Two Iftars, two approaches
Congress and BJP are engaging differently with minorities
Iftar politics has returned in a big way to Delhi this season. Congress president Rahul Gandhi hosted an Iftar on Wednesday that also became a part of the continued exercise in Opposition unity. The presence of Pranab Mukherjee, days after his appearance at a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) event, generated attention. On the same day,
Union minority affairs minister
Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi became the only member of the government to host an Iftar — but with a specific guest list revolving around Muslim women, especially those who have been the victims of triple talaq. In the two Iftars was both a common thread and the contrasting approach that exists between the two leading political formations in their approach to minority communities, particularly Muslims.
What is common is this. For political parties, it is easier to mobilise broad social groups — be it a religious or a caste group — than appeal to the individual citizen. This means that identity politics is inevitable. The only question is which identitybased groups a party seeks to cultivate. During the rule of Congress or Third Front governments of socialist parties, this event was a sign that these parties saw Muslims as an important constituency of support. The fact that the current Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government has consciously stayed away from the practice of Iftars indicated that its own constituency of support was almost entirely non-Muslim.
For the Congress, Wednesday’s exercise was important for two reasons. It was a symbolic signal to minorities that they remain crucial in the Congress’s calculus and the party’s commitment to secularism remains deep. Two, it was an opportunity to bring prospective allies -- all of whom have Muslim social constituencies -- on the same table. For the BJP, the Iftar had a different relevance. By catering primarily to Muslim women, it wanted to position itself as being more interested in reform within the community than mere “appeasement”. The Iftars thus symbolised the permanence of identity politics, yet the difference in the approach of the parties.