With the exit of sole Muslim member Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi recently from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet, for the first time after independence in 1947, there is no representative of the 20 percent Muslim community in the union council of ministers. If that was not enough, there is just one Muslim, Arif Mohammad Khan, the governor of Kerala, who holds a constitutional position in India. Besides the president, prime minister, vice president, Lok Sabha speaker, and governors and heads of 20 constitutional bodies are classified as constitutional positions.
Though Muslims have lacked representation in public and private sector employment, even in times of secular governments, they were able to effectively use their electoral prowess to punish their detractors. Their sense of revenge was exemplary. They were instrumental in the fall of the Congress Party in Bihar, following the 1989 Bhagalpur communal riots and the emergence of Lalu Prasad Yadav and Nitish Kumar. Muslims made the Congress Party almost non-existent in Uttar Pradesh for its role in the Babri Mosque demolition.
Since 2014, Muslim representation in political establishments has reduced, triggering serious concerns among political analysts. While there is less than 5 percent Muslim representation in the Indian parliament, their number is abysmally low in the state assemblies. In the 28 Indian states and out of 530 ministers, there are just 19 Muslims, which does not even make one minister per state.
Of the total 543 seats in the Lok Sabha, which is the elected house of the Indian parliament, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) holds 303 seats and does not have a single Muslim member. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which includes the allies of the BJP has about 46 members and has just one Muslim member. Mahboob Ali Kaiser from the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) is the only Muslim face of the NDA. However, at no point in time, was his candidature ever considered by the BJP to make him a minister.
The LJP that represents the Dalit community and has argued for their inclusion does not see anything wrong in not having a Muslim representation. “The representation should be based purely on merit and not caste. As long as the welfare of the community is taken care of, it should not matter, whether there exists a caste representation or not,” says Dr Ajay Kummar Pandey, spokesperson of LJP.
The situation is equally grim at the state level. India has a total of 4,121 assembly seats. In these seats, Muslims represent only 236, which is not more than six percent. The 28 Indian states put together have 530 cabinet seats and Muslims represent only 19 of these ministerial positions, i.e. 3.5 percent.
Barring the state of Uttar Pradesh which has one Muslim member in the cabinet, none of the states ruled by the BJP has any Muslim occupying a cabinet position. Uttar Pradesh has a Muslim population of 38.4 million, comprising 19.26 percent of the total state population. But has only one Muslim representative.
Till a decade ago, in Uttar Pradesh, Muslims were kingmakers, and all secular parties -- be it Sonia Gandhi-led Congress Party or Mulayam Singh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party -- has exploited them for their electoral gains. However, over the years, with the change in the political atmosphere, all political parties in the race to prove themselves as more Hindu than others, have abandoned Muslims.
UP that has 403 legislatures only has 34 Muslim MLAs, which is a significant fall from 69 MLAs in the previous assembly. The Congress Party, which for decades has been dependent on Muslims to stay in power, could not get a single Muslim candidate into the state assembly.
It is only in the states of Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Kerala, and West Bengal where regional parties have succeeded in keeping the BJP out and Muslims have been given some cabinet portfolio. But their representation remains inadequate. According to the census 2011, Muslim population is significant in Assam, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Kerala and Bihar. In these five states, the BJP is in power in Assam and Uttar Pradesh, and shares power with Janata Dal in Bihar.
Like Uttar Pradesh, the north-eastern state of Assam where 10.4 million Muslims make up 34 percent of the total population, there is no Muslim holding a ministerial portfolio. It has 29 Muslim members in the state assembly, of which none belong to the BJP, which is in power in the state. The largest community goes unrepresented by the saffron party.
And while the BJP has made no qualms about its dislike for Muslims, even the states that claim to be secular have not made adequate efforts to accommodate this community. States, such as West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, have though rejected the polarisation plank of the BJP, here too, Muslims have remained largely unrepresented.
West Bengal, where Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress forced Narendra Modi and Amit Shah to bite the dust in the assembly election last year has a significant Muslim population. The state has about 27 per cent Muslims. Banerjee’s party won 220 of the 294 seats in the state and got support from 67.3 percent of the Muslim voters. However, in her 51-member cabinet, Muslims get only 11 percent ministerial posts. In states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, where non-BJP secular parties have managed to hold and retain power, the situation is not rosy.
When Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi’s name was making rounds for the post of vice president, many thought the BJP would use him as a face-saver for the recently caused global embarrassment by its leader Nupur Sharma. But veteran journalist Hissam Siddique, who has been following the elections from close quarters, says: “Modi’s politics is based on Hindu polarisation. He knows it very well that even if Naqvi was made the vice president, it would not give him any electoral gains. So it was better for the BJP to go ahead with its Muslim Mukt Sarkar (Muslim free government)."
