Indian Union Muslim League

Indian political party
Political party in India
Indian Union Muslim League
AbbreviationI. U. M. L.
PresidentK. M. Kader Mohideen
ChairpersonSayyid Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal
SecretaryP. K. Kunhalikutty
Lok Sabha LeaderE. T. Muhammed Basheer
Rajya Sabha LeaderP. V. Abdul Wahab
FounderM. Muhammad Ismail
Founded
  • 10 March 1948 (1948-03-10) (First Council)
  • 1 September 1951 (1951-09-01) (Constitution)
Preceded byAIML
HeadquartersQuaid-e-Millath Manzil, No. 36, Maraikayar Lebbai Street, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.[1]
Student wingMuslim Students Federation (M. S. F.)
Youth wingMuslim Youth League (the Youth League)
Women's wingMuslim Women's League
Labour wingSwatantra Thozhilali Union (S. T. U.)
Peasant's wingSwathanthra Karshaka Sangam (Kerala)
IdeologyCommunitarianism[2]
Conservatism[3]
Political positionCentre-right[4]
AllianceUDF (Kerala)
SPA (Tamil Nadu)
INDIA (national level)
Seats in Lok Sabha
3 / 543
Seats in Rajya Sabha
1 / 245
Seats in Kerala Legislative Assembly
15 / 140
Election symbol
IUML Election Symbol
Party flag

The Indian Union Muslim League (abbreviated as the IUML or Muslim League) is a political party primarily based in Kerala. It is recognised as a State Party in Kerala by the Election Commission of India.[5]

After the Partition of India, the first Council of the Indian segment of the All-India Muslim League was held on 10 March 1948 at the south Indian city of Madras (now Chennai).[6] The party renamed itself as the 'Indian Union Muslim League' and adopted a new constitution on 1 September 1951.[6]

IUML is a major member of the opposition United Democratic Front, the INC-led pre-poll state level alliance in Kerala.[7][8] Whenever the United Democratic Front rules in Kerala, the party leaders are chosen as important Cabinet Ministers. The party has always had a constant, albeit small, presence in the Indian Parliament.[7] The party is a part of the UPA in national level.[7] The League first gained a ministry (Minister of State for External Affairs) in Indian Government in 2004.[9]

The party currently has four members in Parliament - E. T. Mohammed Basheer, M. P. Abdussamad Samadani and Kani K. Navas in the Lok Sabha and P. V. Abdul Wahab in the Rajya Sabha - and fifteen members in Kerala State Legislative Assembly.

History

Muhammad Ismail Sahib on a 1996 stamp of India
A postage stamp released in commemoration of Mohammed Ali Shihab Thangal (1936-2009).

After the partition of India in 1947, the All-India Muslim League was virtually disbanded. It was succeeded by the Indian segment of the Muslim League in the new Dominion of India (first session on 10 March 1948 and constitution passed on 1 September 1951).[10] M. Muhammad Ismail, the then President of the Madras unit of the Muslim League was chosen as the Convener of the Indian segment of the party.[6] The Travancore Muslim League (the States' Muslim League) was merged with the Malabar League in November, 1956.[6]

Indian Union Muslim League contests General Elections under the Indian Constitution.[10] The party is normally represented by two members in the Indian Lower House (the Lok Sabha).[10] B. Pocker, elected from Malappuram Constituency, was a member of the First Lower House (1952–57) from the Madras Muslim League.[10] The party currently has four members in Parliament.

