‘There is no need for an Owaisi in Tamil Nadu’: Interview with MMK leader MH Jawahirullah

Last week, a controversy broke out in Tamil Nadu after videos emerged on social media of a meeting in Hyderabad between leaders of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and head of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul-Muslimeen Asadudin Owasi. A DMK leader also informed the media that the party had invited Owaisi for a minorities conference, scheduled for January 6 in Chennai.

Though the DMK later clarified that Owaisi had not been invited for the meet, the prospect of his AIMIM contesting the 2021 Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu has caused quite a bit of stir in the state. Some observers predicted that the charasmatic Owaisi would cut into Muslim votes that are expected to go as a bloc to the DMK-led alliance. This is because its rival, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, is in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party.

In an interview to Scroll.in, MH Jawahirullah, the leader of the Manithaneya Makkal Katchi, one of the two largest Muslim parties in Tamil Nadu, said there was no need for a Muslim party from outside the state to pitch its tent in Tamil Nadu because the needs of Muslims are adequately represented by local parties.

Excerpts from the interview:

The Manithaneya Makkal Katchi is currently in alliance with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu. However, the DMK seems to have tried to invite Asadudin Owaisi to a proposed minorities conference of the party. How do you see this?

While it is true that videos of DMK leaders inviting Owaisi to the conference emerged, the DMK has now officially clarified that only Muslim parties from Tamil Nadu will participate. We would like to end this debate here given the clarification.

But what do you think of the initial invitation and Owaisi’s attempts to foray into Tamil Nadu?

The DMK has said there was no invite.

Let us understand the political context of Tamil Nadu first to answer the second part of the question. I think an Owaisi or any other party from outside is not necessary.

Firstly, Tamil Nadu has two major Muslim parties and many minor parties. The two big ones are the Manithaneya Makkal Katchi and the Indian Union Muslim League. Both parties have consistently had representation in both the Parliament as well as the state Assembly. Apart from this, both the DMK and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam have provided representation to Muslims in the Cabinet. We have also been able to achieve so many things for the community, including a separate 3.5% quota for Muslims under the Backward Classes reservation. This is not the case in North India, where the Bharatiya Janata Party, today the dominant force in those states, contests elections without fielding even one Muslim candidate, despite Muslim population being higher than what it is in states like Tamil Nadu.

So are you saying Owaisi has no relevance here?

I will come to that in a minute. In Tamil Nadu, there is also greater communal harmony. Go to any Muslim wedding in the state and see how many Hindu participate and vice versa. Even many businesses are jointly done by Hindus and Muslims. During the Covid-19 pandemic, our party members have buried over 1,600 bodies of infected persons cutting across religious lines. Where else do you see such harmony?

This communal harmony is what has helped the Muslim community in the state in their upward economic mobility. You must remember that Muslims have played a pivotal role in politics from the time of the Justice Party [the precursor to the Dravidian parties].

Even in the DMK and AIADMK, we have had many Muslim leaders. So given the context and the long tradition Muslims have in the politics of this state, there is no question of lack of representation or their interests being ignored completely like the BJP does in Uttar Pradesh or Bihar.

If the situation is so good, what is the need for a Muslim party like yours?

I am not saying everything is completely perfect. In Tamil Nadu too, Muslims face social and economic problems that need to be highlighted in vociferous manner, something the Muslim parties here are already doing. Even the reservation was possible after big agitations. But that does not mean the situation is comparable to North India or even Karnataka. All I am saying is that the voice of Tamil Nadu Muslims, whether Tamil-speaking or Urdu-speaking, is well represented.

Do you think the DMK’s attempt to invite Owaisi to the conference is the result of advise from Prashant Kishor and the lessons he seems to have learnt from the Bihar elections where Owaisi’s party won five seats. Kishor is managing DMK’s campaign strategy.....

You have to ask the DMK this question.

See, the DMK is the leader of the alliance. If the DMK feels the opposition to the BJP will strengthen with Owaisi in the conference, we do not mind it at all. Your question was if there is a need for an outside Muslim party in Tamil Nadu. Owaisi has said he is not going to contest in Kerala and Assam as there are strong Muslim parties already there. The case with Tamil Nadu is not different.

Is that because you feel the charisma of Owaisi could sway young Muslims, the core voter base of your own party? You think he can replicate his Bihar success here?

We are not insecure. You must understand that an IUML or a Manithaneya Makkal Katchi are not organisations that came up yesterday. We have a long tradition and our organisations are deep rooted. So to say that the advent of someone from outside will make us insecure is not right. As parties who have worked in Tamil Nadu for so long, we are uniquely placed to represent the interests of Muslims here. We are certain that the Muslim population will continue to back us. And remember it is not just Muslims but other communities also who have voted us when we have contested in alliances with the Dravidian parties.

But one could argue that this is the problem that is being highlighted, that Muslims should not work as separate blocs in different states given the larger political context of a dominating BJP. That the country needs a national Muslim party.

I disagree with that proposition. India is not only religiously diverse, there is diversity within religions and regions. The Manithaneya Makkal Katchi is Dravidian Muslim party in Tamil Nadu uniquely placed to represent the interests of the Dravidian Tamil people.

There is a fear that the entry of Owaisi might lead to polarisation, which the BJP revels in. Do you feel his entry into Tamil Nadu politics would prove counter-productive? The BJP has now emerged as a big player in Telangana....

As a political force, the BJP is irrelevant in Tamil Nadu. Like I mentioned earlier, there is a tradition of secularism in Tamil Nadu that cannot be bulldozed by the BJP so easily. They have tried a lot and have failed. They will continue to fail.