Stereotypes regarding identity, namely the hat, beard, sherwani and burqa, is the reason for lack of political representation of Muslims, said political analyst and professor in the Department of Political Science, Mysuru university, Muzaffar H. Assadi.
Speaking on ‘Representation of Muslims in politics and empowerment’ at the Muslim Youth Conference on Monday, Mr. Assadi said that stereotypes have denied Muslims the space they deserve.
They are being denied houses on rent, do not get access to general market and are being denied proper education facility. These identity marks are being considered as problematic to public space, he said.
Mr. Assadi said that such a stereotype was the reason for lack of representation of Muslims in the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, Vidhana Soudha and other elected bodies.
The representation of Muslims was less in the elected bodies. Out of the 224 Assembly seats in Karnataka, Muslims have been elected from only 11 seats. In the Lok Sabha there are only 23 Muslim MPs, he said.
Mr. Assadi said this political deficit has led to real problems of Muslims namely lack of education, employment opportunity and difficulty in getting houses on rent remaining unaddressed.
There was stereotypes in identifying problems of Muslims namely the grant of special status to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370, which was problem of Kashmiris and not that of Muslims.
The same narrative applied to banning cow slaughter, which was an issue affecting one’s food culture not essentially the one that affects Muslims.
Mr. Assadi said the civic society should come forward to support Muslims in overcoming the democratic deficit. There was need of a secular party that would address problems of Muslims and give them adequate representation in governance.
