The Muslim Parliamentarians' Meet for Consultation on Representation of Muslims in Legislatures, held in New Delhi on 31 October, 1998, with the senior-most Parliamentarian Mr. Ebrahim Sulaiman Sait in the chair, was inaugurated by Dr. Farooq Abdullah, the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir who stressed the national imperative of removing the sense of deprivation and discrimination in the Muslim community. The Meet was addressed, among others, by senior Congress leader Shri Chandrajit Yadav, Maulana Shafi Moonis. Gen. Secy. Of the All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat, eminent journalist Shri Indrajit, Prof. Saifuddin Soz (NC), Mr. Rashid Masood (LD), Mr. Arif Mohd. Khan (BSP). Mr. Shafigur Rahman Burq (SP), Mr. M. Afzal (RJD), Mr. Qamarul Islam (JD) and Mr. Aslam Sher Khan (BJP). Other parliamentarians who participated were Mr. S.A. Salaria, Mr. G.M. Shawl, Mr. Nizamuddin and Mr. A.R. Kabuli from J&K, Mr. Mumtaz Ansari from Bihar, Maulana S.A. Hashmi from Delhi, Mr. Mohd. Yunus Saleem, Mr. Akbar Ahmad and Mr. Yusuf Baig from UP, Mr. Arif Baig from MP, Mr. A.Samad Siddiqui and Mr. F.M. Khan from Karnataka. Mr. S. Shahabuddin presented the Background Paper. Mr. Zafar Saifullah, Mr. Iqbal A. Ansari, Mr. Afzal, Mr. Siddiqui and Mr. Arif Md. Khan as well as some distinguished invitees participated in the discussion and the formulation of the consensus.
The Participants, while generally endorsing the Background Paper, in particular stressed the persistent fact of under-representation of Muslims in legislatures since independence and the consequent sense of deprivation and its political and psychological impact on the Muslims. They highlighted and analysed the various social and political factors responsible therefor. They also emphasised the urgent need for the political system to address the question of under-representation of the second largest community in the country. They took note of the inherent w6s in the existing electoral system, the contradictions in the electoral behaviour of the secular political parties as well as the emergent withdrawal syndrome in the community.
The Meet emphasised that the level of representation in fact secured by a religious minority finally depends on the secular parties. They must deliberately endeavor to maximise the presence of Muslims in the party structure, specially at the policy-making and top management levels, mould the attitude of their core social base towards the Muslims to make them mutually cooperative and supportive political action, and show a much higher sensitivity than at present to matters of Muslim concern, not only within the party but in their day-to-day programme. They should consistently raise the overall proportion of Muslim candidates in their lists of candidates, field Muslims of social standing in constituencies whose electoral arithmetic, combining the party's social base with the Muslim vote, makes them winnable propositions.
The Meet concluded that:
Democratic institutions in a pluralist society must, as closely as possible, represent the entire spectrum of plurality within the national jurisdiction, so that every social group which is both identifiable and conscious of its identity is proportionately represented in these institutions, whatever the basis of its identity, and the pattern of its demographic dispersion. Every community legitimately aspires to see its face reflected in the power structure and, therefore, in the legislature which are the fountain-head of power in a democracy, The objective and endeavour of the political system must be, therefore, to transform the legislatures into truly national fora, in which every identifiable segment of national society feels duly represented, and thus enjoys the sense of sharing power and participating on equal terms in the management of the national affairs whether it is a religious minority or a backward caste or sub-caste in line with the increasing international emphasis on human rights and minority rights. Ever since 1952, when the first General Election wan held, Muslim Indians have been under-represented in the Lok Sabha. While the share of population has steadily increased from about 10 to 13 per cent in 1991, their proportion in the Lok Sabha has averaged 5.5%. If the two abnormal peaks of 9.2 (1980) and 8.7 (1984) are left out, the average comes down to 5.2. The level of deprivation in 1998 is of the order of 60%
* The persisting pattern of glaring inadequate representation or deprivation has generated frustration and disillusionment and has pushed members of the Muslim community towards a sense of alienation from the system and withdrawal from the democratic process. It is not surprising if this makes them receptive to anti-secular forces by sapping their faith in the national commitment to the secular order. This is neither healthy for the community nor for the country and constitutes a negative factor for the survival of the secular order.
