Indian Union Muslim League
Template:Pp-extended Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox Indian political party
Indian Union Muslim League (abbreviated as the IUML or Muslim League) is a muslim political party primarily based in Kerala. It is recognised as a State Party in Kerala by the Election Commission of India.<ref name="ECI23092021">Template:Cite web</ref>
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).<ref name=":42">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. Template:JSTOR</ref> The party renamed itself as the 'Indian Union Muslim League' and adopted a new constitution on 1 September 1951.<ref name=":42" />
IUML is a major member of the opposition United Democratic Front, the INC-led pre-poll state level alliance in Kerala.<ref name=":12">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":52">James Chiriyankandath (1996) Changing Muslim politics in Kerala: identity, interests and political strategies, Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, 16:2, 257-271.</ref> 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.<ref name=":12" /> The party is a part of the INDIA in national level.<ref name=":12" /> The League first gained a ministry (Minister of State for External Affairs) in Indian Government in 2004.<ref name=":62">Template:Cite web</ref>
The party currently has five members in Parliament – E. T. Mohammed Basheer, M. P. Abdussamad Samadani and Kani K. Navas in the Lok Sabha and P. V. Abdul Wahab and Adv. Haris Beeran<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> in the Rajya Sabha – and fifteen members in Kerala State Legislative Assembly.
History
The first Muslim political agency in the region was the Kerala Muslim Majlis formed in 1931. It joined the federal setup of All-India Muslim League later.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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).<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name=":42"/> The Travancore Muslim League (the States' Muslim League) was merged with the Malabar League in November 1956.<ref name=":42"/>
Indian Union Muslim League contests General Elections under the Indian Constitution.<ref name=":1" /> The party is normally represented by two members in the Indian Lower House (the Lok Sabha).<ref name=":1" /> B. Pocker, elected from Malappuram Constituency, was a member of the First Lower House (1952–57) from the Madras Muslim League.<ref name=":1" /> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":52"/> It later became a chief constituent in a succession of Indian National Congress-led ministries.<ref name=":52"/>
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).<ref name=":42"/>
- On 1 September 1951, the 'Indian Union Muslim League' came into being in Madras (constitution was passed).<ref name=":42"/>
- B. Pocker Sahib, elected from Malappuram Constituency, was a member of the first Lok Sabha (1952–57).<ref name=":1" />
- K. M Seethi Sahib served as the Speaker of the Kerala Assembly from 1960 to 1961.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
From the 1960s to the 80s
- The League gained a ministry in Kerala Government in 1967 (C. H. Mohammed Koya and M. P. M. Ahammed Kurikkal).<ref name=":52"/>
- The League oversaw the creation of the University of Calicut, the second university in Kerala, in 1968.<ref name=":52"/>
- Contribution to local government – the League oversaw the creation of Malappuram District in 1969.<ref name=":52"/>
- Death of M. Muhammad Ismail (1972) and Bafaqy Thangal (1973).<ref name=":9">Template:Cite journal</ref> Syed Ummer Bafaqy Thangal rebels against the leadership.<ref name=":9" />
With the Congress Party
- Muslim League formed an alliance with the Congress in 1976.<ref name=":0" />
- C. H. Mohammed Koya served as the Chief Minister of Kerala from 12 October to 1 December 1979.<ref name=":13">Chief Minister of Kerala (Official Website)</ref>
- Muslim League joined the Congress (Indira)-lead United Democratic Front in 1979/80.
- The 'rebel' Muslim League formed 'All India Muslim League' and joined the Left Front in 1980.<ref name=":9" /><ref name=":10">Template:Cite web</ref>
- C. H. Mohammed Koya and K. Avukaderkutty Naha served as Deputy Chief Ministers of Kerala in the 1980s.<ref name=":13" />
In the 1990s
- All India Muslim League (AIML) quit the Left Front and merged with the Muslim League in 1985.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Demolition of the Babri Masjid (1992). Panakkad Syed Mohammed Ali Shihab Thangal made a passionate plea to all the Muslims in Kerala to remain calm.<ref name=":8">Template:Cite news</ref> Kerala remained peaceful throughout.<ref name=":14">Template:Cite web</ref>
- Ebrahim Sulaiman Sait, then National President, rebelled and formed the Indian National League (INL) in 1994.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite news</ref>
- Minister of Education (E. T. Mohammad Basheer) decided to establish the University of Sanskrit (1993) in Kerala.<ref name=":2" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
From the 2000s
- Atal Bihari Vajpayee dispatched E. Ahamed to the United Nations (Geneva) to represent India (2004).<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":14" />
- Mid-2000s witnessed the Manjeri (2004) and the Kuttippuram-Mankada (2006) defeats.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- The League first gained a ministry (E. Ahamed) in Indian Government (Manmohan Singh Ministry) in 2004.<ref name=":6">Template:Cite web</ref>
- Panakkad Syed Mohammed Ali Shihab Thangal died in 2009.<ref name=":8" />
- The League won a record 20 out of the contested 23 seats in the 2011 Assembly Elections.
