General Elections 2019: A Short Comment on Muslim Representation

 

Khalid Anis Ansari

In most academic and journalistic representations of the Muslim-minority space there is a persistent emphasis on the underrepresentation of Muslim legislators in various legislative bodies. The population proportion of Muslims has increased from the immediate post-partition phase of 10.4% to 14.2% in the 2011 Census. However, in the Lok Sabha Muslim representation has on an average been 6% so far. As Table 1 clearly demonstrates even the highest Muslim representation of 10% (49 MPs) that was registered in the seventh Lok Sabha was below their national population estimates.

TABLE 1 MUSLIM REPRESENTATION IN LOK SABHA
S. No	Year of Polls	No. of MPs	Percentage
1	1952	11	2
2	1957	19	4
3	1962	20	4
4	1967	25	5
5	1971	28	6
6	1977	34	7
7	1980	49	10
8	1984	42	8
9	1989	27	6
10	1991	25	5
11	1996	29	6
12	1998	28	6
13	1999	31	6
14	2004	34	7
15	2009	30	6
16	2014	23	4
17	2019	25	5

Yet the story of Muslim underrepresentation in the political sphere needs to be contextualized. Largely because of the simplistic reduction of Muslims to their religious identity alone has serious epistemological consequences, particularly in making sense of social exclusion. As subordinated caste Pasmanda Muslim commentators have often pointed out the monolithic representation of Muslim identity irons out internal hierarchies, particularly those based on caste.

According to one analysis, of the 7,500 elected representatives from the first to the fourteenth Lok Sabha, 400 were Muslims—of which 340 were Ashraf (upper caste) Muslims and 60 were from the Pasmanda (OBC/Dalit/Adivasi) Muslim background. If we apply the population ratio 15 (Ashraf): 85 (Pasmanda)¹ to the Muslim population figure of 14.2 percent as per the 2011 Census then the Ashrafs would have a 2.1 per cent share in the country’s population. But their representation in the Lok Sabha was around 4.5 per cent. On the other hand, while the Pasmandas’ share in the population was around 11.4 percent their representation in the parliament was merely 0.8 percent. One could clearly infer that the Ashraf Muslims, an erstwhile ruling class, were doubly represented while it were the Pasmanda Muslims who actually faced gross exclusion in the parliament.

The broad trend of Pasmanda exclusion has continued in the 17th Lok Sabha as well. Table 2 suggests that out of 25 Muslim MPs² 18 are higher caste while 7 are OBCs/STs. Again the higher caste Muslims are adequately represented with just over 3 percent representation while the representation of the Pasmanda Muslims is around 1 percent.

TABLE 23 MUSLIM MPS IN 17th LOK SABHA
S. NO.	NAME	CONSTITUENCY	PARTY	CATEGORY
1	BADRUDDIN AJMAL	ASSAM-DHUBRI	AIUDF	GENERAL
2	ABDUL KHALEQUE	ASSAM-BARPETA	INC	GENERAL
3	KUNWAR DANISH ALI	UTTAR PRADESH-AMROHA	BSP	GENERAL
4	AFZAL ANSARI	UTTAR PRADESH-GHAZIPUR	BSP	GENERAL
5	HAJI FAZLUR REHMAN	UTTAR PRADESH-SAHARANPUR	BSP	OBC
6	DR. S.T. HASAN	UTTAR PRADESH-MORADABAD	SP	GENERAL
7	DR. SHAFIQUR REHMAN BARQ	UTTAR PRADESH-SAMBHAL	SP	GENERAL
8	MOHAMMAD AZAM KHAN	UTTAR PRADESH-RAMPUR	SP	GENERAL
9	ASADUDDIN OWAISI	TELANGANA-HYDERABAD	AIMIM	GENERAL
10	IMTIAZ JALEEL SYED	MAHARASHTRA-AURANGABAD	AIMIM	GENERAL
11	ADV. A M ARIFF	KERALA-ALAPPUZHA	CPI (M)	OBC
12	P.K. KUNHALIKUTTY	KERALA-MALLAPURAM	IUML	OBC
13	E. T. MOHAMMED BASHEER	KERALA-PONNANI	IUML	OBC
14	HASNAIN MASOODI	JAMMU & KASHMIR-ANANTNAG	JKNC	GENERAL
15	MOHAMMAD AKBAR LONE	JAMMU & KASHMIR-BARAMULLA	JKNC	GENERAL
16	FAROOQ ABDULLAH	JAMMU & KASHMIR-SRINAGAR	JKNC	GENERAL
17	DR. MOHAMMAD JAWED	BIHAR-KISHANGANJ	INC	GENERAL
18	CHOUDHARY MEHBOOB ALI KAISER	BIHAR-KHAGARIA	LJP	GENERAL
19	NUSRAT JAHAN RUHI	WEST BENGAL-BASIRHAT	TMC	GENERAL
20	ABU TAHER KHAN	WEST BENGAL-MURSHIDABAD	TMC	GENERAL
21	SAJDA AHMED	WEST BENGAL-ULUBERIA	TMC	OBC
22	ABU HASEM KHAN CHOWDHURY (DALU)	WEST BENGAL-MALDAHA DAKSHIN	INC	GENERAL
23	KHALILUR RAHAMAN	JANGIPUR-WEST BENGAL	TMC	GENERAL
24	K. NAVASKANI	RAMANATHAPURAM-TAMIL NADU	IUML	OBC
25	MOHAMMED FAIZAL PP	LAKSHWADEEP	NCP	ST

 The above exercise of introducing caste in the data on Muslim political underrepresentation complicates the picture and reveals the power differentials within the community. It is regrettable that due to the discursive grip of the minority discourse that hypervalorizes religion most researchers have hardly paid attention to caste-based hierarchies among Muslims in their work. If the Muslim category is complicated by introducing other social categories—not only in the political sphere but also in education, employment and so on—then one would hopefully arrive at a more contextualized and nuanced understanding of the community and social exclusion.

Corrections and clarifications: This article has been edited to exclude the name of Ms. Aparupa Poddar (Afrin Ali), the Trinamool Congress MP from Arambagh seat in West Bengal. She has contested from an SC reserved seat and so technically cannot be a Muslim.

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Notes

1. P. S. Krishnan: “There is no census of the population of communities/groups of Muslim BCs and their proportion to the total Muslim population of each state. The National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) has made estimates, but it has got methodological limitations and, therefore, many of its figures, mentioned in Sachar Committee’s report, are underestimates. It is, in fact, in the range of 80 to 85% in the northern states and even higher in the southern states…” [Krishnan, P. S. (2010). Understanding the Backward Classes of Muslim Society. Economic & Political Weekly, XLV(34), p. 52].

2. A few reports have given the figure of 27 Muslim MPs. This is erroneous as they have enlisted the Congress’ Mohammad Sadique who has won the Faridkot seat from Punjab as a Muslim. My colleague Shafiullah Anis informs me that he is a Sikh belonging to the SC community.

3. I am deeply thankful to all my friends and sources who helped me in compiling this list.

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Khalid Anis Ansari teaches at Glocal University. The views are personal.