Apart from Kerala and West Bengal, the League had Legislative Assembly members in Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Maharastra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, and Assam.[11] In West Bengal, the League had won Assembly seats in the 1970s, and A. K. A. Hassanussaman was a member of the Ajoy Mukherjee cabinet.[12]

Indian Union Muslim League first gained a ministry in Kerala Government as part of the Communist Party of India Marxist-led United Front in 1967. The party switched fronts in 1969 and formed an alliance with the Congress in 1976.[13][8] It later became a chief constituent in a succession of Indian National Congress-led ministries.[8]

Early years

  • First Council of the Indian segment of the Muslim League was held on 10 March 1948 at the south Indian city of Madras (now Chennai).[6]
  • On 1 September 1951, the 'Indian Union Muslim League' came into being in Madras (constitution was passed).[6]
  • B. Pocker Sahib, elected from Malappuram Constituency, was a member of the first Lok Sabha (1952–57).[10]
  • K. M Seethi Sahib served as the Speaker of the Kerala Assembly from 1960 to 1961.[14]

From the 1960s to the 80s

With the Congress Party

In the 1990s

From the 2000s

National general secretary of Indian Union Muslim League

No. Name Portrait Tenure Home State
1 M. Muhammed Ismail 10 March 1948 — 5 April 1972 Tamil Nadu
2 Bafaqy Thangal

1972 — 19 January 1973 Kerala
3 Ebrahim Sulaiman Sait 1973—1994 Karnataka
4 G. M. Banatwala 1994— 25 June 2008 Maharashtra
5 E. Ahamed 25 June 2008 — 1 February 2017 Kerala
6 K. M. Kader Mohideen 27 February 2017 — present Tamil Nadu

Ideology

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Conservatism
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The [Indian Union Muslim League] party...has shown strands of identity politics, but largely remained communitarian; it has at times been conservative, but never communal. It has furthered Muslim aspirations without antagonising any other segment—and hence has retained its centrality in the larger Kerala polity.

— Outlook[25]

The distinctive feature of the [Indian Union] Muslim League in Kerala is that it strove to keep the [Muslim] community at the centre of the [Kerala] state's politics, unlike other Muslim political formations elsewhere in India that revelled in confessional isolationism. As a result, the Kerala Muslims emerged as probably the only community of that faith in India that achieved genuine political empowerment on the one hand and, on the other, lived out the promise of equal citizenship enshrined in the [Indian] Constitution.

— Outlook[26]

If organising a religious community politically on the basis of antagonism to another is communalism, the IUML has never mobilised its cadre nor used its political and often administrative clout to create religious divides. On the contrary, whenever the state faced a communally sensitive situation, the party rose to the occasion and played a stellar role in dousing the flames....By practicing a brand of politics that could be termed communitarian rather than communal, the IUML succeeded in actualising the constitutional guarantee of equal citizenship for the Muslims in the state.

Composition

Designation Name
Chairman- Political Advisory Committee (PAC) Sadiq Ali Thangal (Kerala)
National President K. M. Kader Mohideen (Tamil Nadu)[28]
Vice Presidents Iqbal Ahmed (Uttar Pradesh)
Dastagir Ibrahim Aga (Karnataka)
National General Secretary P. K. Kunhalikutty (Kerala)[29]
National Organising Secretary E. T. Mohammed Basheer (Kerala)
National Treasurer P. V. Abdul Wahab (Kerala)[30]
Secretaries Khorrum Anis Omer (Delhi)
M. P. Abdussamad Samadani (Kerala)
S. Naim Akthar (Bihar)
Siraj Ebrahim Sait (Karnataka)
Assistant Secretaries Abdul Basith (Tamil Nadu)
Kausar Hayat Khan (Uttar Pradesh)

Organizational structure

Kerala Legislative Assembly

Source: http://www.ceo.kerala.gov.in/electionhistory.html

Early years (1957 - 1979/80)

Election Seats Vote% Government/Opposition Ministers Sources
Won (Contested)
1957 8 (19)

As independents

4.72 Opposition (to Namboodiripad Ministry)

1957 - 59

[17][32]
1960 11 (12) 5.0 Increase Government (Pattom Ministry)

1960 - 62

  • Formally left the coalition in 1961 as an abstaining Opposition.[33]
Excluded from the Pattom Ministry[33] [33][17][34]
Abstaining Opposition (to Shankar Ministry)[33]

