Information on this specific subject is currently unavailable to the DIRB in Ottawa, however, the following information on known Muslim organizations in India might be relevant.

The Europa World Yearbook 1992 mentions a major national political organization called the All-India Congress Committee, a breakaway group from the Congress Party, but this political organization has not been identified as promoting Muslim rights in India (1992, 1373).

There are regional political organizations in India that promote the interests of Muslims. They include the All-India Moslem League (Kerala state), the Majlis Moslem Party (Andhra Pradesh state), the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (Jammu and Kashmir state), and the Moslem United Front (Jammu and Kashmir state) (Day 1988, 266, 273, 279). For further information about these Muslim organizations including their history, aims and activities, please refer to the attachment from Political Parties of the World. According to Delury, increasing assertiveness on the part of India's Muslim middle class has resulted in their willingness to speak out on behalf of the community (1987, 498). Some of these Muslims support the tightly organized paramilitary Muslim organization Jamaat-e-Islami, which has made promotion of Muslim interests its number one objective (Ibid.).

A 14 December 1992 Reuters' report stated that the ruling Congress Party backed a government crack down on militant Hindu groups after riots by Hindus and Muslims. The report further said that a meeting of the powerful Congress Working Committee (CWC), chaired by Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, called for enforcement of the imposed ban after militant Hindus demolished the ancient mosque of Ayodhya on 6 December 1992 (Ibid.).

According to Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1992, the government of India recently banned five communal groups (three Hindu and two Muslim) in order to limit the destruction of life and property during the Ayodhya demonstrations (1993, 1141-42). The source does not name the banned groups. The same source mentions that on 6 August 1992, unknown assailants attacked the chief of a hard-line Muslim group called the Islamic Sevak Sangh (Ibid.).

In 1977 the Janata government also set up the Minorities Commission to monitor the situation of Muslims and other minorities in India, but the commission was not given the power to implement changes to improve the conditions of India's minorities (Minority Rights Group 1990, 306). The source also notes that since there is no all-India Muslim party that cuts across state boundaries, attempts to find a common front with other minorities have failed.

Religion in Politics also points out that Kashmir is the only state in India where Muslims form the majority, but they have been involved in politics primarily to promote Islam (Mews 1989, 101). According to the same source, Muslim activism in Kashmir is about the degree to which the state can assert its Islamic identity without separating from India. In other parts of India, on the other hand, the issue for Muslims has been the protection of minority rights (Ibid.). For more details on the various attempts by Muslims in India to promote their communal interests, please refer to the attachments.

Additional and/or corroborative information on the requested subject could not be found among the sources currently available to the DIRB in Ottawa.

References

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1992. 1993. U.S. Department of State. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Day, Alan J., ed. 1988. Political Parties of the World. 3rd ed. Chicago: St. James Press.

Delury, George E., ed. 1987. World Encyclopedia of Political Systems and Parties. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. New York: Facts on File Publications.

The Europa World Yearbook 1992. 1992. Vol. 1. London: Europa Publications Ltd.

Mews, Stuart, ed. 1989. Religion in Politics: A World Guide. Chicago: St. James Press. Minority Rights Group. 1990. World Directory of Minorities. London: Longman Group UK Ltd.

Reuters. 14 December 1992. BC Cycle. Dev Varam. "India's Ruling Party Backs Ban on Religious Groups." (NEXIS)

Attachments

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1992. 1993. U.S. Department of State. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Day, Alan J., ed. 1988. Political Parties of the World. 3rd ed. Chicago: St. James Press.

Delury, George E., ed. 1987. World Encyclopedia of Political Systems and Parties. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. New York: Facts on File Publications.

The Europa World Yearbook 1992. 1992. Vol. 1. London: Europa Publications Ltd.

Mews, Stuart, ed. 1989. Religion in Politics: A World Guide. Chicago: St. James Press.

Minority Rights Group. 1990. World Directory of Minorities. London: Longman Group UK Ltd.

Reuters. 14 December 1992. BC Cycle. Dev Varam. "India's Ruling Party Backs Ban on Religious Groups." (NEXIS)