- The League remains in the Opposition for two consecutive terms (2016 and 2021)
National President of Indian Union Muslim League
| style="background-color: Template:Party color; color:white;" | No. | style="background-color: Template:Party color; color:white;" | Name | style="background-color: Template:Party color; color:white;" | Portrait | style="background-color: Template:Party color; color:white;" | Tenure | style="background-color: Template:Party color; color:white;" | Home State |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | M. Muhammed Ismail | File:M. Muhammad Ismail (Postage Stamp, Government of India).jpg | 10 March 1948 — 5 April 1972 | Tamil Nadu |
| 2 | Bafaqy Thangal | 1972 — 19 January 1973 | Kerala | |
| 3 | Ebrahim Sulaiman Sait | File:Sulaimansait 1.jpg | 1973—1994 | Karnataka |
| 4 | G. M. Banatwala | 1994— 25 June 2008 | Maharashtra | |
| 5 | E. Ahamed | File:The portrait of the Minister of State for Railways, Shri E. Ahammed.jpg | 25 June 2008 — 1 February 2017 | Kerala |
| 6 | K. M. Kader Mohideen | File:Prof. K. M. Kader Mohideen.jpg | 27 February 2017 — present | Tamil Nadu |
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Ideology
Template:Conservatism in India
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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.{{#if:|
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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.{{#if:|
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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.{{#if:|
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Composition
| style="background-color: Template:Party color; color:white;" | Designation | style="background-color: Template:Party color; color:white;" | Name |
|---|---|
| Chairman- Political Advisory Committee (PAC) | Sadiq Ali Thangal (Kerala) |
| National President | K. M. Kader Mohideen (Tamil Nadu)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Vice Presidents | Iqbal Ahmed (Uttar Pradesh) |
| Dastagir Ibrahim Aga (Karnataka) | |
| National General Secretary | P. K. Kunhalikutty (Kerala)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> |
| National Organising Secretary | E. T. Mohammed Basheer (Kerala) |
| National Treasurer | P. V. Abdul Wahab (Kerala)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Secretaries | Khorrum Anis Omer (Delhi) |
| M. P. Abdussamad Samadani (Kerala) | |
| Jayanthi Rajan (Kerala)<ref name="indianexpress.com">Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| S. Naim Akthar (Bihar) | |
| Siraj Ebrahim Sait (Karnataka) | |
| Assistant Secretaries | Abdul Basith (Tamil Nadu) |
| Kausar Hayat Khan (Uttar Pradesh) |
Organizational structure
- Youth Wing: Muslim Youth League (the Youth League) [1]
- National President: Asif Ansari (New Delhi)
- National Secretary: Najma Thabsheera (Kerala) <ref name="newindianexpress.com">Template:Cite web</ref>
- national Council Secretary: Faisal Babu (Kerala)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- National vice President Mufeeda Thesni (Kerala) <ref name="newindianexpress.com"/>
- National Secretary: Ch. Ajrudin Advocate (Haryana)
- Kerala State President: Sayyid Munavvar Ali Shihab Thangal
- Kerala State secretary: Fathima Thahiliya<ref name="newindianexpress.com"/>
- Kerala State General Secretary: P. K. Firoz
- Students' Wing: Muslim Students Federation (M. S. F.)
- National President: P.V. Ahamed Saju
- National General Secretary: S. H. Muhammed Arshad
- Scheduled Caste Wing: Indian Union Dalit League
- Women's Political Wing: Haritha and Muslim Women's League
- Trade Union Organization (Kerala): Swatantra Thozhilali Union (S.T.U)
- Peasants' Union (Kerala): Swathanthra Karshaka Sangam (Independent Peasants Union)
- Advocates: Lawyers Forum
- Expatriates: Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre (K. M. C. C.)
