrying.

Political commentator Niranjan Sahoo cites several reasons why there is no Muslim representation in the ruling government and why it is not a good sign.

"The largest party (BJP) offered few tickets to Muslim candidates in the 2019 Lok Sabha (lower house) elections. Only six candidates belonging to Muslims were given tickets and none could win,” he told Anadolu Agency.

“The worse was in the case of Uttar Pradesh, the largest state with 80 Lok Sabha seats, but BJP didn't give a single ticket to Muslims," he said, adding that the same was repeated in the northern populous state of Uttar Pradesh during state assembly elections in 2017 and 2022.

He said the party was doing it to "polarize" and create "Hindu consolidation."

"The so-called secular parties like the Congress, too, have offered very seats to Muslims to avoid being called as pro-minority parties by BJP," he said.

Sahoo said it is a matter of "serious concern" given Muslims represent 14% of the population, "yet do not have any representation in the Cabinet, no MPs either in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and in other crucial democratic bodies." He said it is the “complete invisibility of India's biggest minority in democratic politics" that needs "urgent attention” because the trend would continue.

"The BJP, given its political rise and electoral benefits from such polarizing and ‘othering’ of Muslims by denying them political space, has no incentives to alter the tactics," he said. "In short, with the opposition staying disunited and often following BJP's soft Hindutva policies, Muslim political underrepresentation will remain a long-term trend with serious political ramifications for India's democratic health."

Sahoo said there are a number of ramifications because there is no Muslim representation.

"First, such under-representation challenges the legitimacy, relevance of the electoral system (first past the post system) where smaller minorities find themselves at the receiving end," he said.

"Second, BJP's electoral success is based on Hindu consolidation and complete exclusion of Muslims in the electoral process while harming Muslims, the same tactics have many buyers among national and regional parties, which are increasingly copying the BJP model. This is the gravest threat to India's diversity and secularism."

He also said the lack of Muslims in key political forums and the Cabinet will further erode their voice and agency to protect and promote their rights and interests.

"This may further alienate a community with a more than 200 million population. This has long-term consequences in terms of the country's social cohesiveness and security," said Sahoo.

- True representation

Krishna Swamy Dara, a political scientist and assistant professor in the department of political science at New Delhi-based Jamia Millia Islamia, told Anadolu Agency that what is needed is a true representative for Muslims from all backgrounds from high caste to lower caste Muslims.

"The number of representatives may not be effective because if we look at Dalit representatives they seem to be not representing the Dalit communities except formally. I also think separate electorates or proportional representation may be the way forward," he said.

On July 21, Droupadi Murmu was elected the 15th president of India and was widely appreciated as the first person to hold that post who came from a tribal community.

Experts said there is also a lack of Muslim representation in other sectors.

Syed Azharuddin, a Muslim leader in southern India, told Anadolu Agency that discrimination against Muslims is not just in elections but also in the judiciary, administrative posts and policymakers, especially in the education and financial sectors.

"The only solution for such selective discrimination is for Muslims to get educationally, economically, and politically empowered and excel in every field facing all the odds," he said.

- Focus on development

Jamaal Anwar Siddiqui, national president of the ruling party's minority group, however, blamed opposition parties for creating "such issues" and said the focus of the government is development.

"Our government is working for development. All the government schemes are reaching people. They are not seeing any religion," he said. "These are unnecessary issues -- that there is no Muslim representation in the government and all."

He said politics is happening because of the issue.

"Had the government function on the basis of religion than by those parameters, following India's independence, Abul Kalam Azad, who was a Muslim, became the first minister of education in the Indian government, but see the condition of the Muslim education in the country today. They (Muslims) are still lagging," he said.