BJP rally in Chikmagalur, Karnataka. , Photo Credit: PTI
When Ayodhya movement led to a dramatic increase in Bharatiya Janata PartyThe (BJP) Lok Sabha seat tally – two in 1984 and 85 in 1989 – was largely explained as a North Indian story. It was further argued that the BJP would not be able to replicate these results in the South because of its distinct history. By 2008, with the formation of the BJP government in Karnataka, the argument turned out to be wrong.
Clearly, the South is neither invincible nor impenetrable to the Hindu right, although it does present some challenges that are different from those of other regions of India. Since 2014, when the BJP came to power at the Centre, the party has launched an aggressive campaign at multiple levels to win over the rest of the South.
While it is difficult to predict when the BJP will emerge with electoral dominance in the south, the right wing is showing determination to mobilize voters in every southern state.
In September 2022 and in February this year, the Madras High Court had respectively directed the Tamil Nadu Police and passed an order, allowing the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to hold its marches in Tamil Nadu—RSS thus K marches are organized regularly. Elsewhere, where these are held, there have been clashes between workers of the RSS and those of rival secular parties such as the Left and the Congress in Kerala. Karnataka, especially in its coastal region, has seen a huge increase in Islamophobia.
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Popular Front of India (PFI) It has been accused of contributing to the radicalization of Muslims in the region for many years. It was banned in September 2022 by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on the other hand, has been calling for the BJP’s outreach to Pasmanda Muslims.
In the wider context of the churning in India’s politics, the politics of religious polarization along Hindu-Muslim lines is increasingly becoming the name of the game in the south of India.
Threat to micro social relationships
Islam arrived in the south in the eighth or ninth century. According to historian Susan Bailey, Islam spread to the south through Sufi traditions and through trade with Arab settlers. By the 13th and 14th centuries, it began to spread to the hinterland. Social stratification in the South has also been very different from the North. For example, in Tamil Nadu, Muslims of Arab origin are known as Marakkayars and local converts are called Labbais.
Social relations between Hindus and Muslims in the south are also deeper and more nuanced. In vast parts of Tamil Nadu, the Muslim Allah was and is still known as Allah Swami. In Tiruchirappalli, Muslims and people of the Kammalan caste address each other as Mani, or maternal uncle. Similarly, Muslims address people of the Pallan caste as grandson and granddaughter, and Muslims in turn were called grandfather.
Cultural and religious practices so deeply intertwined between Hindus and Muslims should stand in the way of polarizing right-wing politics, but this does not seem to be the case. Strategies such as weaponizing history (such as Tipu Sultan or the Hijab controversy), similar to those that brought about right-wing dominance in the north, are now being spread to the south. The Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is being attacked by the BJP as a party of Razakars – although secular parties have been attacking AIMIM as the B-team of the BJP. An incredibly rich Sufi history of Muslims in the South is becoming fragile and vulnerable under the onslaught of the right wing.
identify
The Dravidian movement (in particular, led by Periyar) played a decisive role in building Muslim identity as the core identity of the South. The force and justification of his campaign for Tamil Muslims as an integral part of the Dravidian identity was so persuasive that even Mohammad Ali Jinnah had to accept it. In the Lahore Resolution of 1940, Jinnah famously argued for Hindus and Muslims to be separate nations; But a year later, in April 1941, at the 28th annual session of the All India Muslim League in Chennai, Jinnah said, “There is another nation on this land of ours, Dravidistan. This land is actually Dravidastan… I will do everything to establish Dravidastan and we Muslims will extend the hand of friendship and live with you on the lines of equality, justice and fair play.
It has been argued that given the specific brand of politics that regional parties stand for, the BJP cannot expand in the South. But the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam have had political alliances with the BJP several times since the 1990s.
It is true that regional parties have defeated the BJP in several states – for example in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. While this sounds inspiring, it may not be true forever. The BJP has been able to undermine regional parties by using state agencies and backdoor machinations, examples are the cases of the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi or the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra. Given such strategies, no one is sure how long the regional parties will be able to continue their struggle. Given this scenario, there is a fair chance for the right wing to expand in the south, thus creating a new set of challenges for its minorities, especially Muslims.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman teaches at Jamia Millia Central University, New Delhi and is the author of the forthcoming book, Shikwa-e-Hind: The Political Future of Indian Muslims