Muslims have always been an important factor in Indian politics ... Mindless opposition to the BJP does not serve the interests of the Muslim community. The BJP may find it difficult but no impossible to come to power sooner or later without the Muslim vote, given its otherwise sound base. Many electoral studies have proved that Muslims alone cannot ensure a party's ultimate victory or defeat.
Now, imagine a situation when the BJP is in power, but because of "the attitude of untouchability" towards the party, the 125-million strong Muslim community refuses to be a part of the decision-making process. This is a scenario which, perhaps, explains the repeated appeals of the BJP functionaries to the Muslims for a change of heart ...
The question that arises is: Should the Muslims continue to repose their faith only in the non-BJP parties just because they are said to be "secular" and avoid the BJP just because it is perceived to be "communal"? Because apart from the dubious "fear" of BJP's "communalism", there is nothing concrete that the Muslims have against the BJP.
It is a well-established fact that more anti-Muslim riots have been engineered in the Congress-ruled states than in states under the BJP. One often hears that this is a diabolic design on the part of the BJP to tell the Muslims, "vote for us if you want safety to your life and property or else face the consequences". This is ... weak argument. One can counterargue that communal riots are caused by the non-BJP parties just to perpetuate the myth of BJP's communalism and prevent it from coming to power.
It is indeed time that the Muslims went beyond their passive role as a; vote-bank of some select parties. They need to be much more active politically to be a decisive factor in the country's decision-making process. And for this to happen, they must participate to emerge as an important force within all major political formations, including the BJP ... (Source: The Times of India, 18 Feb., 1998)
