Iranian-in-exile Amir Taheri says a Marxist-Islamist coalition is emerging in Europe. For the Left, “Muslims are the new underclass”. According to him, “its ideology is built around three themes: hatred of the United States, the dream of wiping Israel off the map and the hoped-for collapse of the global economic system.” In India, they are united in their hatred towards RSS-BJP.
We have seen this coalition taking shape in the Jawaharlal Nehru University and some other campuses. Although the Left has lost its relevance elsewhere in the country, in Kerala, “red-black coalition” is emerging as a potent political platform. Traditionally, for the Left, RSS-BJP has been its main rival. In the last week, jihadist organization Popular Front of India declared RSS as its main enemy. Islamists often buy into the Leftist critique of the RSS and Hinduism.
The person who foresaw the efficacy of this coalition in India was the Communist ideologue EMS Namboothiripad. Speaking at an election rally in Ottappalam in 1993, EMS had equated terror accused Abdul Nasar Madani with Mahatma Gandhi. Namboothiripad had stated that Madani was using Islamic faith for a noble cause like Mahatma Gandhi who used the concept of Rama Rajya for the liberation of the country. EMS was trying to woo the radical elements in the Muslim community who were annoyed with the relatively liberal stance of the Muslim League. Namboothiripad’s statement had triggered a controversy within and outside the party forcing its central leadership to publicly denounce EMS’s position. In an article published in the CPI(M) mouthpiece Peoples Democracy, the then party general secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeeth had stated that EMS had erred. Despite the controversy, the party won the seat.
Recently, we saw the spectacle of senior CPI(M) leaders and state ministers making a beeline to receive Madani after he was released on parole from Bengaluru jail. Moreover, CPI(M) had entered into overt and covert tie-ups with other Jihadi elements such as Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), the political arm of Popular Front, in the election. The party’s calculation is that growth of Islamic radicalism will help the party electorally. So, it wants to keep the communal pot boiling. The same strategy was used in the Ramajanmabhumi-Babri Masjid controversy. The Left historians prevented Muslims from reaching an amicable solution in the row. Dr KK Muhammed, former Regional Director(North) of Archaeological Survey of India, says, “The Babri issue would have been settled long ago if the Muslim intelligentsia had not fallen prey to the brain washing by the Leftist historians. A set of historians including Romila Thapar, Bipin Chandra and S Gopal argued that there was no mention of the dismantling of the temple before 19th century and Ayodhya is Budhist-Jain centre. They were supported by historians Irfan Habib,RS Sharma, DN Jha, Suraj Ben and Akthar Ali…It was they who connived with the extremist Muslim groups to derail all attempts to find an amicable solution to the Masjid issue. Some of them even took part in several government-level meetings and supported the Babri Masjid Action Committee.”
In a TV discussion post Aruvikkara bypoll, where the CPI(M) saw a large chunk of its traditional vote base shifting towards the BJP, a well-known Left intellectual said the only way the CPI(M) could come to power is by dividing Hindu community and wooing certain minority groups.
The Kerala government’s opposition to NIA probe into Love Jihad cases should be viewed in this perspective. This, despite the fact the state government had furnished a list of around 90 cases of “forced” conversions and alleged luring of women into interfaith relationships, including marriage, to NIA, according to a report in The Times of India. In most of these Love Jihad cases, Popular Front cadres were involved. By taking a pro-Jihadi stance, the party hopes to win over them.
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