Muslim leaders support Telangana statehood

By M H Ahssan

Muslim intellectuals disagree that a separate state of Telangana will pose problems to the community. They say MIM's opposition is politically motivated.

Are Muslims fearful for their safety in a separate state of Telangana which comprises a major portion of the former Hyderabad state? If the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) is to be believed, the life and security of the 48 lakh Muslims in the region would be at stake in a smaller state since BJP/ Hindutva forces would get stronger and pose problems to the Muslims.

However, Muslim intellectuals, activists and historians rubbish this claim saying that the MIM represents a small section of the Muslim population, and that its opposition is politically motivated. They allege that the MIM is being propped up as part of a game plan by Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy against bifurcation of the state and to sabotage the Telangana cause. Besides, he has encouraged his cohorts in Congress to demand a separate Hyderabad city-state, a separate Rayalaseema state, merging Anantapur district with Karnataka and so on.

The Jamat-e-Islami Hind, a moderate group of Muslims, said it was wrong to say Muslims would be insecure in Telangana state. Those trying to project it as a Hindu-Muslim issue were not sincere in addressing either the problems of Muslims which were many, nor the issue of Telangana which was basically about regional imbalance and injustice. The Telangana Muslim Front, comprising 16 Muslim social organisations at a meeting last week dismissed the Majlis’ claim as propaganda and warned that ‘communalising’ the Telangana issue was a ‘big’ mistake. The meeting recalled the role of 600-years of harmonious co-existence of Hindus and Muslims under the Qutub Shahi and Asaf Jahi rulers and said the communal divide was a recent phenomenon that was deepened by politicians with a vested interest in the votes of the Muslims.


Questioning the legitimacy of Majlis in speaking for the entire Muslims of Telangana, Zaheeruddin Ali Khan, editor of the venerated Siasat, one of the largest circulated and the oldest Urdu daily newspaper from Hyderabad, pointed out that MIM’s hold was limited to four Assembly constituencies in the Old City of Hyderabad. He said, while 90 per cent of the Muslims favoured a separate state, they had some concerns which should be dealt with by the pro-Telangana parties. These included poverty and unemployment which had increased by leap
s and bounds after the Hyderabad state was integrated with the Indian Union in 1948. This was due to discrimination and neglect of Muslims by the state and ruling parties.

Parties like the MIM further exploited the community for votes instead of working for its growth and development. “The (Congress) government is using the MIM to put down Telangana…the MIM sold itself in 1969 (the first major movement for a separate Telangana) to the (then) Brahmananda Reddy government. It is trying to do it again,” said Zaheer. He urged secular Hindus and Muslims of Telangana to dispel the propaganda that the aspirations of Muslims of the region were any different from those of Hindus.

Speakers at the one-day seminar held by the Telangana Muslim Forum cited historical evidence to press home their argument.

The Qutub Shahi rulers generously funded the Bhadrachalam temple of Lord Rama and the Tirumala temple of Lord Venkateshwara. Muslims like Turrebaz Khan in 15th century and Shoebullah Khan in 19th century laid down their lives for their beliefs. Peerla Pandugu is celebrated with such gusto by Hindus that it is difficult to believe that it is an Islamic event. The Communist armed struggle in Telangana was a huge draw for the young, idealistic Muslim youth who jumped into it only to be eliminated along with the others by the Army of an independent India which crushed the movement.

Sajjad Shahed, an engineer and a heritage activist, traced the roots of the current issue to two factors: one, the Razakar police action phase when a reluctant Nizam of Hyderabad was forced to join the Indian Union with the help of the Indian Army; and the silencing of secular Muslim leadership subsequently as it was pushed on the defensive by anti-Muslim riots let loose post-integration to avenge the killing of Hindus by Razakars. Besides, many of them migrated to foreign counties leaving a void that was filled by the communal MIM. “Isolated incidents in history can wipe out the good both prior and subsequent to those incidents,” said Shahed.

Well-known thinker and writer Kancha Ilaiah believes that MIM should realise that Congress gameplan in sabotaging Telangana statehood would harm Muslims in the long run. If Congress does not agree to bifurcation, and should NDA come to power at the Centre, BJP is bound to create the state to strengthen itself in the new state. In that event, MIM will be held responsible for thwarting Telangana.

The consensus among Muslim leaders is that this is the time for the visionaries to assert themselves instead of allowing false emotions and arguments to carry the day.