Had Cong taken strict stand against communalism 77 years ago, it would not have been ousted from power: Jamiat chief

New Delhi: Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind President Arshad Madani has launched a sharp attack on the Congress party, questioning its historical approach to communalism and asserting that a failure to act decisively against communal forces has pushed the country to what he described as the “brink of destruction”.

In a post on X, Madani said that decisive action at a critical moment in history could have altered the country’s trajectory.

“After the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, had the head of communalism been crushed firmly at that very moment, the country could have been saved from destruction,” he wrote.

Criticising the party’s policies during its years in power, Madani said the Congress party adopted a lenient approach towards politics driven by religious hatred.

“The flexible policy adopted by the Congress during its rule toward politics of hatred based on religion caused severe damage to both the country and the Constitution. Seventy-seven years after independence, the manner in which the Constitution and democratic values are being openly trampled upon is something that even our leaders of the freedom movement could not have imagined,” he said.

He further added that the present situation could have been avoided had constitutional principles been implemented sincerely.

“If the Constitution had been implemented honestly and fully along the very lines on which the foundations of free India were laid, we would not be witnessing these days today,” Madani said.

Calling it an “unfortunate truth”, the Jamiat chief said that from the very beginning, Congress leaders “perhaps out of some fear, adopted a soft and flexible stance against religiously driven politics of hatred”.

He alleged that communal forces were allowed to grow due to the absence of strict legal action.

“Communal forces were treated with leniency, and strict legal action against them, as required by the Constitution and law, was avoided. As a result, communal forces were given ample opportunity to grow and strengthen,” he said.

Madani also claimed that communal forces were responsible for the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.

“Had communalism been crushed at that very time, the country could have been saved from devastation,” he said.

Recalling events following Partition, Madani said, “After Partition, when anti-Muslim riots erupted across the country, Mahatma Gandhi went on a fast to stop them. This did not sit well with communal forces, and even with some senior leaders within the Congress. They turned against him, and ultimately he was assassinated.”

He added that Gandhi’s killing amounted to an attack on the country’s core values.

“In our view, the killing of a great personality like Mahatma Gandhi was the killing of the country’s secularism itself. Sadly, what the Congress leadership should have done at that time, it failed to do,” he said.

Madani stated that the leadership of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind had repeatedly urged the Congress to act firmly against what he termed the “madness of communalism”.

However, he claimed these warnings were ignored. “Regrettably, this demand was not taken seriously, which further emboldened communal elements,” he said.

He also said that many people today were unaware of key historical assurances given before independence.

“Today’s generation is unaware of this history that even before independence, the senior leaders of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind had obtained a written assurance from Congress leaders that after independence the country’s Constitution would be secular and would guarantee complete religious freedom to all religious minorities,” Madani said.

According to him, the situation changed after Independence and Partition.

“After independence and the Partition of the country, a significant section of Congress leaders joined those who argued that since a separate country had been created for Muslims in the name of religion, India’s Constitution should no longer be secular,” he said.

Madani said Jamiat leaders strongly opposed this thinking and reminded the Congress of its commitments.

“At that moment, the leadership of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind firmly held the Congress leaders accountable and told them that if the country had been divided, it was they, not us, who had signed that document, and therefore they must fulfil their promise,” he said.

He noted that while a secular Constitution was eventually framed, communalism continued to spread unchecked.

“Consequently, a secular Constitution was framed, but the roots of communalism continued to grow silently and deeply. Despite persistent insistence by Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, no effective restraint was placed on it, even though the Congress was in power at the Centre and in all the provinces at that time,” Madani said.

He argued that the Congress party had ample opportunity to act. “Had it wished, it could have enacted strict laws against communalism. But due to the flexible policy it adopted, communal forces kept becoming stronger,” he added.

The Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind said that the Congress was paying the price for its past approach.

“If the Congress had taken the same strict stand against communalism 77 years ago that it claims to be taking now, it would not have been ousted from power, and the country would not have reached the brink of destruction,” Madani said.

IANS