A meeting held at the residence of former lieutenant-governor of Delhi Najeeb Jung (in picture) was reportedly attended by leaders of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, Darul Uloom Deoband and others besides Haji Syed Salman Chishti of Ajmer. Sharif Dargah. file | Photo Credit: PTI
A closed-door meeting between Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leaders and representatives of various Muslim bodies in New Delhi in mid-January has now triggered a political storm in Kerala.
Though the media in the state got the news of the meeting only after a month, the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH)’s participation in the RSS’s minority outreach program has taken a communal colour. meetingThe ceremony, held at the residence of former Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi Najeeb Jung, was reportedly attended by leaders of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, Darul Uloom Deoband and others besides Haji Syed Salman Chishti of Ajmer Sharif Dargah.
Following this, JIH general secretary T. Arif Ali had to clarify that the meeting should be viewed positively, and that the discussion was focused on issues that affect the Muslim community such as mob lynching and bulldozer politics.
Nevertheless, the meeting was opposed by other Muslim organisations, such as Samastha Kerala Jamiathul Ulama, Kerala Muslim Jamaat and Kerala Nadavathul Mujahideen (KNM).
CM pinch
Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leaders PK Kunhalikutty and MK Muneer said that there was no position to hold talks with the RSS and pointed out that it was dangerous for those who believed in secularism to hold talks with the RSS.
It was Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan who put the RSS-JIH secret talks in the limelight. He wanted the Muslim organization to reveal the details of what happened behind closed doors. The Chief Minister also wondered whether the Congress and the IUML had any role in these talks.
The JIH state leadership hit back, accusing the chief minister and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) of spreading Islamophobia. P. Mujeeb Rahman, assistant amir of JIH Kerala, said several other religious groups and even political parties like the CPI(M) have held talks with the RSS in the past, but never subjected it to such hostile grilling Were.
Mr. Rehman said that JIH would never compromise with RSS, but would accept any opportunity to highlight the problems of the Muslim community. He also recalled how JIH had taken the initiative to initiate dialogue with the Arya Samajam to calm the atmosphere after the communal violence in Marad two decades ago.
The Congress also talked about the hypocrisy of the CPI(M). It said that CPI(M) leaders had earlier held secret meetings with the RSS. Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan said that the Jamaat has been with the CPI(M) for nearly 42 years.
Incidentally, the JIH and its political wing, the Welfare Party of India, were staunch supporters of the Left for a long time, but switched loyalties to the Congress after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Subsequently, the CPI(M) publicly criticized the JIH as a communal organisation.
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The CPI(M) now portrays both the RSS and the JIH as fundamentalist organisations.
BJP’s moral high ground
BJP state president K. Taking a high moral ground, Surendran said that the Congress and the CPI(M) have a deep intolerance towards the peaceful coexistence of Muslims and Hindus.
However, political observers feel that Jamaat-e-Islami has only itself to blame for its present plight. Its habit of branding people, including Muslim intellectuals, who have started dialogue with the RSS as soft Hindutva supporters is now bothering the Jamaat. To make matters worse, Jamaat-e-Islami had kept the meeting a secret.
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Some speculate that the JIH has entered into an alliance with the BJP as the party has firmly consolidated its political position in India. However, he notes that the two ideologically opposing organizations sitting across the table was commendable in itself.
Other Muslim groups, too, have attempted to forge closer ties with the BJP. Last December, the KNM had invited BJP leader and Goa Governor P. Sreedharan Pillai for its state convention.
Meanwhile, the BJP’s national leadership is launching a Muslim outreach program in 14 states, including Kerala, from March 10. Certainly, the RSS has changed since the Narendra Modi-led BJP government came to power in 2014, but it must rein in some of its fringe rights. Wing elements to promote a more inclusive society.
biju.govind@thehindu.co.in