Are Indian Muslims being fooled for the political clout?

What is the most interesting aspect of Indian politics? It’s not the fracas over caste or class but the hankering for Muslim vote. Though this is a very recent development, in different political spectrum (both in national and state level) parties are being found to almost vie for it. Reason? The number of Muslims residing in India is 140 million, if not more and this makes them the largest religious minority in a country of 1.1 billion people and also the second largest Muslim state in the world.

Is this all? Well, it’s the monolithic identity (alleged) of the Indian Muslim mass that attracts the political parties to them. It’s thought that the benevolent support of Muslims may make the dream of attaining the throne of governance possible. Nevertheless, intellectuals claim that the notion of Indian Muslim monolithic identity is an illusion or semblance and the intra-community tensions are expanding more with the passing of years.

Now the question remains what has been the benefit of the Indian Muslim community. Well, nothing has been found and on the other hand these political approaches have made the vast Hindu majority antagonistic to a large extent. The antagonism between the two, it can be said, is on the verge of reaching the pinnacle and this was not the scenario even a decade back. Even the Islamic community leaders have long complained of discrimination, with allegations of harassment increasing in the wake of militant attacks last year that were blamed on Islamic militants.

What can the Muslims do at this hour? Though this is uncertain, it is becoming evident that they are realizing the issue and also the mounting seething aggression. Take for instance the latest statement of Syed Ahmed Bukhari of New Delhi's Jama mosque or the chief cleric at India's largest mosque. According to him, Muslims were "victims of injustice" and they are being "tortured and systematically sidelined by all political parties." "A peaceful, secure and happy life is a distant dream for us," he said in a speech ahead of Friday prayers.

He also opined that Hindu-majority India's political parties were either explicitly sectarian or otherwise trying to cynically woo the Muslim vote with "false promises." "Look around and see the situation: some parties have an anti-Muslim agenda, some are trying to show sympathy towards us, but they will never be of any good to us," he said.