Though Muslims have lacked representation in public and private sector employment, even in times of secular governments, they were able to effectively use their electoral prowess to punish their detractors. Their sense of revenge was exemplary. They were instrumental in the fall of the Congress Party in Bihar, following the 1989 Bhagalpur communal riots and the emergence of Lalu Prasad Yadav and Nitish Kumar. Muslims made the Congress Party almost non-existent in Uttar Pradesh for its role in the Babri Mosque demolition.
Since 2014, Muslim representation in political establishments has reduced, triggering serious concerns among political analysts. While there is less than 5 percent Muslim representation in the Indian parliament, their number is abysmally low in the state assemblies. In the 28 Indian states and out of 530 ministers, there are just 19 Muslims, which does not even make one minister per state.
Of the total 543 seats in the Lok Sabha, which is the elected house of the Indian parliament, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) holds 303 seats and does not have a single Muslim member. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which includes the allies of the BJP has about 46 members and has just one Muslim member. Mahboob Ali Kaiser from the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) is the only Muslim face of the NDA. However, at no point in time, was his candidature ever considered by the BJP to make him a minister.
While there is less than 5 percent Muslim representation in the Indian parliament, their number is abysmally low in the state assemblies. In the 28 Indian states and out of 530 ministers, there are just 19 Muslims, which does not even make one minister per state.
The LJP that represents the Dalit community and has argued for their inclusion does not see anything wrong in not having a Muslim representation. “The representation should be based purely on merit and not caste. As long as the welfare of the community is taken care of, it should not matter, whether there exists a caste representation or not,” says Dr Ajay Kummar Pandey, spokesperson of LJP.
The situation is equally grim at the state level. India has a total of 4,121 assembly seats. In these seats, Muslims represent only 236, which is not more than six percent. The 28 Indian states put together have 530 cabinet seats and Muslims represent only 19 of these ministerial positions, i.e. 3.5 percent.
Barring the state of Uttar Pradesh which has one Muslim member in the cabinet, none of the states ruled by the BJP has any Muslim occupying a cabinet position. Uttar Pradesh has a Muslim population of 38.4 million, comprising 19.26 percent of the total state population. But has only one Muslim representative.
Till a decade ago, in Uttar Pradesh, Muslims were kingmakers, and all secular parties -- be it Sonia Gandhi-led Congress Party or Mulayam Singh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party -- has exploited them for their electoral gains. However, over the years, with the change in the political atmosphere, all political parties in the race to prove themselves as more Hindu than others, have abandoned Muslims.
UP that has 403 legislatures only has 34 Muslim MLAs, which is a significant fall from 69 MLAs in the previous assembly. The Congress Party, which for decades has been dependent on Muslims to stay in power, could not get a single Muslim candidate into the state assembly.
It is only in the states of Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Kerala, and West Bengal where regional parties have succeeded in keeping the BJP out and Muslims have been given some cabinet portfolio. But their representation remains inadequate. According to the census 2011, Muslim population is significant in Assam, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Kerala and Bihar. In these five states, the BJP is in power in Assam and Uttar Pradesh, and shares power with Janata Dal in Bihar.
Like Uttar Pradesh, the north-eastern state of Assam where 10.4 million Muslims make up 34 percent of the total population, there is no Muslim holding a ministerial portfolio. It has 29 Muslim members in the state assembly, of which none belong to the BJP, which is in power in the state. The largest community goes unrepresented by the saffron party.
The situation is equally grim at the state level. India has a total of 4,121 assembly seats. In these seats, Muslims represent only 236, which is not more than six percent. The 28 Indian states put together have 530 cabinet seats and Muslims represent only 19 of these ministerial positions, i.e. 3.5 percent.
And while the BJP has made no qualms about its dislike for Muslims, even the states that claim to be secular have not made adequate efforts to accommodate this community. States, such as West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, have though rejected the polarisation plank of the BJP, here too, Muslims have remained largely unrepresented.
West Bengal, where Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress forced Narendra Modi and Amit Shah to bite the dust in the assembly election last year has a significant Muslim population. The state has about 27 per cent Muslims. Banerjee’s party won 220 of the 294 seats in the state and got support from 67.3 percent of the Muslim voters. However, in her 51-member cabinet, Muslims get only 11 percent ministerial posts. In states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, where non-BJP secular parties have managed to hold and retain power, the situation is not rosy.
When Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi’s name was making rounds for the post of vice president, many thought the BJP would use him as a face-saver for the recently caused global embarrassment by its leader Nupur Sharma. But veteran journalist Hissam Siddique, who has been following the elections from close quarters, says: “Modi’s politics is based on Hindu polarisation. He knows it very well that even if Naqvi was made the vice president, it would not give him any electoral gains. So it was better for the BJP to go ahead with its Muslim Mukt Sarkar (Muslim free government)."
- The number of seats in Lok Sabha is 543, out which 27 are Muslims
- The number of seats in state assemblies is 4121 (excluding Jammu and Kashmir), out of which 236 are Muslims
- The total strength of state cabinets is 530 and 19 are Muslims