1962 - 64

[33]
1965 6 (16) 3.71 Decrease Inconclusive (no government formed)[33] [34][17]
1967 14 (15) 6.75 Increase Government[8] (Namboodiripad Ministry)

1967 - 69

[8][34]
Government (Achutha Menon Ministry)

1969 - 70

[35]
1970 11 (20) 7.7 Increase Government (Achutha Menon Ministry)

1970 - 77

[35][36]
1977 13 (16) 6.65 Decrease Government (Karunakaran Ministry)

1977

[35][36]
Government (Antony Ministry)

1977 - 78

Government (PKV Ministry)

1978 - 79

Government (Koya Ministry)

1979

With the United Democratic Front (1979/80 - present)

Election Seats Vote % Government/Opposition[8] Ministers
Won (Contested)
1980 14 (21) 7.18 Increase Opposition (to Nayanar Ministry)

1980 - 81

Government (Karunakaran Ministry)

1981 - 82

1982 14 (18) 6.17 Decrease Government (Karunakaran Ministry)

1982 - 87

1987 15 (23) 7.73 Increase Opposition

(to Nayanar Ministry)

1987 - 91

1991 19 (22) 7.37 Decrease Government

(Karunakaran Ministry)

1991 - 95

Government

(Antony Ministry)

1995 - 96

1996 13 (23) 7.19 Decrease Opposition

(to Nayanar Ministry)

1996 - 2001

2001 16 (21) 7.59 Increase Government

(Antony Ministry)

2001 - 2004

Government

(Chandy Ministry)

2004 - 2006

2006 7 (21) 7.30 Decrease Opposition

(to Achuthanandan Ministry)

2006 - 11

2011 20 (23) 7.92 Increase Government

(Chandy Ministry)

2011 - 16

2016 18 (23) 7.40 Decrease Opposition

(to Vijayan Ministry)

2016 - 2021

2021 15 (25) 8.27 Increase Opposition

(to Vijayan Ministry)

Incumbent

Current members

Map of Kerala showing 2021 Assembly Election Results
Legislative Constituency Member
Kerala
Kasaragod
Manjeshwaram A. K. M. Ashraf
Kasaragod N. A. Nellikkunnu
Kozhikode
Koduvally M. K. Muneer
Malappuram
Kondotty T. V. Ibrahim
Eranad P. K. Basheer
Manjeri U. A. Latheef
Perinthalmanna

Najeeb Kanthapuram

Mankada Manjalamkuzhi Ali
Malappuram P. Ubaidulla
Vengara P. K. Kunhalikutty
Vallikkunnu P. Abdul Hameed
Tirurangadi K. P. A. Majeed
Tirur Kurukkoli Moideen
Kottakkal K. K. Abid Hussain Thangal
Palakkad
Mannarkkad N. Samsudheen

Members of Parliament

Loksabha

Source: Loksabha

7th House

8th House

9th House

Rajya Sabha

Source: Rajyasabha

Madras

Kerala

Tamil Nadu

  • A. K. A. Abdul Samad (1964–70)
  • S. A. Khwaja Mohideen (1968–74)
  • A. K. A. Abdul Samad (1970– 76)
  • A. K. Refaye (1972–78)
  • S. A. Khwaja Mohideen (1974-80)

Controversies

The Muslim League has opposed the Supreme Court of India verdict regarding entry of adult women to Sabarimala temple.[37][38] It is also at odds with several LGBTQ rulings from the Supreme Court.[39] The party also supports the primacy of Muslim Personal Law among Indian Muslims.[40][41]

IUML opposes implementing gender neutrality and comprehensive sex education in school curriculum saying that it promotes homosexuality, leads to sexual anarchy and is part of an atheist-liberal conspiracy to destroy religious values.[42][43][44]

An article by the current president of the Muslim League, on Hagia Sophia,[45] seemed to support the views of political Islam.[46][47]

