Smash These Idols

The front pages of national English newspapers have off-late been consumed by the unfolding series of events in Deoband. If the assumption behind this is that Deoband represents Indian Muslims, then it is plainly wrong since it only represents a minority sect within the Sunni Indian Islam. However, if the attempt is to showcase the murky world of north Indian Muslim politics by taking the recent controversy in Deoband as an example, it is salutary.

Ghulam Vastanvi, the man at the receiving end of the current controversy, may have been extremely unwise in the manner in which he talked about Narendra Modi, but the controversy should have been laid to rest after he apologized. It was, however, not in the interests of the entrenched powers in Deoband who have become used to treating this age-old institution of Islamic learning as their family backyard. As Yoginder Sikand has pointed out, Vastanvi was being targeted even before he made that infamous remark about Modi and Muslims. Clearly then, there were forces who feared that their political applecart would be toppled with Vastanvi at the helm of affairs. 

It is a known fact that the Madani family has exerted immense influence over Deoband. Husain Ahmad Madani, the architect of composite nationalism in India, was associated with the institution all his life. After him, Asad Madani and Arshad Madani have formed important power blocks within this madrasa. As presidents of Jamiat Ulama e Hind, the apex body of Deobandi ulama in India, and as Deobandis themselves, they have seen to it that this Islamic seminary does not slip away from their hands. Deobandi sources affirm the presence of ‘Madani hand’ behind the agitation against Vastanvi. Only this time, it is the younger Madani, Mahmud, who is calling the shots from behind. Sources say that Mahmud Madani wants to kill two birds with one stone. If Vastanvi quits, then Arshad Madani would become the top contender for the rector’s post. This will mean that Arshad Madani would have to resign from Jamiat, as according to the Constitution of Deoband, he cannot hold two administrative posts at one time. If this happens, Mahmud Madani would become the undisputable leader of the Jamiat. The argument makes sense because Mahmud Madani has had a long running fight with his uncle Arshad Madani over the president-ship of Jamiat. Thus apart from removing a nagging rival from within the Jamiat, this move will also secure Deoband within the family. There was talk of reconciliation between the two Madanis some time back. It seems that this reconciliation will come at a price: Deoband would be bartered and change will again become a distant dream.

Vastanvi has worked most of his life in Maharashtra. Starting off with establishing a madrasa in the 1980s, today he runs a network of schools, colleges and technical institutes, most of which offer mainstream education. Besides being an obvious educational entrepreneur, he has made his name as someone who is not rigid and orthodox and someone who has brought modern education to Muslims. It was his credentials as a doer and change-agent which saw him get most votes from the Deoband shura, most of whose members were anyways incensed by the high handed attitude of Arshad Madani. Backed by another powerful shura member and an MP from Assam, Vastanvi was given a mandate to expand the madrasa and bring in new courses, as he had done in Maharashtra. Not surprisingly then, Vastanvi’s first remark after taking charge as the rector was precisely this: that he would try and make Deoband more relevant to the modern demands of life. Soon after the controversy erupted, in a bid to position himself as a traditionalist, Vastanvi proclaimed that there was nothing wrong with Deoband and there was no need for any change. Clearly then, he had buckled under pressure from the status-quoists.

Let me add a caveat here. I am not arguing that Vastanvi would have brought some kind of a revolutionary change in the seminary. The politics of Deoband--its being antithetical to lived Islamic traditions and therefore anti-pluralism--will continue irrespective of Vastanvi or anyone else. Yet there are three important reasons why I think Vastanvi should be allowed to continue as the rector of Deoband:

• The first is that even piecemeal reformist change within the institution is welcome and Vastanvi seems to have the potential as well as the experience to do that. 
• The second is that he symbolizes a wider Muslim discontent over the fact that a large number of important Muslim institutions have been monopolized by few prominent Muslim families and individuals. 
• The third and related reason is that Vastanvi comes from the Islamic periphery and by his mere presence makes Muslim politics more inclusive. His presence is a signal that the fate of Indian Muslims need not be tied to the fate of feudal and decrepit UP Muslim elite. 

Despite the opposition he faces, one hopes that Vastanvi would not give up without a fight. It is great news that a section of students and teachers have rallied behind him. If this is a sign of internal churning within Muslims for meaningful change, then it is most welcome. Muslims in the Arab world have had enough of their dictators. It is time Indian Muslims in general and Deoband students in particular start articulating a similar demand and start smashing the living idols within their community.