Kerala Legislative Assembly
Source: http://www.ceo.kerala.gov.in/electionhistory.html Template:Webarchive
Early years (1957–1979/80)
| rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Party color; color:white;" | Election | style="background-color: Template:Party color; color:white;" | Seats | rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Party color; color:white;" | Vote% | rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Party color; color:white;" | Government/Opposition | rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Party color; color:white;" | Ministers | rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Party color; color:white;" | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| style="background-color: Template:Party color; color:white;" |Won (Contested) | |||||
| 1957 | 8 (19)
As independents |
4.72 | Opposition (to Namboodiripad Ministry)
1957–59 |
<ref name=":10" /><ref name="Jeffrey, Robin 1992">Jeffrey, Robin. "Politics, Women and Well-Being: How Kerala became a Model" Palgrave McMillan (1992); 112 and 114.</ref> | |
| 1960 | 11 (12) | 5.0 Template:Increase | Government (Pattom Ministry)
1960–62
|
Excluded from the Pattom Ministry<ref name=":3" /> | <ref name=":3" /><ref name=":10" /><ref name=":15">Template:Cite news</ref> |
| Abstaining Opposition (to Shankar Ministry)<ref name=":3" />
1962–64 |
<ref name=":3" /> | ||||
| 1965 | 6 (16) | 3.71 Template:Decrease | Inconclusive (no government formed)<ref name=":3" /> | <ref name=":15" /><ref name=":10" /> | |
| 1967 | 14 (15) | 6.75 Template:Increase | Government<ref name=":52"/> (Namboodiripad Ministry)
1967–69 |
|
<ref name=":52"/><ref name=":15" /> |
| Government (Achutha Menon Ministry)
1969–70 |
<ref name=":7">Template:Cite book</ref> | ||||
| 1970 | 11 (20) | 7.7 Template:Increase | Government (Achutha Menon Ministry)
1970–77 |
|
<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":11">Template:Cite news</ref> |
| 1977 | 13 (16) | 6.65 Template:Decrease | Government (Karunakaran Ministry)
1977 |
<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":11" /> | |
| 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<ref name=":52"/> | Ministers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won (Contested) | ||||
| 1980 | 14 (21) | 7.18 Template:Increase | Opposition (to Nayanar Ministry)
1980–81 | |
| Government (Karunakaran Ministry)
1981–82 |
||||
| 1982 | 14 (18) | 6.17 Template:Decrease | Government (Karunakaran Ministry)
1982–87 |
|
| 1987 | 15 (23) | 7.73 Template:Increase | Opposition
(to Nayanar Ministry) 1987–91 | |
| 1991 | 19 (22) | 7.37 Template:Decrease | Government
(Karunakaran Ministry) 1991–95 |
|
| Government
(Antony Ministry) 1995–96 |
| |||
| 1996 | 13 (23) | 7.19 Template:Decrease | Opposition
(to Nayanar Ministry) 1996–2001 | |
| 2001 | 16 (21) | 7.59 Template:Increase | Government
(Antony Ministry) 2001–2004 |
|
| Government
(Chandy Ministry) 2004–2006 |
| |||
| 2006 | 7 (21) | 7.30 Template:Decrease | Opposition
(to Achuthanandan Ministry) 2006–11 | |
| 2011 | 20 (23) | 7.92 Template:Increase | Government
(Chandy Ministry) 2011–16 |
|
| 2016 | 18 (23) | 7.40 Template:Decrease | Opposition
(to Vijayan Ministry) 2016–2021 | |
| 2021 | 15 (25) | 8.27 Template:Increase | Opposition
(to Vijayan Ministry) | |
Current members
Electoral performance
List of Union Ministers
Members of Parliament
Lok Sabha Members
Rajya Sabha Members
| State | Member | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Madras | M. Muhammad Ismail | 1952–58 |
| 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 | |
| Kerala | Ebrahim Sulaiman Sait | 1960–66 |
| Abdulla Koya | 1967–73
1974–98 | |
| Hamid Ali Schamnad | 1970–79 | |
| Abdussamad Samadani | 1994–2006 | |
| Korambayil Ahammed | 1998–03 | |
| P. V. Abdul Wahab | 2004–10
2015–present | |
| Adv.Haris Beeran | 2024–present |
Controversies
The party when in control of the local self-government department, issued a circular which legalised marriage for Muslim women between ages of 16 and 18 and Muslim men below age 21.The circular was later amended after backlash.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The Muslim League has opposed the Supreme Court of India verdict regarding entry of adult women to Sabarimala temple.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is also at odds with several LGBTQ rulings from the Supreme Court.<ref name="The Times of India">Template:Cite news</ref> The party also supports the primacy of Muslim Personal Law among Indian Muslims.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
An article by the current president of the Muslim League, on Hagia Sophia,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> seemed to support the views of political Islam.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Muslim League generally presents itself as a conservative political party in Kerala.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In July 2023, following the Manipur violence where a woman was paraded naked in public,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> members of the Muslim League raised anti Hindu slogans in Kanhangad, located in the Kasaragod district of Kerala. The following day, Kerala Police arrested five of those members.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
See also
- List of political parties in India
- All-India Muslim League
- Indian Independence Movement
- List of Islamic political parties
References
External links
Template:Commons category-inline
Template:Indian political parties Template:United Democratic Front (Kerala) Template:United Progressive Alliance Template:Indian Union Muslim League
- Pages with broken file links
- Indian Union Muslim League
- Political parties established in 1948
- Political parties established in 1951
- All-India Muslim League breakaway groups
- Islamic political parties in India
- 1948 establishments in India
- Conservative parties in India
- Member parties of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance
- Islamic political parties
- Political parties in India
- Islamic organisations based in Kerala