Reza is not known to mince words. “Some people learn with experience, others never learn. Unfortunately, Muslim politicians fall in the latter category,” he says.
NEW DELHI: Reza Khan sits on the balcony of his Jamia Nagar house enjoying the autumn sun. On his lap rests a copy of a book in Urdu, he is currently reading the political history of Muslims in India. Reza was an active political activist once and taught political science.
Despite his age, even now several Muslim politicians come to him for advice. This Sunday he has just finished talking to some Jamait-e-Islami emissaries who wanted his blessing to float a Muslim political party.
Reza is not known to mince words. “Some people learn with experience, others never learn. Unfortunately, Muslim politicians fall in the latter category,” he says.
He finds the idea of a Muslim political party “disgusting”. “This will only end up further isolating and marginalising the minorities. They must learn from history. Look at what happened to Muslims because of the Muslim League,” he says.
Reza Khan’s views find resonance on the university’s campus at Jamia. “If there is a Muslim party, there will be a reaction and then there will also be a Hindu party and a Christain party. Where will it all end,” asks Safia Yasin, a BCom student from Jamia.
The idea of floating a Muslim party usually comes up on the eve of elections, as was the case before the 2004 general elections. Ahmad Bukhari, the imam of Delhi’s Jama Masjid, had set up a united front of Muslims but with little success. Years ago, his father, Abdullah Bukhari, had come up with the same idea, but it found few takers.
Former MP Syed Shahabuddin set up the Insaaf Party in the 1990s but the two occasions he was an MP he won on a national party ticket and not the party he had floated.
“This happens before every election. The last time Ahmad Bukhari tried something like this was when he set up the Adam Sena. It was, predictably, a failure but it did help the Shiv Sena gain a foothold in Delhi,” says Kamal Farooqui, member, Muslim Personal Law Board and head of the Minorities Commission in Delhi.
Some organisations the Jamiat chief included in the proposed party are surprised. “Nobody has spoken to us yet. How can they announce our name?” asks Assaduddin Owaisi, head of the Hyderabad-based All India Ithehadul Muslimeen.
j_ansari@dnaindia.net
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