Rampur, In Rampur, a city with a significant Muslim population, the current member of parliament, a supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-first policy, reflects a national trend of diminishing Muslim representation in Indian politics.
According to Kashmir Media Service, this pattern is evident throughout India, where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Modi, is anticipated to perform strongly in the forthcoming general elections, sidelining Muslim candidates. Despite Muslims constituting nearly a fifth of India’s population, their representation in parliament has declined from almost 10% in the 1970s to less than 5% today.
Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi, Rampur’s Hindu MP, is emblematic of this shift, having replaced a Muslim MP in a by-election by aligning with the BJP. The situation in Rampur mirrors a broader national trend where the prospect of Muslim lawmakers winning seats is increasingly seen as unlikely.
The decline in Muslim MPs to just 27 out of 543 in the lower house, with none from the BJP, raises concerns about the eroding diversity in India’s political system. Critics, like author Ziyaus Salam, argue that Muslims in India have historically supported secular parties, leading to a significant gap in Muslim political leadership.
The transformation of India’s secular identity into a Hindu Rashtra (Hindu state), promoted by Modi, goes largely unquestioned, Salam notes, highlighting a double standard in the political narrative that discourages overtly Muslim leadership.
Kanwal Bharti, a Rampur-based activist and writer, points to the BJP’s strategic dominance and electoral boundary manipulations as barriers to Muslim electoral success. Rampur, which has historically elected Muslim MPs, now faces a political landscape where their election seems increasingly implausible.
The case of Mohammad Azam Khan, Rampur’s last Muslim MP, illustrates the challenges faced by Muslim politicians. Khan’s departure from politics amid legal battles and a jail sentence for hate speech exemplifies the pressures and legal entanglements Muslim leaders often face in the current political climate.