Contemporary Muslim Politics in Kerala

Some Observations on the Contemporary Muslim Politics in Kerala

T.G. Jacob

· During the recent past there has been quite a lot discussion in the mass media on the turn that is taking place in the Muslim politics in Kerala. The discussions were mostly one-sided and necessarily incomplete or even misleading. This presentation is an attempt to bring the focus to a saner level.

· A little history may not be out of place. Muslims constitute a significant religious minority in Kerala and their role in the cultural, political and economic mosaic of the place is also significant. The history of Muslims in Kerala is nearly as old as of Islam itself. Islam came to the coast of Malabar through Arab traders and preachers soon after the consolidation of Islam as a new religion in Arabia. Traders, scholars and craftsmen like ship builders were among them. The egalitarian nature of the fundamental principles of Islam attracted many converts to the new religion including one ruler of Malabar who became an Islamic ascetic, went to Arabia and died there. Over a period of time the Muslim traders came to occupy the pre eminent position in the spices trade from Malabar. They could establish near monopoly in the maritime international trade of Malabar. Many of them settled in Malabar but maintaining a dynamic relationship with their places of origin. By the time when merchant capital had become dominant in Europe towards the end of the Middle Ages Muslim traders had established their dominance in this highly lucrative trade.

· It was the Portuguese and Dutch who first touched the Malabar Coast from Europe. Lacking the civilizational background of ethical trade practices their first objective was to break the Arab monopoly of international trade. This they proceeded to do through a package of violence, betrayals and cheatings. Burning the Arab merchant ships at sea with all the sailors inside, plain and simple piracy, hypocritically befriending the local ruler with insincere promises were the methods they adopted to achieve their goal. After the local navy under the command of Kunjali Marikkar was defeated and Marikkar killed, they could establish their trade monopoly. This was the first major blow suffered by the Muslims in Malabar and it was inflicted by the Europeans aided by the passivity of a weak willed local ruler.

· Subsequently, when the British defeated the Mysore Sultan and sanitized the neighboring areas Malabar came under their direct rule while the rest of Kerala – Travancore and Cochin- remained princely States under their overall sovereignty. With the social base of feudal elements as their support base the British subjected Malabar to their revenue farming methods which, as in other parts of colonial India, was highly oppressive to the peasantry. During the first quarter of the 20^th century the Muslims rose in revolt against the feudal elements and their colonial masters. These series of rebellions are known as Moplah rebellion or Malabar rebellion. This was suppressed with the utmost barbarity, the second blow suffered by the Muslims of Malabar and this was also inflicted by the Europeans. Thousands were killed and their economic deprivation further plummeted. This widespread suppression also aided in the dispersal of the community.

· Muslims of Malabar were very much an important part of the freedom movement supplying many important leaders and activists. The communist movement which took up the issues of the peasantry in Malabar also attracted Muslims. Though a broken community due to the colonial suppression they remained as a significant force in Malabar. Their art forms and cultural practices had survived the colonial onslaught.

· After the formation of Kerala State in 1956 we see that the political party of the Muslims, the Muslim League, becoming an important variable in the political landscape of the State. The Muslim League was and continues to be a political party led by the upper class and upper caste Muslim aristocracy but enjoying the support of the broad Muslim masses. With the entry of alliance politics in the State the League could become very much a part of the ruling dispensation in the State and continues to be in that position today also. Currently, though they are not in the State government their representative is in the central government. It is the institutionalization of the Muslim League as an intrinsic part of the ruling mechanism that probably gave rise to new rebellious voices from among the Muslims. The political space for such voices is very much there.

· Kerala is not unknown to communal violence. The often repeated platitude propagated by the media that the State is an oasis of communal harmony is not correct. On and off there have been flare ups in Malabar as well as in the southern parts of the State. The fishing communities had been hit by communal violence including murders and arson many time. As is illustrated by the violence and counter violence witnessed on Marad beach, attempts at vicious communalization of non communal issues can easily occur in Kerala. Hindutva politics, though kept out of the State assembly, are powerfully represented by the trained cadre force of the RSS. The communal clashes are often between the RSS cadre and Muslim youth.

· It is in this background that militant Muslim organizations came to be formed in Kerala. Due to a variety of reasons there has been an upward mobility in the political and economic status of the Muslims. It is only natural that such a changing base will give rise to demands for consolidation and recognition on an overall scale. And it was this process that gave rise to organizations like National Democratic Front and Popular Front. These organizations are presently in the eye of a political storm in the State.

· The precipitating factor was the violence against a college teacher who insulted Prophet Mohammed in a question paper to his students. This violence was allegedly committed by members of Popular Front whose presence among Kerala Muslims is significant. Also this organization is not confined to Kerala but is at least peninsular. What happened in Kerala in the wake of the attack on the college lecturer was quite interesting. The established media, both print and electronic, assiduously tried to make the incident into one heralding the rise of Islamic fundamentalism, very often through concocted, false reports. A concerted effort was made to portray all the Muslims as the “other”. More importantly, the civil society organs remained silent when large scale attacks on Popular Front members, sympathizers and intellectuals was unleashed by the police all over the State.

· The tendency to see an entire minority community as religious fanatics out to rip apart the social fabric was largely manufactured by the dominant political interest groups. A community trying to get organized on radical transformative slogans and denouncing dangerous social evils was clearly unpalatable to these political forces and their class and caste backers. This was what was obvious from the frenzied propaganda unleashed by the big media against the entire community. The civil society, by its passivity, actually collaborated with such manufacturing of communal hatred. This is certainly a very disturbing trend.