* Certain factors have operated to limit the number of Muslims in the legislatures in our country, for example, the distribution pattern of Muslim population which concentrates 96.99 per cent of the National Muslim Population in 13 States and 80 per cent in only 174 districts out of nearly 550; the pattern of delimitation of the constituencies; the definition of the social base of political parties in terms of caste and sub-castes and their limited capacity to transfer their base votes to Muslim candidates, even in Muslim concentration constituencies; division of Muslim votes among rival Muslim candidates, belonging to various biradaris, sects and parties, often encouraged and even funded by the anti-Muslim and non-secular forces in order to neutralize Muslim votes and undercut the winning candidates of secular parties; division of secular, including Muslim, votes among various secular parties, and finally the growing political frustration among the Muslims which has been increasingly expressing itself in both low enrollment and even lower turn out.
The Meet was of the view that by changing the existing electoral framework it may be possible to improve some extent the level of Muslim representation, through ensuring enrollment of all Muslim voters, revising the delimitation of constituencies, rotating the reservation for SC and ST and excluding Muslim-concentration constituencies from such reservation, nomination of Muslim candidates by secular parties in Muslim concentration constituencies, additional nomination by secular parties of Muslim candidates for the Rajya Sabha and the Vidhan Parishads to make up for low representation in the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas, active participation by qualified, resourceful and socially conscious Muslims in politics through parties of their choice, electoral alliance, adjustment or understanding among the secular parties, at least in Muslim-concentration constituencies, so as to field/support a single Muslim candidate and united and massive voting for such a candidate, endorsed by a representative 'non-political' Muslim body.
As regards changes in the electoral system, the Meet envisaged several possibilities introduction of Proportional Representation System (PRS), in a suitable variant, introduction of Double-members Constituencies in adequate numbers, creation of sufficient number of Muslim majority Parliamentary and Assembly constituencies in every State through proper delimitation covering contiguous Muslim-majority or concentration areas (village, Panchayat, urban mohallas, blocks etc), or reservation of constituencies of high Muslim concentration for Muslims, State-wise, in proportion to Muslim population, under joint electorate. Reservation was originally provided in the Draft Constitution, but was later dropped on the clear assurance by all national leaders that the majority would give not only a fair but a generous treatment to the minority and ensure its equitable representation in the legislatures - an assurance which has not yet crystallised in any election.
The Meet was of the view that the under-representation of Muslims in legislatures has reached a level of felt deprivation of such an order that it goes beyond being a matter of Muslim concern and has become a problem of national importance demanding serious consideration, on a priority basis, by all the secular parties. This will result in their collective wisdom translating itself into a national consensus on urgent remedial action which will ensure due representation in the legislatures for the second largest community in the country. The Secular Order - the Secular Parties - cutting across the party lines -and the Muslim political class must together strive to remove the growing sense of alienation from the Muslim mind, to activate them for the secular cause and to canalize their energy into political participation with the assurance that the parties, outside and inside the legislatures, will not only have due Muslim representation in their ranks but also articulate Muslim grievances and defend their legitimate interests, while they concern themselves, as they should with general problems and issues and with the aspirations of all other segments of the people.
There was a general consensus that if the level of representation does not register any impact, soon enough, the only effective solution for better representation of all under-represented groups as also for refinement of the democratic system, would lie in the replacement of the First Past-the-Post System (FPPS) by the Proportional Representation System (PRS) and by provision of reservation for the Muslims in proportion to population, on the basis of joint electorate, as was envisaged in the original provision in the Draft Constitution.
The Meet decided to place its broad conclusion before the national secular parties as well as before national NGO's in the field of human rights and electoral reform, for their consideration of both long-term and short-term remedial measures and to establish a National Forum of Muslim Legislators, not only for regular consultation but also for coordination and exchange of views with political parties and, particularly, with other similar for a representing other deprived social groups.
The Meet also favoured the creation of a broadbased national institution for monitoring, consultation and co-ordination, representing the entire spectrum of Muslim intelligentsia, which should include all eminent and concerned Muslim personalities with knowledge, talent, experience and contacts in all fields of national endeavour, including the parliamentarians, the entrepreneurs and the Ulema to deal, inter alia, with socio-economic as well as educational development which are imperative for political empowerment.
The Meet authorised the Co-sponsors directly, or through the proposed Forum of Muslim Legislators, to organise Zonal Meets of all legislators at Bangalore (South Zone), Mumbai (West Zone) and Calcutta (East Zone) at the earliest possible. The Meet aalso authorised the Co- sponsors present to finalise the Statement of Consensus, in consultation with the Chairman.