Muslim League generally presents itself as a conservative political party in Kerala.[48][49] In 2021, ten female leaders from the disbanded Haritha state committee lodged a police complaint against the state president of the Muslim Students Federation (MSF) and the Malappuram district general secretary, accusing them of making sexual remarks.[50][51]

In July 2023, following the Manipur violence where a woman was paraded naked in public,[52] members of the Muslim League raised death slogans in Kanhangad, located in the Kasaragod district of Kerala.The following day, Kerala Police arrested five of those members.[53][54] Upon criticism over the incident, the State President of IUML Panakkad Sayyid Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal responded on 28 July, saying no one has the right to hurt the sentiments and faith of others.[55]

See also

References

  • Conservatism portal
  1. ^ "List of Political Parties and Election Symbols main Notification Dated 18.01.2013" (PDF). India: Election Commission of India. 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
  2. ^ "The importance of IUML". 11 April 2019.
  3. ^ "Leaderless Anti-CAA Protests Underscore Muslim Political Orphanhood". 4 February 2022.
  4. ^ "A coloured scheme of things".
  5. ^ "List of Political Parties & Symbol MAIN Notification". Election Commission of India. 31 December 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Wright, T. (1966). The Muslim League in South India since Independence: A Study in Minority Group Political Strategies. The American Political Science Review, 60(3), 579-599. JSTOR 1952972
  7. ^ a b c "Explained: History of Muslim League in Kerala and India". The Indian Express. 6 April 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i James Chiriyankandath (1996) Changing Muslim politics in Kerala: identity, interests and political strategies, Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, 16:2, 257-271.
  9. ^ Press Trust of India (19 June 2004). "E. Ahamed: Minister of State for External Affairs". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 7 June 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  10. ^ a b c d e "Explained: History of Muslim League in Kerala and India". The Indian Express. 6 April 2019. Archived from the original on 12 April 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  11. ^ "History of Indian Union Muslim League". Indian Union Muslim League (website). Archived from the original on 17 February 2013.
  12. ^ Ameerudheen, T. A. (21 May 2017). "Will the Muslim League's decision to go national affect Asaduddin Owaisi plans for his party?". Scroll. Archived from the original on 12 June 2020.
  13. ^ a b Menon, Girish (22 March 2016). "How the Muslim League is at peace with itself". The Hindu. Trivandrum. Archived from the original on 13 June 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  14. ^ "SPEAKERS AND DEPUTY SPEAKERS OF KERALA LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY" (PDF). Kerala Legislative Assembly. Trivandrum: Secretariat of the Kerala Legislature. 2007. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 June 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  15. ^ a b c Wright (23 June 1948). "Muslims and the 1977 Indian Elections: A Watershed?". Asian Survey. 17 (12): 1207–1220. doi:10.2307/2643422. ISSN 0004-4687. JSTOR 2643422. Archived from the original on 13 June 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  16. ^ a b Chief Minister of Kerala (Official Website)
  17. ^ a b c d Radhakrishnan, M. G. (19 April 2019). "Revenge of the Dead Horse". Asianet News. Trivandrum. Archived from the original on 15 June 2020.
  18. ^ Pillai, Sreedhar (31 August 1985). "Indian Union Muslim League and All India Muslim League merge in Kerala". India Today. Kerala. Archived from the original on 13 June 2020.
  19. ^ a b IANS (2 August 2009). "Kerala mourns passing away of Panakkad Thangal". Gulf News. Malappuram. Archived from the original on 12 June 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  20. ^ a b Nair, Preetha (19 April 2019). "A Coloured Scheme of Things". Outlook. Archived from the original on 17 June 2020.
  21. ^ a b c Madampat, Shajahan (11 April 2019). "The importance of IUML". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 12 June 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  22. ^ "University at a Glance".
