Democracy, Muslims, and Political Foresight: Why Future Preparation Matters More Than Opposition
Mohammad Irfan Ahmad
(The author is a former member of the All India Haj Committee and the Central Waqf Council established under the Government of India. In addition, he is associated with dozens of social, cultural, community, and welfare organizations across the country and has been rendering selfless services to the community for many years. He has also been actively involved in implementing several projects in collaboration with the Central Government.)
India is known as the world’s largest democracy, and the greatest strength of this democracy is that power never remains the same forever. Sometimes one political party becomes dominant, while at other times another party gains public support. Democracy, in essence, is another name for change, diversity, and political ups and downs. This is both its beauty and its greatest reality.
However, it is unfortunate that Indian Muslims have not been mentally, socially, and politically prepared over the past several decades in accordance with this democratic reality. They have gradually become accustomed to a kind of politics in which their entire political thinking has been confined to merely “defeating a particular party.”
Muslims were constantly shown the politics of fear. They were made to believe that if a certain party came to power, everything would come to an end. Yet they were never taught that if the same party became stronger, continued forming governments, and emerged as the country’s biggest political force, then how would the Muslim community protect its rights, identity, and future?
The reality is that Muslims do not need to take responsibility for defeating any political party. Every political party functions according to its own interests, strategies, and political calculations. Neither is the BJP permanently an enemy of Muslims, nor have other parties always been their sincere well-wishers. In Indian politics, every party has made decisions according to time and circumstances. Therefore, permanent hostility toward one party and blind attachment to another cannot be considered wisdom.
Every citizen has the democratic right to vote according to their own thinking, conscience, and interests. But creating noise merely to defeat or elect someone, raising emotional slogans, and keeping an entire community trapped in fear-based politics is not beneficial for any aware society.
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The real need is for the community to prepare for its future, educate its youth, strengthen its economy, and increase its collective strength.
The issue is not merely the BJP coming to power; the real issue is that the Muslim community was never given a self-reliant political consciousness. They were not provided with a strong backup plan, no long-term strategy was taught to them, no alternative leadership was prepared, and no strong collective structure was built that could support the community during changing political circumstances.
For years, in the name of “secular politics,” Muslims were merely used as a vote bank. In every election, an atmosphere of fear was created, emotions were inflamed, religious and emotional slogans were raised, and people were told that “the BJP must be stopped.” But no serious thought was given to the question: if the BJP continued to grow stronger, then how would the Muslim community face its challenges and secure its future?
In a democracy, every political party comes to power at some point. The BJP did not suddenly descend from the sky; it has been a major political reality in the country for decades. In such circumstances, wisdom demanded that Muslims should have been taught not only the politics of opposition but also how to prepare themselves according to changing realities. They should have been made to understand that power can change, political situations can change, and therefore one should rely not merely on slogans but on a strong social structure.
Today, the need was for the Muslim community to develop its own independent political leadership, produce young intellectuals, create teams of lawyers and legal experts, establish an effective media network, strengthen educational institutions, and bring the younger generation forward in the fields of economy, technology, education, and leadership.
A social and political system should have been created in such a way that even when governments changed, the community would not feel helpless but would confidently present its rights and interests before every ruling authority.
Unfortunately, the exact opposite happened. Muslims were placed on a boat and told, “This alone is your protection.” But if that boat were to sink, they were never taught how to swim.
Even an ordinary boatman keeps a life jacket in his boat because he knows that accidents can happen at any time. He also learns how to swim so that he can save himself in difficult situations. But the Muslim community was only taught to rely on others, never to stand firmly on its own feet.
They were shown fear, but not the path forward. They were given emotions, but not strategy. They were taught protest, but not institution-building. They were taught to raise slogans against opponents, but not to advance their children in higher education, business, media, law, technology, and administration.
If any community is taught to survive in a democracy solely by depending on one political party, then this is the greatest political injustice against that community. In a democracy, power changes, alliances shift, and political winds never remain the same forever.
Communities that move forward only on emotions eventually become weak. But communities that make education, economy, organization, and awareness their strength maintain their position in every era.
Therefore, today the greatest need is for Muslims to move beyond reactionary politics. They must focus on education, organization, economy, legal awareness, media, business, and institution-building. Because mere opposition does not make a community secure. Real security emerges when a community becomes educationally strong, economically self-reliant, intellectually aware, and organizationally united.
If Muslims educate their children well, bring the younger generation into civil services, judiciary, media, science, technology, and business, strengthen their educational institutions, develop legal awareness, and achieve economic self-sufficiency, then no political change can make their future insecure.
Real politics is not merely about “whom to defeat.” True politics is about “how to make one’s community secure, dignified, educated, and influential under all circumstances.”
A community that learns this art preserves its identity, dignity, and future even amid changing political situations.
Muslims must understand that lasting success in a democracy is not achieved merely through slogans, emotions, and temporary alliances. Lasting success is achieved through education, unity, wisdom, patience, organization, and self-confidence. If the community stands firmly on these foundations, then no political change can weaken it.
