University at centre of Muslim 'vote bank' politicking

With India more than halfway through the two months-long general elections that kicked off on 7 April, one of the country's major institutions - Aligarh Muslim University - has become a focal point of political activities as parties attempt to make an impact on Muslim voters.

Muslims comprise almost 14% of India's total population - around 160 million people including non-voters.

"Muslims in India are regarded as a 'vote bank' by political parties as it is believed that they vote in unison," said Adeeb Ahmed, an Independent member of parliament in the upper house, or Rajya Sabha, from the populous northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

Muslims comprise some 50% to 60% of the university's students and academics. Leaders of all political parties have been sending representatives to the campus, conducting heated debates and organising rallies.

University influence

Because of its strong reputation among Muslims, Aligarh Muslim University, or AMU, is likely to play an important role in the elections in securing the votes of educated Muslims in Uttar Pradesh.

Some regard its potential influence on Muslim voters as second only to that of Muslim clerics, some of whom have been issuing appeals to support particular parties.

"We don't endorse such statements," said Aftab Alam, an associate professor of political science and secretary of the university's teacher association, criticising attempts by parties to use community leaders such as clerics to gain block votes.

Uttar Pradesh sends the largest number of legislators of any state to parliament, accounting for 80 seats. Election victory nationally often depends on winning in the state.

Electoral experts have calculated that as many as 70 of the 543 parliamentary seats being contested are in constituencies where Muslim voters make up more than 11% per cent of the vote. In half of these constituencies, more than 30% of voters are Muslim.

Students and staff have become wittingly or unwittingly embroiled in party disputes.

Some AMU members accused the Election Commission of discrimination for lifting a ban on campus activities by Amit Shah, a close associate of Narendra Modi, leader of the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP - while upholding a ban on Azam Khan of the Samajwadi Party for making inflammatory speeches that could incite tension between Muslims and Hindus.

Shah had written to the commission promising not to make hate speeches. However, Khan defended his actions and challenged the commission's authority.

"Comments from Azam and Shah polarise the situation, so they should have been subjected to the same fate. Now a very wrong message will be sent by the Election Commission and will perpetuate a feeling of alienation among the Muslims," said AMU associate professor of political science Mohibul Haque.

Minority status

One of the key electoral promises by several parties has been to grant Aligarh Muslim University minority institution status in order to secure votes. But even that has polarised the university.

Mulayam Singh Yadav, head of the state-based Samajwadi Party or SP - which is the ruling party in Uttar Pradesh and the third largest in national parliament - was forced to cancel a planned visit to the campus in February this year.

He had intended to demand minority status for AMU, which would allow the university to reserve half its seats for Muslims.

Yadav had to cancel the visit after widespread protests on campus by faculty and students against the SP regional government's handling of Hindu-Muslim riots in the northern town of Muzaffarnagar in September last year, which killed 60 people and displaced some 60,000.

Referring to the protests against the SP leader's visit, AMU Vice-chancellor Zameeruddin Shah came out against politicians using the university for their own interests. He insisted that it should remain a seat of learning

"This university is not meant for Muslims alone. Nor is it the place for Muslim politics. But this is the place where Muslim culture is still alive."

Some 8,000 institutions have minority status in India including Jamia Millia Islamia, a major Muslim university in New Delhi. So far minority status has eluded AMU.

Manvendra Pratap Singh, coordinator of AMU Bachao Manch - Save AMU - a group that has been campaigning against minority status for the university, said that "when the government is providing all the funding, why does it become an education centre for one particular community?"

Disillusioned

Muslim students bombarded by party propaganda have generally become disillusioned by election promises.

Many Muslims criticise the ruling Indian National Congress party and the SP for not offering solutions to their educational and economic miseries - overall, Muslims remain a disadvantaged community.

Alam of the AMU teacher association said Muslims had become nothing more than a 'vote bank' for politicians, referring to the SP chief and his son Akhilesh Yadav, who is currently chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.

The secular Congress party in particular has been eager to counter the criticism of only seeking the block vote. A new Aligarh Muslim University centre was inaugurated this year in a poor area in the northern Bihar State, Kishanganj, where two thirds of the electorate is Muslim.

President of the Congress party Sonia Gandhi laid the foundation stone in January, and other parties jostled to claim credit for the centre, which has become a major plank in manifestos of virtually all politicians seeking to show that they care about uplifting minorities.

While not even in the same state as AMU, the institution's reputation is such that using its name is seen by parties as a significant vote-getter.

A lot to play for

There is a great deal to play for. Muslims are finding it difficult to choose a political party to throw their weight behind.

They would not like to see the opposition BJP, whose leader Modi is currently riding a wave of popularity, ruling after the general elections. They hold him responsible for communal riots in 2002 in his home state of Gujarat in which almost 2,000 people - mostly Muslims - were killed.

Fear of non-secular parties such as the BJP have been behind voters backing secular parties such as Congress and SP.

"The issues that affect the whole nation also affect Muslims. Muslim youths are also worried about corruption, the political, criminal and business nexus and unemployment," said Jawed Sajjad, who will complete his studies at AMU this year.

But as the elections in the state approach, "the survival and security of the community becomes the prime issue", said Sajjad, referring to the Muslim community's fear of persecution and marginalisation, whipped up by opposing parties.