  23. ^ Naha, Abdul Latheef (25 March 2014). "Muslim votes not a monolithic bloc". The Hindu. Malappuram. Archived from the original on 6 June 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  24. ^ a b c "E. Ahamed: Minister of State for External Affairs". Hindustan Times. Press Trust of India. 19 June 2004. Archived from the original on 7 June 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  25. ^ Salik Ahmad (17 February 2020). "The Leaderless Face Of Anti-CAA Agitation -- Is It Political Orphanhood Of Muslims?". Outlook. Archived from the original on 7 February 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  26. ^ Shajahan Madampat (21 August 2017). "Malappuram Isn't Mini Kashmir". Outlook. Archived from the original on 11 August 2017. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  27. ^ Shajahan Madampat (11 April 2019). "The importance of IUML". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  28. ^ "K M Khader Mohideen is IUML National President". India Today. Archived from the original on 16 September 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  29. ^ "P K Kunhalikutty is IUML national general secretary - Times of India". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 22 September 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  30. ^ "Indian Union Muslim League national committee members". iuml.com. Archived from the original on 25 January 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
  31. ^ "Faisal Babu is the All India General Secretary of the Youth League". 19 March 2021. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  32. ^ Jeffrey, Robin. "Politics, Women and Well-Being: How Kerala became a Model" Palgrave McMillan (1992); 112 and 114.
  33. ^ a b c d e f Wright, Theodore P. 'The Muslim League in South India since Independence.' American Political Science Review, vol. 60, no. 3, 1966, pp. 579–599., doi:10.2307/1952972.
  34. ^ a b c Malhotra, Inder. "The eternal Kerala pattern". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 24 June 2020.
  35. ^ a b c Nossiter, Thomas Johnson (1982). Communism in Kerala: A Study in Political Adaptation. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. pp. 5–6.
  36. ^ a b Kartha, G. S. (15 May 1977). "Kerala seems to be drifting towards instability". India Today. Archived from the original on 15 June 2020.
  37. ^ "Sabarimala verdict: Indian Union Muslim League for review petition; urges UDF to back devotees". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  38. ^ "Kerala Polls 2021: CPM Indulging In Doublespeak On Love Jihad, CAA & Sabarimala: IUML Leader M K Muneer". outlookindia.com. 18 January 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  39. ^ "Indian Union Muslim League opposes Supreme Court verdict, says it is against Indian culture". Times of India. Archived from the original on 14 October 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  40. ^ "Circular to legalise earlier marriages". New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 16 June 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  41. ^ "IUML, CPM, CPI against Centre's bid to raise legal age of marriage for women". OnManorama. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  42. ^ "Govt encouraging homosexuality: IUML leader on new school curriculum". Hindustan Times.
  43. ^ "Muslim league slams Kerala gender-neutral initiative". Deccan Herald.
  44. ^ "IUML leader K M Shaji says LGBTQ members are worst humans". Manorama online.
  45. ^ "Sadiq Ali Thangal takes over leadership of Muslim League at the most critical period of its existence". OnManorama. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  46. ^ "Sadiqali has his work cut out". The Hindu.
  47. ^ "Analysis | Growing Christian-Muslim alienation, Kerala civic polls and Kunhalikutty's Christmas cake diplomacy". OnManorama. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  48. ^ "Young women lead churn within Muslim League". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  49. ^ "'Haritha' row points to emerging new political outlook within IUML". OnManorama. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  50. ^ "Police probe has lost pace, ex-Haritha leaders tell women's panel". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  51. ^ "Women's League rejects former Haritha leaders' gender politics". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  52. ^ "Women Paraded Naked in Manipur Video Move SC Seeking SIT Probe". News18. 31 July 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  53. ^ Bureau, ABP News (27 July 2023). "5 Arrested For 'Provocative' Sloganeering During IUML Youth Rally In Kerala". news.abplive.com. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  54. ^ Service, Statesman News (27 July 2023). "5 of IUML youth-wing held in Kerala for provocative slogans". The Statesman. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  55. ^ Gilveser Assary, Deccan Chronicle (28 July 2023). "Don't hurt sentiments and faith of others, cautions IUML chief Thangal".

External links

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